“My taking part in was a response to whoever mentioned, ‘Bass ought to be felt and never heard’. To me, bass ought to be like warfare!” Derek Forbes, founder member of Easy Minds, on his 5 finest basslines

If you happen to have been a bass participant in a giant British pop band within the early Eighties, we envy you: it was a golden period for the instrument, particularly if the music leaned extra closely on keyboards than guitars. New Order, Duran Duran, Japan, Kajagoogoo, A Flock Of Seagulls and the opposite nicely-coiffured large names all positioned melodic, mids-heavy bass guitar at entrance and centre of their preparations, and equally excessive within the combine. Add to that listing the Scottish quintet Easy Minds, whose authentic bassist Derek Forbes gifted his band and followers with a ton of earworm strains. 

Forbes, now 67, seems to be again on his seven-year stint with Easy Minds with good humour, each on this interview and in his new autobiography, A Very Simple Mind. As he remarks: “What bassists like me did on the time was in response to whoever mentioned, ‘Bass ought to be felt and never heard’. To me, bass ought to be like warfare – you need the primary few rows to shit themselves!”

Gear-wise, Forbes used three fundamental basses with Easy Minds: fretted and fretless Wals, and a 1979 fretless sienna-burst Fender Precision. Though he was fired from the band with little clarification in 1985, his relationship with singer Jim Kerr and guitarist Charlie Burchill was finally repaired and he returned as a touring member from 1995 to 1998, by which era he was utilizing Vigier basses. 

A fingerstyle and choose participant, Forbes additionally used a hybrid strategy on songs such because the 1981 single The American, as he explains: “The method I used there was to choose the decrease notes with a plectrum and use my fingers to pop the strings on the similar time. I really like that line: it’s so highly effective.”

Between his two stints in Easy Minds, Forbes performed with Propaganda for seven years; he additionally performed with The Alarm and recorded the extravagant bass half for Kirsty MacColl’s 1985 hit A New England, in addition to doing three years in Huge Nation. On prime of that, he’s been a prolific solo artist: learn A Very Easy Thoughts for an eye-opening perception right into a musician’s life properly lived. 

Premonition (from Actual To Actual Cacophony, 1979)

“I got here up with this riff earlier than I joined Easy Minds. It was impressed by Andy Fraser of Free, and particularly their tune I’ll Be Creepin’. I cherished Free, and noticed them stay a couple of occasions. After we recorded the tune, Charlie performed large energy chords within the refrain and Mick [MacNeil, keyboards] added a rock’n’roll piano half. I used to be taking part in Guild basses again then, earlier than I converted to Fenders: I appreciated Precisions, however not Jazz basses, as a result of they at all times regarded, properly, too jazzy. Precisions look a bit extra streetwise.”

Sons And Fascination (from Sons And Fascination/Sister Emotions Name, 1981)

“This bass half was impressed by Stanley Clarke. I used to be on the Townhouse Studios in London, and there was a wee document retailer alongside the street, so I went in there and bought College Days (1976) and The Clarke/Duke Undertaking (1981). I believed they have been nice, so once I went again to the studio and so they have been recording this tune, I got here up with a bass-line with all these elements which can be like Stanley. I met him as soon as, and instructed him I’d ripped off all his bass-lines – and he walked away!”

Glittering Prize (from New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84), 1982)

“I wrote this tune on magic mushrooms. The entire New Gold Dream album was made on them – I name it our Sgt Pepper for that cause. We have been rehearsing in a studio in Fife, and there was a chef who used to say ‘Need magic mushrooms with that?’ We had mushroom tea, mushroom espresso, mushroom stroganoff… mix these with ‘persona cigarettes’ and so they had fairly an impact. I had no drawback writing and taking part in the bass elements, although. I may roll a joint with one hand whereas using a motorcycle if I needed to. By the way in which, Herbie Hancock guested on this album – we used to name him Natural Treatment.”

Somebody Someplace In Summertime (from New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84), 1982)

“I don’t know the way I got here up with this half – it was in all probability the mushrooms once more. It’s fairly a fluid bass-line, and there’s so much to it. I used to throw notes in to punctuate the adjustments. It ended up being a fantastic little groove. I bear in mind round this time I used to be slapping a notice and my thumb burst and there was blood in every single place, however I didn’t cease taking part in. U2’s supervisor Paul McGuinness noticed this occur and was impressed: there was truly a dialog about me changing Adam Clayton in U2, as he was being slightly too rock’n’roll for them on the time, however it by no means went any additional than that.”

Waterfront (from Sparkle In The Rain, 1984)

“The primary time I performed this half, I used the built-in sampler on a Dynacord Turbo guitar combo. You flipped the change and it could pattern as much as 1.5 seconds of your bass taking part in. I’d have used my fretless Wal bass for this tune. I performed two notes on the open D string on my Wal fretless, utilizing a choose, and that was it. We used a rackmounted AMS sampler within the studio to repeat that trick, however I performed the road during once we did Waterfront stay, as a result of we by no means went out with any sampling gear. Once I got here again to the band for the 1995 tour we used a pattern stay, so I didn’t need to play it during any extra. It’s a fantastic bass half: I nonetheless bear in mind taking part in it for Jim, who was sitting on prime of my 8×10 bass cupboard, and him writing the tune’s lyrics in his pocket book. He regarded like a wee elf up there!” 

A Very Simple Mind is out now. For more information, go to his website.

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Joel McIver was the Editor of Bass Participant journal from 2018 to 2022, having spent six years earlier than that modifying Bass Guitar journal. A journalist with 25 years’ expertise within the music area, he is additionally the writer of 35 books, a few bestsellers amongst them. He recurrently seems on podcasts, radio and TV.