Christopher John Spedding (born Peter Robinson, 17 June 1944) is an English musician, singer, guitarist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and record producer. In a career spanning more than 50 years, Spedding is best known for his studio session work. By the early 1970s, he had become one of the most sought-after session guitarists in England. Spedding has played on and produced many albums and singles. He has also been a member of eleven rock bands: the Battered Ornaments,

Frank Ricotti Quartet Frank Ricotti (born 31 January 1949) is an English jazz vibraphonist and percussionist. Early life and education Ricotti was born in London, England. His father was a drummer. Bill Ashton, founder of the National Youth Jazz Orchestra (NYJO ...

, King Mob,

Mike Batt Michael Philip Batt, LVO (born 6 February 1949) is an English singer-songwriter, musician, arranger, record producer, director and conductor. He was formerly the Deputy Chairman of the British Phonographic Industry. Having achieved substantia ...

and Friends, Necessaries,

Nucleus Nucleus ( : nuclei) is a Latin word for the seed inside a fruit. It most often refers to: *Atomic nucleus, the very dense central region of an atom * Cell nucleus, a central organelle of a eukaryotic cell, containing most of the cell's DNA Nucl ...

, Ricky Norton,

Sharks Sharks are a group of elasmobranch fish characterized by a cartilaginous skeleton, five to seven gill slits on the sides of the head, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the clade Selachimorp ...

Trigger Trigger may refer to: Notable animals and people ;Mononym * Trigger (horse), owned by cowboy star Roy Rogers ;Nickname * Trigger Alpert (1916–2013), American jazz bassist * "Trigger Mike" Coppola (1900–1966), American gangster ;Surname * Bru ...

, and

the Wombles ''The Wombles'' are fictional pointy-nosed, furry creatures created by Elisabeth Beresford and originally appearing in a series of children's novels from 1968. They live in burrows, where they aim to help the environment by collecting and recyc ...

. In May 1976, Spedding also produced the very first

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they were one of the most groundbreaking acts in the history of popular music. They were responsible for ...

recordings.

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 ...

has described Spedding as "one of the UK's most versatile session guitarists, ehas had a long career on two continents that saw him tackle nearly every style of rock and Spedding, a long-time friend of Chrissie Hynde, was a regular concert feature artist with

the Pretenders Pretenders are an English–American rock band formed in March 1978. The original band consisted of founder and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), James Honeyman-Scott (lead guitar, backing vocals, keyboards), Pete Fa ...

on their US tour in March/April 1980. He appeared regularly during the band's encores, playing the guitar solos on their version of

the Kinks The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, north London, in 1963 by brothers Ray and Dave Davies. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British rhythm ...

' song "

Stop Your Sobbing "Stop Your Sobbing" is a song written by Ray Davies for the Kinks' debut album, ''Kinks''. It was later covered by the Pretenders as their first single. Background The Kinks recorded "Stop Your Sobbing" on ''Kinks'', which was rushed out in or ...

". As well as his celebrated work as a session musician, Spedding pursued a solo career, releasing his debut album ''Songs Without Words'' in 1970. Since then, he has released fourteen studio albums, and two live albums. His only solo hit was 1975's "Motor Bikin'".

Career

Chris Spedding was born in Staveley, Derbyshire, but was raised in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

and

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

by adoptive parents Muriel and Jack Spedding, and renamed Christopher John Spedding. Whilst still with the Battered Ornaments, which without the departing Pete Brown left Spedding as their

frontman The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

, he joined the

, and played guitar on the album ''Our Point of View'', released in July 1969. He was also invited to play on

Jack Bruce John Symon Asher Bruce (14 May 1943 – 25 October 2014) was a Scottish bassist, singer-songwriter, musician and composer. He gained popularity as the primary lead vocalist and ‍bassist ‍of British rock band Cream. After the group disband ...

's first and third solo albums, '' Songs for a Tailor'' (1969) and '' Harmony Row'' (1971). Spedding then recorded his own instrumental album, ''Songs Without Words'' (1970) for

Harvest Records Harvest Records is a British-American record label belonging to Capitol Music Group, originally created by EMI in 1969. History Harvest Records was created by EMI in 1969 to market progressive rock music, and to compete with Philips' Vertigo ...

