Chris Spedding

Chris Spedding one of rock’s most original and prolific guitar players is widely respected by his peers and fellow musicians. And Spedding has played an active role in an ever changing scene, during a remarkable career spanning more than 50 years.

Chris has worked with an extraordinary array of artists from Paul McCartney to Elton John, during his period as a much in demand session player. He has also jammed in a variety of bands, from jazz-rock outfit Ian Carr’s Nucleus to punk bands and even The Wombles Of Wimbledon. But his passport to fame came when his own single ‘Motorbiking’ got to Number 14 in the UK chart in 1975. He also released a succession of excellent solo albums during the early Seventies.

Chris Spedding was born in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England on June 17, 1944. He began playing guitar as a child and his first gig was with beat group The Vulcans. He then performed with jazz bands, country groups and cabaret outfits. He also worked on the cruise liner ‘Himalaya’ playing in the ship’s band. Chris once summed up his musical philosophy. “I want to make music, to get better at it, to reach more people and to enrich their lives.”

His first ‘name’ group was Pete Brown’s Battered Ornaments which he joined in 1967. He also played on ‘Songs For A Tailor’ (1969) by Jack Bruce.
During 1970 he cut two fusion jazz albums with Nucleus and his own album ‘Backward Progression’ in 1971. Next came the wryly titled ‘The Only Lick I Know’ (1972). Spedding also formed Sharks with ex-Free bassist Andy Fraser and vocalist Snips. In 1980 he recorded the aptly titled ‘I’m Not Like Everybody Else’ followed by ‘Mean And Moody’ (1985), ‘Enemy Within’ (1986) and ‘Café Days’ (1990).

Since 2001 Chris has played ‘live’ with Bryan Ferry and Roxy Music and ‘The War Of The Worlds.’ In 2009 he released ‘One Step Ahead Of The Blues’ and in 2011 came his 12th original studio album ‘Pearls’ released by Repertoire.

Find out more Chris Spedding on his website