Fender Bass for Britain
The History of the 1966 Slab-Bodied Precision Bass
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
From the Foreword by John Entwistle of The Who:
I marched into Sound City to buy a new bass. THERE IT WAS! - in the window - like a gorgeous Jean Harlow reincarnated as a bass beckoning me to come in and give her a 'good seeing-to'.....
The end of The Who's act as everyone knows ended back then in smoke and wreckage......
Let me give a little advice on smashing a Fender slab Precision bass.........(if you want this, get the book!)
------------
From the book:
Another question arose - why were they made? Many theories and fantasies have been put forward......
From the section by Chip Hawkes of The Tremeloes:
It was a great bass but unhappily it was destroyed in 1970 when the band vehicle struck an electricity pylon and caught fire - very sad. I did have the opportunity to play a slab-bodied Precision, lent to me by Barry Matthews, at 'The 60s Storybook' concert in the Brentwood Centre. Before the gig, Graham Knight of the Marmalade said to me, "You can't play that, it's not loud enough! You need an active bass like my Status!" How wrong can one be! The slab Precision had so much serious punch that I had to turn it down......
Formats
Book Details
About the Book
The book "A Fender Bass for Britain" tells the story of a rare bass guitar made in 1966, the heyday of classic rock bands. Only a few of this particular bass with it's unique combination of features were ever made, and they mostly came to Britain. There are many Pictures of John Entwistle and others, with the bass, never been seen or published before.
This book tells of the man that made them, the men that played them and where some of them ended up.
The book features interviews with the stars that used the bass, such as John Entwistle of The Who, Chip Hawkes of The Tremeloes and a number of others.
The author, Barry Matthews, came across this bass in the Seventies and was intrigued. Then, in the Nineties, he started a systematic search to track them down and write the story behind them.
He has travelled to the USA and to a number of places in England in the process of compiling this fascinating account.
About the Author
Barry Matthews has been in the music business for about 50 years. He attended the Royal Marine School of Music from the age of 14, where he learnt to play percussion, string bass, bass guitar and other instruments. He served all over the world and in the process played in bands in South Africa, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, the Philippines and Europe.
He has since done session work, played for West End shows, taught bass and guitar and become a school teacher. Now retired from playing professionally, he does the occasional gig for friends.
He is also interested in Hornby Dublo model trains (1938-'64), vintage bass guitars and most of all God's Word, the Holy Bible.
Website in preparation:www.bassbigbaz.co.uk