Gringo,
I like your style so I tell you a couple of tales.
BUT....nothing here is for publication....just between us sanddancers....right?
First off. I did play a white Precision, but I retired from public playing in 1975, so it wasn't me at the New Crown.
A quick potted history of the Bond.
I'm a bad one to ask about this sort of thing 'cos I was always on the p**s at the time which does cloud the old memory banks.
The Bond was made up of an amalgam of two groups. Les Gofton and Dave Bainbridge (both guitarists) from the Sneakers. Myself (bass) and Robin Thompson (drums) from The Way In. Hence the name, bonding two defunct groups together. This was coined by our manager Dave Walker (who is now the famous Erasmus Bottle).
The initial magic of the group was the opposite attractions of Les and Dave. Two guitar players of quite different styles, Dave being the (Clapton style) perfectionist with a clean crisp Telecaster blues style and Les with his country blues/folk based improvisations. These variations led to the band playing a wide range of material from the (standard first number) guitar translation of Midnight Hour to a whole range of extended versions of numbers from the catalogue of Bluesbreakers, Cream, Hendrix, together with many standards from the motown stable...done in our own style.
As was the usual tale, personality differences were the downfall. From my own point of view, I was the youngest member (only 17 I think) but did partake far too much of the brown stuff. The guitar players were usually off on separate ego trips and ....well the last I remember (which is all very blurred) Rob the drummer went his own way to be replaced by another excellent drummer (who I won't name as he is a member of this board but hasn't declared a stake in this discussion, so I respect his privacy) for a short period. I think there was still some unrest which ended up with myself and this other drummer taking a (short) job with the famous Pat Grover from Hebburn in his band called One More Mile. This, again for personality clash reasons, didn't last very long.
After that I gave up the Blues/Rock scene altogether and drifted into the folk scene where I played acoustic bass and other instruments in a band called Crooked Oak.
I met my present wife in '74 and gave up public playing in '75.
I now play and record at home, doing musical collaborations on the internet with people from all over the world, from my home built studio in the attic.
If you want any more detailed information you are welcome to PM me and we'll see what I can dredge up.
