Robert James "Bob" Fairfoull (born 6 August 1976) is a Scottish musician. He was the

bass guitarist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboard bass or a low bra ...

for the Scottish rock band Idlewild. He attended Portobello High School in Edinburgh between 1992–96 and was in the same class as

Paul Thomson Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity * Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

, the drummer from the band

Franz Ferdinand Archduke Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria, (18 December 1863 – 28 June 1914) was the heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary. His assassination in Sarajevo was the most immediate cause of World War I. F ...

Roddy Woomble Roddy Woomble (born 13 August 1976) is a Scottish singer, songwriter and writer. He is the lead vocalist of indie rock band Idlewild, with whom he has recorded nine studio albums. Celebrated for his poetic lyrics and warm, baritone voice, In 2 ...

- a friend of Fairfoull and Idlewild's lead singer - asked Fairfoull to join in February 1997 following the departure of

Phil Scanlon Idlewild are a Scottish rock band formed in Edinburgh in 1995. The band's line-up consists of Roddy Woomble (lead vocals), Rod Jones (guitar, backing vocals), Colin Newton (drums), Andrew Mitchell (bass), and Luciano Rossi (keyboards). To date ...

. His appearance and attitude are classically punk rock and his typical on-stage antics consist of head-banging and jumping around. Fairfoull became increasingly distant from the band in 2002, often going drinking on his own after shows and sitting separately on their tour bus. On 29 September 2002 he left the band following a show in Amsterdam in "a rain of misdirected punches". After leaving Idlewild, Fairfoull joined the band

Degrassi ''Degrassi'' is a Canadian television franchise created by Kit Hood and Linda Schuyler in 1979. It is centred on a multigenerational teen drama about an ensemble cast of teenagers attending the namesake Toronto school as they navigate their ad ...

, having been friends with its members for the past six years and feeling that their music possessed the rock edge that Idlewild had lost. He has had various other projects on the go, along with Degrassi, and has played in Edinburgh with the band Paper Beats Rock, who have supported

Blood Red Shoes Blood Red Shoes are an English alternative rock duo from Brighton consisting of Laura-Mary Carter and Steven Ansell. They have released six full-length albums, '' Box of Secrets'' (2008), '' Fire Like This'' (2010), '' In Time to Voices'' (2012), ...

. In 2009, when asked if the members of Idlewild remain friends with Fairfoull, Rod Jones stated that "there are no bad feelings between any of us and we have all seen Bob a few times over the last few years and remain on good terms." For his part, Fairfoull did not begrudge the band for carrying on without him and approved of being replaced by his good friend Gavin Fox, though he did remark, "It felt a bit like if you left your wife, and a week later she started shagging your brother." Fifteen years after leaving the band, Fairfoull joined Idlewild onstage as a surprise guest to play several songs at shows marking the 15th anniversary of the album ''

The Remote Part ''The Remote Part'' is the third studio album by Scottish Rock music, rock band Idlewild (band), Idlewild, released on 15 July 2002 by Parlophone. As they were becoming increasingly aware of their label's interest in them and their demos, the band ...

'' in Glasgow and Edinburgh.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fairfoull, Bob 1976 births Living people Scottish bass guitarists 21st-century bass guitarists