, which was only released in Japan. During this time, he was also playing jazz-fusion with

and recorded and toured with Mike Gibbs, featuring as lead soloist on the track “Five for England” on Gibbs’s ''Tanglewood 63'' album. He played guitar on the

Pete Atkin Pete Atkin (born 22 August 1945) is a British singer-songwriter and radio producer, notable for his 1970s musical collaborations with Clive James and for producing the BBC Radio 4 series, '' This Sceptred Isle''. Early life Born in Cambridge, ...

Clive James Clive James (born Vivian Leopold James; 7 October 1939 – 24 November 2019) was an Australian critic, journalist, broadcaster, writer and lyricist who lived and worked in the United Kingdom from 1962 until his death in 2019.Harry Nilsson Harry Edward Nilsson III (June 15, 1941 – January 15, 1994), sometimes credited as Nilsson, was an American singer-songwriter who reached the peak of his commercial success in the early 1970s. His work is characterized by pioneering vocal ove ...

's breakthrough album, ''

Nilsson Schmilsson ''Nilsson Schmilsson'' is the seventh studio album by American singer Harry Nilsson, released by RCA Records in November 1971. It was Nilsson's most commercially successful work, producing three of his best-known songs. Among these was the numbe ...

'', recorded in London. In 1970, he played on the original recording of

Jesus Christ Superstar ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Gospels' accounts of the Passion, the work interprets the psychology of Jesus and other characters, with ...

, and in 1971 he also played on "Pieces of Me" by Linda Hoyle and '' Coming from Reality'' by

Sixto Rodriguez Sixto Diaz Rodriguez (born July 10, 1942), known professionally as Rodriguez, is an American singer-songwriter from Detroit, Michigan. Though his career was initially met with little fanfare in the United States, he found success in South Afric ...

, who was later the subject of the 2012 documentary ''

Searching for Sugar Man ''Searching for Sugar Man'' is a 2012 documentary film about a South African cultural phenomenon, written and directed by Malik Bendjelloul, which details the efforts in the late 1990s of two Cape Town fans, Stephen "Sugar" Segerman and Craig ...

''. During 1972–74, Spedding played a central role in

, initially with ex- Free bassist

Andy Fraser Andrew McIan Fraser (3 July 1952 – 16 March 2015) was a British musician and songwriter, best known as the bassist and co-composer for the rock band Free, which he helped found in 1968 when he was 15. He also founded the rock band Sharks ...

. They recorded two albums and toured with

Roxy Music Roxy Music are an English rock music, rock band formed in 1970 by Bryan Ferry—who became the band's lead vocalist and principal songwriter—and bassist Graham Simpson (musician), Graham Simpson. The other longtime members are Phil Manzanera ...

. After that, he toured and recorded with

John Cale John Davies Cale (born 9 March 1942) is a Welsh musician, composer, singer, songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the American rock band the Velvet Underground. Over his six-decade career, Cale has worked in various styl ...

. He also played with Roy Harper's occasional backing band Trigger, notably on 1975's '' HQ'' album. In 1972–76, he played in

's novelty band ''

The Wombles ''The Wombles'' are fictional pointy-nosed, furry creatures created by Elisabeth Beresford and originally appearing in a series of children's novels from 1968. They live in burrows, where they aim to help the environment by collecting and recyc ...

'', and confirmed on the Marc Riley show on

BBC Radio 6 Music BBC Radio 6 Music is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC, specialising primarily in alternative music. BBC 6 Music was the first national music radio station to be launched by the BBC in 32 years. It is available onl ...

that he performed on television in a Womble suit. In 1975, Spedding had a

Top 20 A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include rec ...

solo

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

in the UK with "Motor Bikin'", which he promoted with popular television appearances on ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British Record chart, music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show ...

'' and ''

Supersonic Supersonic speed is the speed of an object that exceeds the speed of sound ( Mach 1). For objects traveling in dry air of a temperature of 20 °C (68 °F) at sea level, this speed is approximately . Speeds greater than five times ...

'', dressed in leather motorcycling gear, with greased hair. On his 1976 single ''Pogo Dancing'' he was backed by UK punk band

The Vibrators The Vibrators are a British punk rock band that formed in 1976. Early career The Vibrators were founded by Ian ' Knox' Carnochan, bassist Pat Collier, guitarist John Ellis, and drummer John 'Eddie' Edwards. They first came to public notice ...

