I heard this week that Peter Hook, bass player with New Order, is putting together a new side-project. This is to be – I can barely contain myself – a bassplayer supergroup! Hooky will be teaming up with Mani Mountfield (ex Stone Roses) and Andy Rourke (ex Smiths) under the catchy monicker Freebass (maybe Bassic Instinct was already taken, and BassCamp was a bit too, well, camp).
What on earth are they thinking of? Whilst all three are undoubtedly accomplished bass players (although I don’t recall Rourke doing anything substantive since the late ’80s), they aren’t exactly the ‘creative spirits’ behind their regular bands, are they? And last time I saw Hooky on Top Of The Pops (plugging the underwhelming Crafty) his bass was slung so low he was staggering around like someone’s drunk granddad at a family wedding, not so much crossing as tripping over the fine line between ‘trademark’ and ‘charicature’.
Besides, bass is hardly the most dynamic of instruments, is it? There are very few people outside of the jazz world who can pull off an interesting bass solo (maybe Scott Thunes?). Everyone else just veers into Spinal Tap territory – “We hope you like our new direction!”. And why does it take three of them? That’s almost a string each. I can just picture the gigs, – all three of then standing in a circle, like Status Quo without the denim, trying to ‘out-bass’ each other. I’m sure the ‘duelling basses’ segment will be a real crowd-pleaser!
Still they may yet save themselves the embarrassment, as they have yet to find a suitable (or willing?) vocalist. Freebass have been advertising in the trade journals to no avail, prompting Hooky to float the idea of an X-Factor style competition! (Now that will be must-see TV! Not.) Maybe they can get Andrew Eldritch, or Stuart Staples, and then the world of subsonic sound will be theirs for the taking…
Leave a Reply