James George Tomkins (14 February 1941 – 2 October 2012),[1] known professionally as Big Jim Sullivan, was an English guitarist.
Best known as a session guitarist, he was one of the most in-demand studio musicians in the UK in the 1960s and 1970s, and performed on around 750 charting singles over his career, including 54 UK number one hits.[2]
Early life and career
James George Tomkins was born in Hillingdon Hospital, Middlesex, England, and went to Woodfield Secondary School in Cranford, Middlesex. At the age of 14, he began learning the guitar, and within two years had turned professional.[3]
When he was young he played with Sid Gilbert and the Clay County Boys, a Western swing group, Johnny Duncan's Blue Grass Boys, Vince Taylor & the Playboys, Janice Peters & the Playboys, and the Vince Eager Band. Sullivan gave guitar lessons to near-neighbour Ritchie Blackmore.[3]
In 1959, at The 2i's Coffee Bar, he met Marty Wilde and was invited to become a member of his backing group, the Wildcats, who were the opening act in the television series, Oh Boy!, produced by Jack Good. The Wildcats backed Eddie Cochran and Gene Vincent on their tour of Britain in 1960, during which Cochran died.[3] Wilde bought Sullivan a Gibson Les Paul guitar, reputedly the first to be played in Britain, which he had bought from Sister Rosetta Tharpe. He later played a cherry-red Gibson ES-345 guitar.[4]
Jack Good introduced Sullivan to studio work. Sullivan became one of the most sought-after guitarists throughout the 1960s and the 1970s, in part because of his flexibility in playing different styles of music. He was often referred to as "Big Jim" both for his physical appearance and as he was usually first choice to play guitar on sessions for major musicians and bands. Another session musician at the time, and at some of the same sessions, Jimmy Page, was referred to as "Little Jim".[citation needed]
Sullivan played on around 750 UK chart entries, and averaged three recording sessions a day. He played on the first records in the UK to use a wah-wah effect – Michael Cox's 1961 "Sweet Little Sixteen" and Dave Berry's 1964 hit "The Crying Game" used a DeArmond Tone and Volume pedal. He played on the first record in the UK to use a fuzzbox, which he had borrowed from session guitarist Eric Ford, on P.J. Proby's 1964 hit "Hold Me".[citation needed]
In the 1960s, Sullivan learned to play the sitar, having been inspired by attending a recording session for Indian classical musician Vilayat Khan.[7] Sullivan released an album of Indian-style recordings under his own name, Sitar Beat (1967), and one as "Lord Sitar", Lord Sitar (1968).[8]
He played sitar on a musical interpretation of the Kama Sutra. Sullivan was among a group of English guitarists who adopted the sitar, including George Harrison of the Beatles,[9] whose Esher home Sullivan regularly visited to practise on the instrument.[citation needed] Throughout this period, Sullivan studied formally with Nazir Jairazbhoy and, until 1969, he all but abandoned guitar in favour of the sitar.[7] Together with Harrison, Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones and Shawn Phillips, he was among the most dedicated of the many rock guitarists who embraced the instrument during the 1960s.[10]
In 1969, Sullivan joined Tom Jones' band. During his time with Jones in Las Vegas, he met and formed a friendship with Elvis Presley. Sullivan was an innovator of the talk box, which he demonstrated on Jones' TV show. He released an instrumental album Sullivan Plays O'Sullivan (1971) and was also featured giving guitar lessons on the Bay City Rollers' TV series Shang A Lang. In the 1970s he composed the score for an episode of the science fiction series, Space: 1999 ("The Troubled Spirit"), in which he also appeared and performed part of the score on screen, as a crew member giving a Coral sitar concert.[citation needed]
In 1974, Sullivan teamed up with the record producer, Derek Lawrence, to form the record label, Retreat Records. One album release was Big Jim's Back (1975). He fronted a band called Tiger, alongside vocalist Nicky Moore, releasing three albums under this name before the group split up in 1976.
Retreat Records also produced various artists. Amongst them were Labi Siffre, Chas & Dave and McGuinness Flint. Sullivan produced and arranged Siffre's "I Got The ...", sampled by Eminem and numerous other hip hop artists. Lawrence and Sullivan went to the United States during this period, to produce the glam metal band, Angel.[4]
Sullivan later formed a duo[when?] with songwriter Duncan McKenzie. They played together for many years and recorded an album, Aquila.[citation needed]
Death
Sullivan died on 2 October 2012, aged 71 due to complications from heart disease and diabetes.[1]
1964 – Charles Blackwell and Jimmy Sullivan – Classics with a Beat (Hörzu)
1965 – Charles Blackwell and Jimmy Sullivan – Folklore with a Beat (Electrola)
1968 – Chiitra Neogy – The Perfumed Garden (Sullivan as arranger, Barry Morgan as musical advisor) (Pulsar)
1968 – Big Jim Sullivan – Sitar Beat – Album was released in UK by Mercury in 1967 as Sitar A Go Go and reissued by Mercury in January 1968 as Sitar Beat for wider distribution
^ abDave Laing (3 October 2012). "Big Jim Sullivan obituary". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 7 December 2017. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
^"Jim Marshall Passes". Vintageguitar.com. 5 April 2012. Archived from the original on 6 September 2015. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
^ abBrend, Mark (2005). Strange Sounds: Offbeat Instruments and Sonic Experiments in Pop. San Francisco, CA: Backbeat Books. p. 148. ISBN9-780879-308551.
