Herbie Flowers: 1938-2024
Legendary musician Brian Kieth Flowers, otherwise known as ‘Herbie Flowers’, has died aged 86. Originally from Isleworth, Middlesex, Flowers was multi-talented, specialising in the tuba and double bass, but most known for his ability on the guitar. He leaves behind a legacy that aligns him with the likes of Sir Elton John, Sir Paul McCartney, and Marc Bolan. Flowers features on Bowie favourites like Space Oddity (1969) and Rebel Rebel (1974), but his most celebrated bass line is from Lou Reed’s single Walk on the Wild Side from his Transformer album (1972).
Said to have recorded more than 20,000 sessions, and regarded as the man behind some of the greatest rock songs of all time, his death comes as a great loss to the music world.
From RAF to T.Rex
Flowers had an unusual start to his music career. He began his musical training after being conscripted to the Royal Air Force in 1956. He originally elected to serve as a bandsman for nine years playing the tuba, which gave him a solid jazz foundation for his career in rock music. To achieve his ‘Junior Technician’ stripe he also took up the double bass and then moved on to the instrument that would cement his place in the Hall of Fame: the bass guitar.
He left the RAF in 1965 and played jazz on liners such as the Queen Elizabeth. He found himself in New York where he first heard the sound of the bass guitar in a nightclub. This encouraged him to buy his first Lake Placid Blue 1960 Fender Jazz Bass for $79 from Manny’s Music, a music shop frequented by greats like Johnny Cash, Jimi Hendrix and David Gilmour. This began his journey to become a highly-regarded session musician, leading him to soon work with Mickie Most and Tony Visconti (Bowie’s long time producer).
One of the musician’s longest working relationships was with Bowie, who he described as the “greatest British artist since Shakespeare.” They collaborated for over ten years, tracing it all back to Maida Vale studios in the late 1960’s. He worked on his Diamond Dogs (1973-4) album and joined him on tour where they established a firm friendship.
In 1976 Flowers joined T.Rex, a rock band known for hits Get it On (1971) and 20th Century Boy (1973). This was short-lived as they disbanded after singer Marc Bolan’s sudden death in 1977. Despite the ‘sex, drugs and rock n’ roll’ mythology that surrounds bands like T.Rex, Flowers said to Until Dawn that his favourite memory of T.Rex was at a Little Chef on the A1:
“The two loos, like all loos had great echoey accoustics, so we had a rude noise competition. Whoever could make the loudest raspberry by blowing in the inside part of the elbow would win. Tony Newman won hands down.
He went on to clarify: “I was second.”
A Rock n’ Roll Legend
In 1979, Flowers formed band Sky alongside members John Williams, Kevin Peek, Tristan Fry and Francis Monkman. It consisted of both British and Australian artists and combined rock, classical and jazz music. The bassist acknowledged the group’s inability to be categorised. In an interview with Louder’s Paul Lester, he stated that the band doesn't: “qualify for electro pop or prog rock”.
In later life, Flowers remained a rock n’ roll misfit by residing in the quaint town of Ditchling in East Sussex. Here, he shared his passion for music by forming local choir Shoreham Singers-by-Sea in 2009. This evolved into the Ditchling Singers in 2010 which was in excess of 150 members.
Herbie Flowers lived a more rock n’ roll life than most. This does not mean sex, drugs or destruction; but spontaneity, art and tenacity. Musicians like Flowers cause listeners to rethink their favourite tracks, and consider the collaborative effort that is needed to produce many of the songs that will survive the passage of time.