. When further hits failed to materialise, he subsequently became better known as a session guitarist, appearing and recording with

Bryan Ferry Bryan Ferry CBE (born 26 September 1945) is an English singer and songwriter. His voice has been described as an "elegant, seductive croon". He also established a distinctive image and sartorial style: according to ''The Independent'', Ferry an ...

, Roxy Music,

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

Brian Eno Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (; born Brian Peter George Eno, 15 May 1948) is a British musician, composer, record producer and visual artist best known for his contributions to ambient music and work in rock, pop an ...

, Jack Bruce,

Nick Mason Nicholas Berkeley Mason, (born 27 January 1944) is an English drummer and a founder member of the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. He is the only member to feature on every Pink Floyd album, and the only constant member since its formation in ...

Art Garfunkel Arthur Ira Garfunkel (born November 5, 1941) is an American singer, poet, and actor. He is best known for his partnership with Paul Simon in the folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel. Highlights of Garfunkel's solo music career include one top-10 ...

Typically Tropical Typically Tropical were a British band comprising two Trojan Records audio engineers, Jeff Calvert and Max West. They are best known for their 1975 number one hit record "Barbados" and for writing the 1978 disco hit "I Lost My Heart to a Stars ...

Katie Melua Ketevan Katie Melua (; ka, ქეთევან "ქეთი" მელუა, ; born 16 September 1984) is a Georgian and British singer and songwriter. She was born in Kutaisi and raised in Belfast and London. Under the management of comp ...

, and

Ginger Baker Peter Edward "Ginger" Baker (19 August 1939 – 6 October 2019) was an English drummer. His work in the 1960s and 1970s earned him the reputation of "rock's first superstar drummer", for a style that melded jazz and Music of Africa, Africa ...

, amongst others. During the mid-1970s, he even took part in the Wombles' UK tour in full costume, whilst wielding his trademark

Gibson Flying V The Gibson Flying V is an electric guitar model introduced by Gibson in 1958. The Flying V offered a radical, "futuristic" body design, much like its siblings: the Explorer, which was released the same year, and the Moderne, which was designed ...

. His own album ''Chris Spedding'' (1975) was produced by

Mickie Most Michael Peter Hayes (20 June 1938 – 30 May 2003), known as Mickie Most, was an English record producer behind scores of hit singles for acts such as the Animals, Herman's Hermits, the Nashville Teens, Donovan, Lulu, Suzi Quatro, Hot Chocolate ...

. Spedding recorded a

version Version may refer to: Computing * Software version, a set of numbers that identify a unique evolution of a computer program * VERSION (CONFIG.SYS directive), a configuration directive in FreeDOS Music * Cover version * Dub version * Remix * ''Ve ...

of the American singer-songwriter

Garland Jeffreys Garland Jeffreys (born June 29, 1943) is an American singer and songwriter in rock and roll, reggae, blues, and soul music. Career Jeffreys is from Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, of African American and Puerto Rican heritage. He majored in art hist ...

' song, "Wild in the Streets", on his own ''Hurt'' album. The song has since been covered by the Circle Jerks and is featured on ''

Tony Hawk's American Wasteland ''Tony Hawk's American Wasteland'' is a skateboarding video game developed by Neversoft and published by Activision. It is the seventh entry in the ''Tony Hawk's'' series and was released initially for the GameCube, PlayStation 2 and Xbox in ...

''. He also was the producer of the

' first

demos Demos may refer to: Computing * DEMOS, a Soviet Unix-like operating system * DEMOS (ISP), the first internet service provider in the USSR * Demos Commander, an Orthodox File Manager for Unix-like systems * plural for Demo (computer programming) ...

, which were recorded on 12 May 1976 at London's Majestic Studios, where Spedding had recorded his contributions to Eno's album ''

Here Come the Warm Jets ''Here Come the Warm Jets'' is the debut solo album by British musician Brian Eno, released on Island Records in January 1974. It was recorded and produced by Eno following his departure from Roxy Music, and blends glam and pop stylings with a ...

'' and the Sharks track "Kung Fu". The three tracks recorded were "Problems", "No Feelings" and "

Pretty Vacant "Pretty Vacant" is a song by the English punk rock band the Sex Pistols. It was released on 2 July 1977 as the band's third single and was later featured on their only album, ''Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols'', released during t ...

