COLIN HODGKINSON - BASS
Colin began playing guitar aged 10 years, switching to bass when he was 14. He played in local groups in the early 60s and turned pro in 1966. His first big break was joining Alexis Korner in 1969 and he worked on and off with him until Alexis's death in 1984.
He met saxophonist Ron Aspery in 1968 in Redcar, North Yorks and they formed the band Back Door with drummer Tony Hicks. The line-up of sax, bass and drums was unusual but this is when Colin really defined his unique style of bass playing chords, melody and bass lines. Back Door were turned down by every record company so made their own album in 1972. A copy found its way to the NME and they had a tremendous review. Colin was described as "the man the Fender bass has waited 25 years for". The band spent three weeks at Ronnie Scott's club opposite Chick Corea and was signed by Warner Bros. Tours of the USA and Europe followed in the next four years but despite great critical acclaim their album sales were disappointing and they broke up in 1975.
In 1978 Colin joined Jan Hammer (Mahavishnu Orchestra) for the next four years in New York, recording and touring. In 1982/83 Colin was working with Whitesnake and then in 1984 he joined the Spencer Davis group, a gig he was to do for more than 25 years. Throughout the 80s and 90s he played on many R&B Allstars tours with musicians such as Brian Auger, Zoot Money, Tony Ashton, Miller Anderson, Pete York and Chris Farlowe. On a session in 1986, he met Berlin guitarist Frank Diez and they formed a successful Blues Duo, still touring today.
At the end of the 90s he was invited by Bill Wyman to play a solo bass spot as opener for the Rhythm Kings. This was very successful and he did the same for Gary Moore.
Following a tour with Long John Baldry, the backing band became BBQ (the British Blues Quintet) with vocalist Maggie Bell. In 2007 Colin recorded three CDs with Chris Rea and a three-month tour followed in 2008. Next was a band with old friend Jon Lord, the Blues Project, which played to large audiences until Jon's death in 2012.
After a call from Ric Lee, Colin went for a play with the band and was offered the gig with TYA which he is currently rehearsing and really looking forward to touring with.