Herbie Flowers, bassist on Lou Reed's Walk on the Wild Side, dies aged 86

[muriel_volestrangler]

Flowers, who also played bass for David Bowie, Marc Bolan, Paul McCartney, Bryan Ferry and Elton John, has died aged 86, family members confirmed on Facebook.
...
Flowers is said to have recorded more than 20,000 sessions, including for Dusty Springfield, George Harrison, Serge Gainsbourg and David Essex.

Another claim to fame was that he co-wrote the hit 1970 novelty song Grandad after, it is said, he met Clive Dunn at a party and the actor – a household name thanks to Dad’s Army – challenged him to write a song for him.

Flowers was a member of the final lineup of T Rex shortly before Marc Bolan’s death, featuring on the band’s final album, 1977’s Dandy in the Underworld, and Bolan’s Marc TV show.

In the late 1970s, Flowers founded the instrumental prog rock band, Sky, recording and performing with the band until 1995, releasing seven albums. Other records featuring Flowers include Bryan Ferry’s The Bride Stripped Bare, Paul McCartney’s Give My Regards to Broad Street, and Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of the War of the Worlds.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/article/2024/sep/08/herbie-flowers-bassist-lou-reed-walk-on-the-wild-side-dies-aged-86

Some might say co-writing 'Grandad' is a claim to infamy ... it'll only mean something if you're British. Anyway, here's the classic:

Link to tweet

"Ah, damn. RIP Herbie Flowers. So many great basslines - imagine having played on Space Oddity, Walk on the Wild Side and Rock On…"

[ProfessorGAC]

1. RIP, Herbie

I read that the bassline on "...Wild Side" was dine twice. One time on a P-Bass, the other on a stand up acoustic bass.
He got the boom & slide of the string bass & the clarity from the electric. Pretty clever!

[muriel_volestrangler]

2. And got paid twice as a session musician, the obituaries say! (nt)

[ProfessorGAC]

3. Good For Him!

Makes Sense as session dudes get paid by the hour they're in the studio. If he played it twice, he had to be there longer!