"; there are persistent rumours that he played guitar and bass on their debut album, ''

Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols ''Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols'' is the only studio album by English punk rock band the Sex Pistols, released on 28 October 1977 by Virgin Records in the UK and on 11 November 1977 by Warner Bros. Records in the US. The album ...

'', however both Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones and Spedding himself deny this entirely. The following year, Spedding featured extensively on the concept album ''

Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds ''Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds'' is a studio double album by American-born British musician, composer, and record producer Jeff Wayne, released on 9 June 1978 by CBS Records. It is an album musical adapted from the sci ...

'', issued in 1978. Spedding moved to New York City, joined the Necessaries as a guitarist and songwriter, collaborated with drummer/percussionist

David Van Tieghem David Van Tieghem (born April 21, 1955) is an American composer, percussionist and sound designer, best known for his philosophy of utilizing any available object as a percussion instrument and for his collaborations with the experimental artists ...

, and worked extensively with

Robert Gordon Robert Gordon may refer to: Entertainment * Robert Gordon (actor) (1895–1971), silent-film actor * Robert Gordon (director) (1913–1990), American director * Robert Gordon (singer) (1947–2022), American rockabilly singer * Robert Gordon (scr ...

. Before long he was back in the UK and recorded another album of his own, ''I'm Not Like Everybody Else'' (1980). The same year he appeared on

Joan Armatrading Joan Anita Barbara Armatrading, (, born 9 December 1950) is a Kittitian-English singer-songwriter and guitarist. A three-time Grammy Award nominee, Armatrading has also been nominated twice for BRIT Awards as Best Female Artist. She received ...

's album ''

Me Myself I ''Me Myself I'' is the sixth studio album by British recording artist Joan Armatrading. Released in May 1980, the album was Armatrading's highest ever chart placing both in the UK (number 5) and in the US (number 28). In Australia, the album ...

'', playing lead guitar on a number of tracks, including the chart-hit title track. His live album, ''Friday the 13th'' was released in 1981. In 1982 he played on

Nina Hagen Catharina "Nina" Hagen (; born 11 March 1955) is a German singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her theatrical vocals and rose to prominence during the Punk subculture, punk and New wave music, new wave movements in the late 1970s a ...

's recording ''

NunSexMonkRock ''NunSexMonkRock'' is the debut solo studio album by German singer Nina Hagen. It was released on June 12, 1982 by CBS Records. ''NunSexMonkRock'' marked Hagen's first release since her departure from the Nina Hagen Band, and was also her first a ...

'', and over the next few years he continued his session work on such albums as

Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on the underbelly of society and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He worked primarily in jazz during ...

' ''

Rain Dogs ''Rain Dogs'' is the ninth studio album by American singer-songwriter Tom Waits, released in September 1985 on Island Records. A loose concept album about "the urban dispossessed" of New York City, ''Rain Dogs'' is generally considered the middle ...

'', while periodically releasing solo material (''Mean and Moody'' (1985), '' Enemy Within'' (1986) and ''Cafe Days'' (1990). He worked on several solo releases by

Jerry Harrison Jeremiah Griffin Harrison (born February 21, 1949) is an American songwriter, musician, producer, and entrepreneur. He began his professional music career as a member of the cult band the Modern Lovers before becoming keyboardist and guitarist ...

(of

Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991.Talkin ...

) including the critically acclaimed album

Casual Gods ''Casual Gods'' is the second album by American musician Jerry Harrison, released in 1988 by Sire Records in the U.S. and Fontana Records in the UK and Europe. His third album, '' Walk on Water'', would also bear the Casual Gods name as a proxy fo ...

released in 1988 spawning the No. 7 hit on US Mainstream Charts

Rev It Up ''Rev It Up'' is the second album by the American hard rock band Vixen, released by EMI in 1990. It entered the UK Albums Chart at No. 20, and placed two songs inside the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. However, it did not match up to its predecessor in ...

. He played on the tracks "Not Such A Bad Boy", "So Bad" and "No Value" on

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

's ''

Give My Regards to Broad Street ''Give My Regards to Broad Street'' is the fifth solo studio album by Paul McCartney and the soundtrack to the film of the same name. The album reached number 1 on the UK chart. The lead single, " No More Lonely Nights", was BAFTA and Golden ...

'' released in 1984. Spedding recalls

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the ...

