www.townsendmusic.co.uk bass

all photographs on this site © Paul Townsend.

Thanks to his parents' foresight, Paul was already reading music around the time he discovered his first Famous Five book, having had piano lessons from the age of 6 near his home in Treorchy, Rhondda. Not long afterwards, he became (a very bad) euphonium, then trombone player in the Treorchy Youth Band despite the musical directorship of the inspirational Ieuan Morgan. Membership of the East Glamorgan Youth Band and Parc And Dare Band followed, although by this time Paul had morphed into a percussionist, having been seduced by ownership of a (rather fragile, as it turned out) plastic Ringo Starr snare drum.

Deciding on a career as an Army musician, he left Porth Grammar School - briefly enjoying a few exciting, rogue months as the drummer for a local, gigging pop "group" in the interim. History doesn't tell us what became of The Nameless Ones following his departure...

Having been auditioned by Director of Music Major Kenney, he studied composition, cello, piano and percussion firstly at Pirbright, and then Kneller Hall, from where he graduated with the prestigious Cousins Memorial, Cassel, Denis Brady and Alisdair Tuck prizes amongst others. He started playing bass whilst still in the Band Of The Welsh Guards (having been sold a battered 1957 Fender P-Bass) and discovered an affinity with the instrument - so much so that he left the army to start a career as a professional bass guitarist.

In 1978, with a West End club residency, a holiday camp summer season and a thousand other cabaret, pub (and worse) gigs under his bass-playing belt, Paul was summoned to his first proper recording session (at Pye Studios, London) as an emergency stand-in for the double-booked, regular bassist on the recommendation of ace drummer Tom Nichol...a turning point in his career...

Within a year, he found himself increasingly working on recording sessions and TV shows in addition to live gigs - including an enyoyable 10 day engagement in (the then distant and exotic) Dubai, with the late Derek Nimmo. Also, around this time, he performed and recorded with keyboardist/composer Geoff Castle's band Strange Fruit and guitarist Alan Pritchard's Detour: both exciting, demanding and important jazz/fusion bands. These experiences confirmed Paul's love of the genre, and inspired him as a composer.

In 1979 he was invited to become of member of controversial comedian Jim Davidson's touring and recording band; the start of an interesting and enduring working relationship, and leading to Paul meeting and playing with Keith Emerson, Denny Laine, Carl Wayne, Roy Wood and others. He also recorded Guitar Trek, the first of his two albums with innovative 12 stringer Paul Brett. Gigs in the eighties ranged from tours of Japan, the Middle East and Australia with singers Salena Jones, Petula Clark and Cilla Black, TV credits on such shows as Top Of The Pops, Auf Weidersehen Pet and The Hot Shoe Show, to West End theatre shows (They're Playing Our Song, Chess, Time) and hundreds of jingles and TV themes. From 1982, Paul was a featured player and writer in the celebrated south London jazz/funk band Lipslide - along with prominent altoist Andy Mackintosh and guitarist Ken Shaw. He was also one third of Jools and the Fools alongside Julia Roberts and underrated songwriter Chris Maxwell. In 1986, he teamed up with a close friend (another guitarist) - Arthur Dick - to form a music production company based firstly at their studio in Paul's home, and later in Soho. In the 5 years of its existence the two wrote and recorded hundreds of TV and radio jingles as well as award-winning scores for corporate projects and films, whilst still functioning as busy, freelance musicians ...a hectic time... Leaving the Soho premises in 1991, they returned to their primary roles as instrumenatalists, collaborating as writers and producers on the less formal basis that remains to this day.

Paul continued to play with a long list of writers and performers - such diverse artists as Bono and The Edge, Lulu, Steve Coogan, the Proclaimers, Max Boyce, Queen's Roger Taylor, Reeves and Mortimer, Pete Wingfield and Madeline Bell. This was also a particularly productive time with production house Mingles (now Music By Design), for which Paul, as first-call bassist, played on countless broadcast titles - notably the long-running Toys'r'Us jingle and TV themes for Jim'll Fix It and Challenge Anneka. A long way on from his first call from Mingles founder David Mindel in 1985 (to play on the Russell Harty theme) he still does the odd session when a "real" bass is required...

Although from the late 90's, Paul's parallel arranging career has been in the ascendant (see 'Arrange' page), this hasn't been to the detriment of his bass activities: he was more than happy to be in the band of the hit West End musical Smokey Joe's Cafe (he got to meet Jerry Lieber) and recent prestigious clients include Dead Ringers, Russell Watson, The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Gaia Riva.

Since 1999, Paul has been involved with many "Play Guitar With..." and "Play Bass With..." CD/Book sets for Music Sales UK...not only faithfully transcribing the bass lines of everyone from McCartney, Entwhistle and John Paul Jones to Guy Berryman and Chris Wolstenholme, but playing them, too.

Bass lessons

If you're thinking of taking up bass guitar (or already play and want to improve your technique and broaden your musical horizons) and live in the Whitstable/Canterbury/Herne Bay area, please get in touch.

enquiries@townsendmusic.co.uk

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