Roderick Demick (born 17 March 1947) is a British guitarist and bassist who has played with many leading musicians.

Life and career

Born in

Prestatyn Prestatyn is a seaside town and community in Denbighshire, Wales. Historically a part of Flintshire, it is located on the Irish Sea coast, to the east of Rhyl. Prestatyn has a population of 19,085, History Prehistory There is evidence that the ...

north Wales , area_land_km2 = 6,172 , postal_code_type = Postcode , postal_code = LL, CH, SY , image_map1 = Wales North Wales locator map.svg , map_caption1 = Six principal areas of Wales common ...

, Demick moved with his parents to

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

, aged 5. He learned guitar and at the age of 11 joined his first band, the Vibros, who later became the Telstars (or Tony and the Telstars). In 1963 he joined another Belfast band,

The Wheels The Wheels were a 1960s R&B and blues-influenced rock band from Belfast, Northern Ireland, who came from the same music scene that produced the better-known band, Them, led by Van Morrison. Their best-known membership consisted of Brian Rossi ...

, and moved with them to England the following year. With Demick on

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...

and vocals, the band released several singles, including "Bad Little Woman", later recorded by

The Shadows of Knight The Shadows of Knight were an American rock band from Chicago, Illinois, that played a version of British blues influenced by their native city. When they began recording in 1965, the band's self-description was "the Stones, Animals and the Ya ...

, and supported visiting American musicians such as

John Lee Hooker John Lee Hooker (August 22, 1912 or 1917 – June 21, 2001) was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. The son of a sharecropper, he rose to prominence performing an electric guitar-style adaptation of Delta blues. Hooker often ...

. Biography by Craig Harris, ''Allmusic.com''
Retrieved 26 April 2020 Michael Limnios, "Rod Demick: The Blues Therapy", ''Blues.gr'', 31 March 2015
Retrieved 26 April 2020 After the Wheels broke up in 1967, Demick and his bandmate, lead guitarist

Herbie Armstrong Herbert Christopher Armstrong (born 14 May 1944) is a Northern Irish guitarist, singer and songwriter. He is known for his collaborations with Kenny Young in the bands Fox and Yellow Dog, and with Van Morrison in the early 1960s and again in t ...

, joined

Screaming Lord Sutch Screaming Lord Sutch (10 November 1940 – 16 June 1999), who had his name legally changed from David Edward Sutch, was an English musician and perennial parliamentary candidate. He was the founder of the Official Monster Raving Loony Party an ...

's band, known at the time as the Beautiful Quality, for six months. The following year, the pair left and recorded as the James Brothers, releasing two unsuccessful singles on the Page One label in 1968. Demick and Armstrong continued as a duo under their own names, toured with a band, and released several singles and two albums, ''Little Willy Ramble'' ( MAM, 1971) and ''Lookin' Through'' ( A&M, 1972), described by

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

reviewer Craig Harris as "impressive". Demick worked as a

session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

in the 1970s. In 1973, he joined influential

pub rock Pub rock is a rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particu ...

band Bees Make Honey, but the album recorded by that line-up of the band was unreleased and the band split up in 1974. Demick reunited with Herbie Armstrong in 1978, in the band Yellow Dog. He then joined the band

Meal Ticket Meal Ticket were a country rock band who emerged from the London pub circuit during the 1970s and signed to Logo Records. They had several line ups which included Ray Flacke, Jack Brand, Andy Coulter, Rod Demick, Chris Hunt, Keith Nelson, Steve ...

, toured with them and appeared on their 1978 album ''Take Away'', before working with singer-songwriter

Ian Gomm Ian Robert Gomm (born 28 March 1947 in Chiswick, West London) is a British singer-songwriter, who was the rhythm guitarist for Brinsley Schwarz from 1970 to 1974. He was named "Best Rhythm Guitarist" by ''NME'' in 1971. Early career Gomm's car ...

, touring the US with Gomm as support act for

Dire Straits Dire Straits were a British rock band formed in London in 1977 by Mark Knopfler (lead vocals and lead guitar), David Knopfler (rhythm guitar and backing vocals), John Illsley (bass guitar and backing vocals) and Pick Withers (drums and percuss ...

, and appearing on two of Gomm's albums, ''What a Blow'' and ''Village Voice''. Rod Demick / Demick and Armstrong, ''StrawbsWeb''
Retrieved 26 April 2020 Demick joined

David Essex David Essex (born David Albert Cook; 23 July 1947) is an English singer, songwriter, and actor. Since the 1970s, he has attained 19 Top 40 singles in the UK (including two number ones) and 16 Top 40 albums. Internationally, Essex had the most ...

's band as bassist in the early 1980s, touring with Essex for several years and appearing on the 1983 album ''The Whisper''. He also played with

Ron Kavana Ron Kavana (born 25 December 1950) is an Irish singer, songwriter, guitarist and band leader. Born in the County Cork town of Fermoy, he is the son of an Irish father and an American mother from Chicago with Cajun roots. Performing with a len ...

, before joining

the Strawbs Strawbs (or The Strawbs) are an English rock band founded in 1964 as the Strawberry Hill Boys. The band started out as a bluegrass group, but eventually moved on to other styles such as folk rock and progressive rock. They are best known fo ...

in 1985 as replacement for

John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), known professionally as John Ford, was an American film director and naval officer. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers of his generation. He ...

. He continued as a member of the Strawbs until 1998, also playing with their spin-off blues band, Turkey Leg Johnson, and in several bands led by

Jim McCarty James Stanley McCarty (born 25 July 1943) is an English musician, best known as the drummer for the Yardbirds and Renaissance. Following Chris Dreja's departure from the Yardbirds in 2013, McCarty became the only member of the band to featur ...

, including

the Yardbirds The Yardbirds are an English rock band, formed in London in 1963. The band's core lineup featured vocalist and harmonica player Keith Relf, drummer Jim McCarty, rhythm guitarist and later bassist Chris Dreja and bassist/producer Paul Samwell ...

at the time of their 1992 reunion performances. Other musicians with whom he has performed include

Dr. John Malcolm John Rebennack Jr. (November 20, 1941 – June 6, 2019), better known by his stage name Dr. John, was an American singer and songwriter. His music encompassed New Orleans blues, jazz, funk, and R&B. Active as a session musician from t ...

Billy Ocean Leslie Sebastian Charles, (born 21 January 1950), better known by his stage name Billy Ocean, is a British recording artist who had a string of R&B international pop hits in the 1970s and 1980s. He was the most popular British R&B singer-son ...

, and

Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal (; ) is an Islamic ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1631 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his favourite wife, Mu ...

. In the early 1990s, Demick joined the Paul Lamb Blues Band. After finally leaving the Strawbs, he became a permanent member of Paul Lamb and the King Snakes in 1999. "Rod Demick", ''PaulLamb.com''
Retrieved 26 April 2020

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Demick, Rod 1947 births Living people Rock guitarists from Northern Ireland Bass guitarists from Northern Ireland Musicians from Belfast People from Prestatyn Bees Make Honey (band) members