, engineer

Geoff Emerick Geoffrey Ernest Emerick (5 December 1945 – 2 October 2018) was an English sound engineer and record producer who worked with the Beatles on their albums ''Revolver'' (1966), ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' (1967) and ''Abbey Road'' ...

and producer

George Martin Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the "Fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the B ...

working on the same sessions as well as McCartney and his wife,

Linda Linda may refer to: As a name * Linda (given name), a female given name (including a list of people and fictional characters so named) * Linda (singer) (born 1977), stage name of Svetlana Geiman, a Russian singer * Anita Linda (born Alice Lake i ...

. In the same year he played on

Roger Daltrey Roger Harry Daltrey (born 1 March 1944) is an English singer, musician and actor. He is a co-founder and the lead singer of the Rock music, rock band The Who. Daltrey's hit songs with The Who include "My Generation", "Pinball Wizard", "Won't Ge ...

's solo album '' Parting Should Be Painless''. Spedding was producer of the first two albums by the Canadian

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western music ...

band,

The Razorbacks The Razorbacks were a Canadian rockabilly band that attained moderate national popularity in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The band was known for its lively stage show,Willy DeVille Willy DeVille (born William Paul Borsey Jr.; August 25, 1950 – August 6, 2009) was an American singer and songwriter. During his thirty-five-year career, first with his band Mink DeVille (1974–1986) and later on his own, DeVille created ori ...

's ''

Big Easy Fantasy ''Big Easy Fantasy'' is an album by Willy DeVille and the Mink DeVille Band. It was released in Europe on the French New Rose label in 1995. The album is a mixture of studio tracks and concert recordings made in New York and Paris. The "big easy ...

'', and later that year, on his album ''

Loup Garou In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (; ; uk, Вовкулака, Vovkulaka), is an individual that can shapeshift into a wolf (or, especially in modern film, a therianthropic hybrid wolf-like creature), either purposely o ...

''.

Accepting an invitation, Spedding toured with a reformed Roxy Music in 2001. By now in his late fifties, Spedding's own

blues rock Blues rock is a fusion music genre that combines elements of blues and rock music. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electric blues and rock (electric guitar, electric bass guitar, and drums, sometimes w ...

offerings ''One Step Ahead of the Blues'' (2002) and ''Click Clack'' (2005) were released, followed by ''It's Now Or Never'' in 2007. He was one of only two musicians from the 1976 album ''Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds'' to return for

Jeff Wayne Jeffry Wayne (born 1 July 1943) is an American-British composer, musician and lyricist. In 1978, he released ''Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds'', his musical adaptation of H. G. Wells' science-fiction novel ''The War of ...

's Black Smoke Band's 2006–2012 tour of Europe. He then featured on the 2012 album '' Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds – The New Generation'', touring with the show in 2012 and 2014. On 31 October 2011, the 11 track CD ''King Mob'' album was released featuring Spedding on guitar, Glen Matlock on bass, Martin Chambers on drums, Sixteen on guitar and fronted by Stephen W. Parsons, aka Snips a former member of Sharks. Although both the album and live shows received positive reviews, King Mob announced that they were disbanding in September 2012. In June 2014, Spedding appeared as a special guest playing guitar with Bryan Ferry at the 2014 Glastonbury Festival held in

Pilton, Somerset Pilton is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Somerset, England, situated on the A361 road in the Mendip District, Mendip district, 3 miles (5 km) south-west of Shepton Mallet and 6 miles (10 km) east of Gl ...

, United Kingdom. In 2016, and again in 2019, he toured the US with Ferry.

Select discography

Albums

*''Our Point of View'' for

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

(1969) *'' Songs for a Tailor'' for

Polydor Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...

(1969) *''Deep Down Heavy'' (France) (1970) for

Bob Downes Robert George Downes (born 22 July 1937 in Plymouth) is an English avant-garde jazz flautist and saxophonist. He is known for his work with Mike Westbrook and for leading the Open Music Trio since 1968. Downes is also a composer, arranger, and ...

, Music for Pleasure (MFP 5130) *''

Elastic Rock ''Elastic Rock'' is Nucleus' first album. Recorded in January 1970, it was a pioneering work in the emerging genre of jazz-rock fusion. Bandleader Ian Carr (later a jazz journalist and published expert on Miles Davis) was probably inspired by D ...

