John Gustafson |
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| Birth name | John Frederick Gustafson |
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| Also known as | Johnny Gustafson, Johnny Gus |
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| Born | (1942-08-08)8 August 1942
Liverpool, Lancashire, England |
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| Died | 12 September 2014(2014-09-12) (aged 72) |
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| Genres | Rock, hard rock, pop rock, beat, jazz-fusion, folk rock |
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| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter, producer |
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| Instrument(s) | Bass guitar, vocals, guitar, piano |
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| Years active | 1960s–2014 |
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Musical artist
John Frederick "Johnny" Gustafson (8 August 1942 – 12 September 2014) was an English bass guitar player and singer, who had a lengthy recording and live performance career. During his career, he was a member of the bands The Big Three, Ian Gillan Band and his own group, Quatermass, among others. He played with Roxy Music on 3 records but was never an official member of the band. [1]
Career
Born in Liverpool to a father of Swedish descent and mother of Irish descent,[2] he is known for his work with 1960s bands The Big Three and The Merseybeats, and for singing on the original recording of Jesus Christ Superstar as Simon Zealotes. He made an appearance on Roger Glover's The Butterfly Ball and the Grasshopper's Feast album track, "Watch Out for the Bat", as a vocalist. He is probably best known for playing bass guitar for several re-incarnations of the Ian Gillan Band and for his earlier participation in the progressive rock band, Quatermass. He also re-formed The Pirates, originally the backing band for Johnny Kidd.[3]
Gustafson was a member of Roxy Music for four years from 1972 through 1975 and performed on three studio albums. However, he was frequently not with the band on live dates, often being replaced by John Wetton or Sal Maida. His final record with the band, Siren, included their only American top 40 hit single, "Love Is the Drug".[4] Frontman Bryan Ferry later called Gustafson a "wonderful player", adding, "“Love Is the Drug” wouldn’t have been anything without the bass playing. It really bought that track alive."[5]
He was bassist on several tracks for Flamenco guitarist Juan Martin's 1981 concept album, Picasso Portraits (Flamencovision CD FV 03, 1994) namely: Harlequin – 1918, Desire Caught By The Tail – 1943, The Aficionado – 1912 and Girls of Algiers – 1955. Also played on Kevin Ayers' album The Confessions of Dr Dream, 1974.
In 1983 he was in the group Rowdy which included Ray Fenwick and Billy Bremner.
Gustafson is the father of John and Lee from his first marriage, and Alice, Lucy and Joe from his marriage to Anne Gustafson, who he was married to for over 30 years until his death.
