From: "Dik de Heer" Date: Sun Oct 3, 2004 2:35 am Subject: This Is My Story : Big Jim Sullivan BIG JIM SULLIVAN Many session musicians have been featured in this series, but up until now they were all American. However, the UK also produced some famous studio players. Probably the most prolific of them all is guitarist "Big" Jim Sullivan. The list of singles on which he has performed includes over 1,000 chart entries. A few examples: A Teenager In Love - Marty Wilde Be Mine - Lance Fortune The Sound of Fury (LP) - Billy Fury When Johnny Comes Marching Home - Adam Faith Ain't Misbehavin' - Tommy Bruce Restless - Johnny Kidd Well I Ask You - Eden Kane Johnny Remember Me - John Leyton Tribute To Buddy Holly - Mike Berry Come Outside - Mike Sarne I Remember You - Frank Ifield Diamonds - Jet Harris and Tony Meehan Just Like Eddie - Heinz Hold Me - P.J. Proby You Really Got Me - The Kinks The Crying Game - Dave Berry A Groovy Kind of Love - The Mindbenders It's Not Unusual - Tom Jones And that's just a small selection from the 1959-1965 period. Throughout the sixties and seventies, he was the most sought-after session guitarist in the UK. A complete list of the hits he plays on can be found at: http://www.bigjimsullivan.com/Pamra.html Born around 1941, Sullivan started playing guitar at age fourteen and was performing professionally within two years. In 1958 he became the lead guitarist in Marty Wilde's backing group, the Wildcats, which also included the later Shadows members Brian "Licorice" Locking (bass) and Brian Bennett (drums). Of this period, Jim says: "The Wildcats were not so wild, the truth is we were into studying music more than we were being part of show business. We used to sit in the dressing room and ask each other music questions, you know things like what is meant by 'Allegro con motto', what is meant by 'con sorda' and the like." The group also backed Eddie Cochran on his final UK tour in 1960. Marty Wilde performed on no less than 17 of the 38 "Oh Boy!" TV shows in 1958-59, always backed by the Wildcats. When Marty embarked upon a career in films and musicals, the Wildcats evolved into the Krew Kats and cut two fine instrumental singles for HMV in 1961 ("Trambone"/"Peak Hour" and "Samovar"/"Jack's Good"). "Trambone" (the Chet Atkins tune, also recorded by Duane Eddy) was a minor hit, peaking at # 33. Always exploring the possibilities of the guitar, Sullivan is credited with using the first fuzzbox in the UK, while accompanying P.J. Proby. Although he worked with many of England's best rock acts, Jim was equally involved with the country's top pop singers. He joined Tom Jones' band in 1969, touring, recording and appearing on Jones' television show until 1974, when he formed a production team with Derek Lawrence (the producer of albums by Deep Purple and Wishbone Ash). Working together, Sullivan and Lawrence produced albums by Labri Siffre, Chas and Dave and McGuinness Flint in the UK and the glam metal band Angel in the United States. Returning to England in 1975, Sullivan found that his fortunes had reversed. A stint with the group Tiger was unsuccessful. In 1978 he joined the James Last Orchestra and remained there until 1987, except for brief periods when he accompanied Olivia Newton-John. His attention was increasingly drawn to composing film soundtracks and advertising jingles. But his interest in the guitar was revived in the 1990s and he worked with several bands during that decade. On his website, http://www.bigjimsullivan.com Jim says that, apart from the three LP's with Tiger, he has only recorded three albums as a soloist: "Sitar Beat" (1968, which features his sitar playing), "Sullivan Plays O'Sullivan" (1977, not 1971, as Sullivan thinks ; this contains his instrumental interpretations of songs by Gilbert O'Sullivan) and "Big Jim's Back" (1974, on which he had to sing - "the biggest embarrassment of my life"). He completely overlooks Sitar A Go-Go (1967), Jim Sullivan (1972), Rock 'n' Roll Wrecks (1983) and Test of Time (1983).