'' with

Vertigo Vertigo is a condition where a person has the sensation of movement or of surrounding objects moving when they are not. Often it feels like a spinning or swaying movement. This may be associated with nausea, vomiting, sweating, or difficulties w ...

(1970) *''Songs Without Words'' (Japan) Toshiba EMI (1970) *'' Harmony Row'' for

(1971) *''We'll Talk About It Later'' with

(1971) *''

'' (1971) and '' Son of Schmilsson'' (1972) for

Harry Nilsson Harry Edward Nilsson III (June 15, 1941 – January 15, 1994), sometimes credited as Nilsson, was an American singer-songwriter who reached the peak of his commercial success in the early 1970s. His work is characterized by pioneering vocal ove ...

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Aris ...

*''Backwood Progression'' (UK)

Harvest Harvesting is the process of gathering a ripe crop from the fields. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulse for harvest, typically using a scythe, sickle, or reaper. On smaller farms with minimal mechanization, harvesting is the most labor-i ...

(1971) *''Only Lick I Know'' (UK) Harvest (1972) – engineered by

Alan Parsons Alan Parsons (born 20 December 1948) is an English audio engineer, songwriter, musician and record producer. Parsons was involved with the production of several notable albums, including the Beatles' ''Abbey Road'' (1969) and '' Let It Be'' ...

Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music c ...

*'' Nowhere Road'' (1973) Deram /

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, by ex-

Savoy Brown Savoy Brown (originally Savoy Brown Blues Band) were an English blues rock band formed in Battersea, south west London, in 1965. Part of the late 1960s blues rock movement, Savoy Brown primarily achieved success in the United States, where t ...

vocalist Chris Youlden *''First Water'' (1973) and ''Jab it in Yore Eye'' (1974) as a member of

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anoth ...

*''

Chris Spedding Christopher John Spedding (born Peter Robinson, 17 June 1944) is an English musician, singer, guitarist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and record producer. In a career spanning more than 50 years, Spedding is best known for his st ...

'' (UK) RAK (1976) – produced by

*''Hurt'' (UK) RAK (1977) – produced by Chris Thomas includes "Hurt By Love" *'' In Your Mind'' (1977) for

Polydor Records Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...

*''Guitar Graffiti'' (UK) RAK (1978) *''I'm Not Like Everybody Else'' (UK) RAK (1980) *''Friday the 13th'' (US) Passport (1981) *'' Enemy Within'' (France) New Rose (1986) *''Like Satin'' (France) New Rose (1988) *''Tightrope Walker'' (France) New Rose (1989) *''Cafe Days'' (France) New Rose (1990) *''Just Plug Him In!'' (France) New Rose (1991) *''Gesundheit!'' (France) Versailles/

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

(1995) *''

'' (1995) *''

'' (1995) *''One Step Ahead of the Blues'' (

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

) Music Avenue (2002)/(UK) Repertoire (2009) *'' The Very Best of Chris Spedding'' EMI Gold (2005) *''Click Clack'' (Germany)

SPV GmbH SPV GmbH (short for ''Schallplatten Produktion und Vertrieb GmbH'', "Vinyl Production and Distribution Company") is a German independent record label. Founded on 1 January 1984, it has slowly grown to be one of the largest independent distributor ...

(2005) *''It's Now Or Never'' (US) Ryko (2007) *''Pearls'' (2011) *''Joyland'' (2015)

Singles

*"Rock and Roll Band"/"Goodbye We Loved You (Madly)" (1969) A side credited to Chris Spedding's New Band/B side credited to Chris Spedding & The Battered Ornaments UK Harvest HAR 5013 *"

My Bucket's Got a Hole in It "My Bucket's Got a Hole in It" is a song widely attributed to Clarence Williams, who obtained a copyright in 1933, although the melody was recorded under various names years earlier. The song became popular performed by Hank Williams for MGM a ...

