|
|
Joined:
November 2003
Posts: 11039
Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | The Story of Danny Thompson's Bass "Victoria"
... Money was still hard to come by so he decided to improvise, he built his own [bass] out of a tea chest, with piano wire for strings and and even hinges so that it was collapsible. "The main influence when I was a kid was the blues and especially Big Bill Broonzy."
Then the beloved ‘Victoria’ came in to his life. Danny heard that an old man in Battersea had an acoustic bass for sale. "I went running round and sure enough there was a bass, a great big black thing. The owner was an old boy, he must have been about eighty-five years old. I asked him how much he wanted and he said five pounds, which was a lot of money to me. So I asked him whether I could pay it off at five shillings a week and he agreed. I took it away with me and that night I was working with a jazz group and I tied the bass on the top of the car with no cover. It then started to rain and when I got to the gig I had to wipe off the water. The black paint also came off to reveal a beautiful varnish underneath." Danny later took the bass to be valued and was amazed when he was told it was worth £150. "I went back to the old boy and told him it was worth much more than a fiver. He said, 'I know that son, but if you want it and you're really going to do it then just give me the five bob a week like we said." 'Victoria' and Danny have been an ‘item’ ever since. ’Victoria’ was made by the French maker Gand in 1865, the last time she was valued she was worth £30,000. But of course for Danny she is invaluable and will never be out of his life. "Yeah, my absolute beloved. I've tried other instruments, but I've felt worse than unfaithful. It's been like a betrayal. We come as a pair, a partnership. I know every crack, every splinter on her body." |
|
| |
|
Joined:
January 2002
Posts: 14127
Location: 6 String Ranch | nice story |
|
| |
|
Joined:
November 2003
Posts: 11039
Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | Danny Thompson ...in case your wondrin' |
|
| |
|
Joined:
December 2001
Posts: 10583
Location: NJ | wow his discography is like a who's who of british music |
|
| |
|
Joined:
November 2003
Posts: 11039
Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | and notice the Josh White connection...
John McLaughlin too. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 14842
Location: NJ | I recognized him from that RT AustinCityLimits DVD . . . |
|
| |
|
Joined:
November 2004
Posts: 4413
| He's most famous for the decades-long partnership with John Martyn and for his years with Pentangle.
He's played with just about every musician in the western world in the last 40 years, but he has a real affinity with guitar players. A brilliant bloke. Everybody loves Danny. |
|
| |
Cool Story
