Reunion - Cliff - how arrogant

[AngeliqueNL]

Maybe it's just because John joined the band and Mark is also a great bassplayer... where is Waffles when we need him? JJ???

[Stratpicker]

Wasnt Mark the guitarist on "Woodstock" by Matthew Southern Comfort 40 years ago??]
Maybe he found a niche as a Bassist or work dried up with MSC?
cheers
ian

[AlanMcKillop]

They were about to embark on a tour of South Africa (I think) and had problems with the Musicians Union re the bass player, so Mark embarked on a new role within the band.

[AngeliqueNL]

@l, you could be right, I seem to remember a similar story. I quickly checked some books, but can't find it this quickly. When checking the books on Mark's name all you find is the jokes Cliff's bandmembers did amongst each other on tour, while the others were asleep, hilarious stories I must say! Being kicked out of hotels because of their practical jokes!

Right, this girl has got to get some work done now!
Cheers!
@ngel

[Martin Page]

QUite so Brian - very distinctive guitar position - angled at about 30 degrees from the horizontal and quite high on the chest.
Not as high though as Gerry of Gerry and The Pacemakers or John McNally of The Searchers with his Hofner Club 40 in the early 60's. I tried that (as you do when following your (then) Heros) and found that it did help give that characteristic rhythm striking that was the Merseybeat trademark but bugger all use when playing a Lead as the angle of the elbow was all wrong.
Never quite sure why the 'kids' of today wear guitars around their thighs - maybe its a testosterone thing - but for sure the position is only good for vamping chords. Maybe thats all they can do!
cheers
ian
ps - Angelique - is it Keith Hayman responsible for the incredible arrangments that Cliff has used (like those mentioned above) in the past??

The early Beatles' photos show Lennon and Harrison with high-slung guitars also.

Martin.

[BrianD]

If you have a look at this video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noq6guqeFZU (a clip from the video I made of Big Jim Sullivan and his band about five years ago) you will see that Jim favours the high position. I was fortunate enough to have some lessons with Jim about ten years ago and he made me shorten my guitar strap and play higher than I had previously. I certainly found it helped. I am always amazed at how Jimmy Page is able to play the way he does with the guitar down around his knees!!

Brian

[cockroach]

They were all playing in Hamburg when they first started and they all copied Tony Sheridan, as regards how he played his guitar and his stance at the mic....they called him 'the Teacher'....Tony was originally considered to be Cliff's lead guitarist...

[JimN]

Never quite sure why the 'kids' of today wear guitars around their thighs - maybe its a testosterone thing - but for sure the position is only good for vamping chords. Maybe thats all they can do!
cheers
ian

The early Beatles' photos show Lennon and Harrison with high-slung guitars also.
Martin.

That was a general Mersey Beat phenomenon. It did have a practical effect: with a semi-acoustic like a Gretsch or a Gibson 335, the right arm is in a more advantageous position for controlled rhythm strumming near the bridge.

The very low-slung guitar seemed to appear around 1965/66, starting with Steve Marriott of the Small Faces (wielding a Gretsch Tennessean) and Steve Winwood (then of the Spencer Davies Group) with a Fender Jaguar for Keep On Runnin', etc.

It got to even more ridiculous proportions with Jimmy Page (who ought to have known better) in his Led Zeppelin days (though it might have helped with his use of a violin bow).

Surely, though, the most preposterous use of a low-slung guitar (which must have necessitated the use of an extra-long strap) was the Scandinavian group The Cardigans, with that record of the nineties: My Favourite Game. He must have done his back in like that.

Check from about 25s into this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvGlrJAA7ao

JN

[Pedro]

Bruce Welch adopts a totally different manner of playing and wearing the Burns as he does for a Stratocaster. The Burns is carried higher.

[Bluesnote]

If you have a look at this video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noq6guqeFZU (a clip from the video I made of Big Jim Sullivan and his band about five years ago) you will see that Jim favours the high position. I was fortunate enough to have some lessons with Jim about ten years ago and he made me shorten my guitar strap and play higher than I had previously. I certainly found it helped. I am always amazed at how Jimmy Page is able to play the way he does with the guitar down around his knees!!

Brian

I'd forgotten about Big Jim. He was some guitarist. I see what you mean by the guitar being higher. I myself am now growing a substantial belly to keep it up there too
I started playing the guitar a good bit higher in the last few years as it makes no difference whatsoever now me trying to look cool with it hung down low
It does aid my playing though, especially the awkward chords.
Hugh.