"/"I Can't Boogie" (1975) UK Island WIP 6225 *"Motor Bikin'"/"Working for the Union" (1975) UK Rak RAK 210 No. 14, AUS No.63 *"Jump in My Car"/"Running Round" (1976) UK Rak RAK 228 *"New Girl in the Neighbourhood"/"Truck Drivin' Man" (1976) UK Rak RAK 232 *"Guitar Jamboree"/"Sweet Disposition" (1976) UK Rak RAK 236 *"Pogo Dancing"/"The Pose" with The Vibrators (1976) UK Rak RAK 246 *"Get Outta My Pagoda"/"Hey Miss Betty" (1977) UK Rak RAK 261 *"Silver Bullet"/"Wild Wild Women" (1977) UK Rak RAK 268 *"Bored Bored"/"Time Warp" (1978) UK Rak RAK 274 *"Gunfight"/"Evil" (1978) UK Rak RAK 282 *"Video Life"/"Frontal Lobotomy" (Live) (1979) UK Rak RAK 290 *"The Crying Game"/"Counterfeit" (1980) UK Rak RAK 323 *"I'm Not Like Everybody Else"/"Contract" (1981) UK Rak RAK 326

Collaborations

With

* ''

'' (A&M Records, 1980) With

* '' Slow Dazzle'' (Island Records, 1975) * ''

Helen of Troy Helen of Troy, Helen, Helena, (Ancient Greek: Ἑλένη ''Helénē'', ) also known as beautiful Helen, Helen of Argos, or Helen of Sparta, was a figure in Greek mythology said to have been the most beautiful woman in the world. She was believe ...

'' (Island Records, 1975) * '' Music for a New Society'' (ZE Records, 1982) With

* '' Parting Should Be Painless'' (Atlantic Records, 1984) With

Willy DeVille Willy DeVille (born William Paul Borsey Jr.; August 25, 1950 – August 6, 2009) was an American singer and songwriter. During his thirty-five-year career, first with his band Mink DeVille (1974–1986) and later on his own, DeVille created ori ...

* ''

'' (EastWest Records, 1995) With

Donovan Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946), known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter, and record producer. He developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelic rock and world mus ...

* ''

Cosmic Wheels ''Cosmic Wheels'' is the tenth studio album, and eleventh album overall, by British singer-songwriter Donovan. It was released in both the UK (Epic SEPC 65450) and the US (Epic KE 32156) in March 1973. History After the introspection of fath ...

'' (Columbia Records, 1973) With

Cass Elliot Ellen Naomi Cohen (September 19, 1941 – July 29, 1974), known professionally as Mama Cass and later on as Cass Elliot, was an American singer and voice actress. She was a member of the singing group the Mamas & the Papas. After the group brok ...

* ''

The Road Is No Place for a Lady ''The Road Is No Place for a Lady'' is the fifth and final studio album released by Cass Elliot. It was the second album she recorded after signing with RCA Records. The album was recorded over a period of two months during the summer of 1972 at ...

'' (RCA Records, 1972) With

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 ...

* ''

'' (Columbia Records, 1974) * ''All the Fun of the Fair'' (Columbia Records, 1975) * ''Imperial Wizard'' (Mercury Records, 1979) * ''The Whisper'' (Mercury Records, 1983) With

* ''

Let's Stick Together ''Let's Stick Together'' is a 1976 album by Bryan Ferry. His third solo release, it was his first following the disbanding of Roxy Music earlier in the year. Unlike Ferry's two previous solo recordings, ''Let’s Stick Together'' was not a dedi ...

'' (E.G. Records, 1976) * '' In Your Mind'' (E.G. Records, 1977) * '' Frantic'' (Virgin Records, 2002) * ''

Dylanesque ''Dylanesque'' is the twelfth studio album by English singer Bryan Ferry, released on 5 March 2007 by Virgin Records. The album consists of cover versions of ten Bob Dylan songs and one traditional song that Dylan himself covered on his first ...

'' (Virgin Records, 2007) * ''

Olympia The name Olympia may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film * ''Olympia'' (1938 film), by Leni Riefenstahl, documenting the Berlin-hosted Olympic Games * ''Olympia'' (1998 film), about a Mexican soap opera star who pursues a career as an athlet ...

'' (Virgin Records, 2010) * '' Avonmore'' (BMG, 2014) With

* '' Fate for Breakfast'' (Columbia Records, 1979) * ''

Scissors Cut ''Scissors Cut'' is the fifth solo studio album by Art Garfunkel released in August 1981 on Columbia Records. It was his second album to miss the US '' Billboard'' top 40 (charting at 113) and his second album containing no US top 40 singles. T ...

'' (Columbia Records, 1981) With

* ''

'' (CBS Records, 1982) With

* ''

Madman Across the Water ''Madman Across the Water'' is the fourth studio album by English musician Elton John, released in 1971 through DJM and Uni Records. The album was his third album to be released in 1971, at which point John had been rising to prominence as a p ...

'' (Uni Records, 1971) With John Lodge * '' Natural Avenue'' (Threshold/Decca, 1977) * ''

10,000 Light Years Ago ''10,000 Light Years Ago'' is the second solo album by John Lodge (musician), John Lodge of The Moody Blues, released in May 2015. After 38 years from his previous solo work ''Natural Avenue'' (1977), the bassist and vocalist of the Moody Blues ...

'' (Esoteric Antenna, 2015) With

* ''

Tug of War Tug of war (also known as tug o' war, tug war, rope war, rope pulling, or tugging war) is a sport that pits two teams against each other in a test of strength: teams pull on opposite ends of a rope, with the goal being to bring the rope a certa ...

'' (Columbia Records, 1982) * ''

Pipes of Peace ''Pipes of Peace'' is the fourth solo studio album by English singer-songwriter Paul McCartney, released on 31 October 1983. As the follow-up to the popular ''Tug of War'', the album came close to matching the commercial success of its predeces ...

'' (Columbia Records, 1983) With

* ''

Call Off the Search ''Call off the Search'' is the debut studio album by Georgian-British jazz and blues singer Katie Melua, released in 2003. Recording and release British songwriter, producer and arranger Mike Batt signed Melua to his Dramatico recording and ma ...

'' (Dramatico, 2003) * '' Piece by Piece'' (Dramatico, 2005) * ''

Pictures An image is a visual representation of something. It can be two-dimensional, three-dimensional, or somehow otherwise feed into the visual system to convey information. An image can be an artifact, such as a photograph or other two-dimensiona ...

'' (Dramatico, 2007) * ''

Ketevan Ketevan ( ka, ქეთევანი) is a Georgian feminine given name. It is sometimes used as a Georgian form of Katherine but, in terms of their etymology, the two names aren't related as Katherine has origins in the Greek language while Ketev ...

'' (Dramatico, 2013) With

Frankie Miller Francis John Miller (born 2 November 1949) is a Scottish rock singer-songwriter and actor. Miller wrote for and performed with many recording artists and is best known for his 1977 album ''Full House'', the singles "Be Good To Yourself", " D ...

* ''

Full House ''Full House'' is an American television sitcom created by Jeff Franklin for ABC. The show is about widowed father Danny Tanner who enlists his brother-in-law Jesse Katsopolis and childhood best friend Joey Gladstone to help raise his three dau ...

'' (Chrysalis Records, 1977) * ''Standing on the Edge'' (Capitol Records, 1982) * ''Dancing in the Rain'' (Vertigo Records, 1986) With

* ''

'' (RCA Victor, 1971) * '' Son of Schmilsson'' (RCA Records, 1972) With

Paolo Nutini Paolo Giovanni Nutini (born 9 January 1987) is a Scottish singer, songwriter and musician from Paisley, Renfrewshire, Paisley. Nutini's debut album, ''These Streets'' (2006), peaked at number three on the UK Albums Chart. Its follow-up, ''Sunny ...

* ''

Caustic Love ''Caustic Love'' is the third studio album by Scottish singer-songwriter Paolo Nutini, released on 14 April 2014 by Atlantic Records. After releasing his critically and commercially successful album '' Sunny Side Up'' (2009), Nutini toured for ...

'' (Atlantic Records, 2014) With John Phillips * '' Pay Pack & Follow'' (Eagle Records, 2001) With

* ''

'' (Island Records, 1985)

References

External links

Guitar Graffiti, the official Chris Spedding website
* Chris Spedding biography at the AMG websitebr>Chris Spedding Official Web Radio Sub-site – includes links used above in Discography"Sound Your Funky Horn: Chris Spedding" (Interviewed on March 3, 1996) at davedimartino.wordpress.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spedding, Chris 1944 births Art rock musicians English adoptees English jazz guitarists English male guitarists English record producers English rock guitarists English session musicians English male singer-songwriters Island Records artists Harvest Records artists Living people Nucleus (band) members Musicians from Sheffield Lead guitarists People from Staveley, Derbyshire Rak Records artists British male jazz musicians Solid Gold Cadillac members