To me, the song Hi Ho Silver Lining by Jeff Beck,  was one of those novelty party songs of my pre-teens years. The fact that backing the lead guitarist on the record, were bassist John Paul Jones – later of Led Zep of course – legendary session drummer Clem Cattini,  with Rod ‘The Mod’ Stewart on backing vocals, and Mickey Most in the producers chair, would have been lost on me at the time.

It was only when I was buying records by the score in my early 20’s, that I discovered the tip top work of the Jeff Beck group, let alone, hearing Jeff from his time in The Yardbirds. I felt silly having dismissed the man previously because of that one single.  Every day is (still) a school day, as the over used cliche states.

He was born Geoffrey Arnold Beck in June 1944 in Wallington, Sutton, the son on Ethel, who worked in a chocolate factory and Arnold, an accountant. He was also brother to Anetta . Aged 6, he heard guitarist Les Paul playing ‘How High the Moon’ on the radio and immediately wanted to know more.  However, he had to wait, as his first taste of performing music would be as a chorister in a church choir and practising the piano two hours a day.

He would say later – ‘But that was good, because it made me realise, I was musically sound.’

He eventually found his way back to guitars and their players, and early influences included BB King and Cliff Gallup, of The Blue Caps, Gene Vincent’s backing band . Jeff learned to play either on an old borrowed instrument or tried to make his own using odd bits of picture frames and old cigar boxes.

 Beck – ‘Stretching rubber bands over tobacco cans and making horrible noises. I was interested in the electric guitar even before I knew the difference between electric and acoustic. The electric guitar seemed to be a totally fascinating plank of wood with knobs and switches on it. I just had to have one. My parents complained – about the guitar – but they didn’t stop me. I suppose they thought, ‘If he’s got the guitar, he’s not going out stealing.’ The only friends I had (then) were pretty low-life; most of them were one step away from jail.’

He then attended Wimbledon College of Art after leaving school and worked at various jobs, from painter and decorator to groundsman on a golf course to get some money together. Around this time, he  met fellow guitarist Jimmy Page, an acquaintance of his sister. Whilst at the college, Jeff played in a succession  of bands, including with Screaming Lord Sutch, playing on Dracula’s Daughter the single they recorded in 1962.

He also kept busy in 1963, playing more R ‘n’B influenced music with The Nightshift which he formed that year, and who released the single Stormy Monday. Next up he was in Rumbles who were based in Croydon and then The Tridents, straight outta Chiswick.

‘They were really my scene because they were playing flat-out R&B, like Jimmy Reed stuff, and we supercharged it all up and made it really rocky. I got off on that, even though it was only twelve-bar blues.’

Along with the live gigs, he was also finding plenty of work as a session man. He then landed the job as lead guitarist in The Yardbirds, after Jimmy Page turned them down, recommending instead his old mate Jeff . During his twenty-month stint with them, the band recorded big hits, such as Over Under Sideways Down and Shapes of Things plus the album known as Roger the Engineer’ in 1966. He is also credited during this period as popularising the use of feedback and experimenting with a fuzz box, represented in his playing on the song Heart Full of Soul.

He had also recorded the instrumental Beck’s Bolero with Keith Moon on drums, Nicky Hopkins on piano, Jimmy Page on a twelve-string guitar and John Paul Jones on bass.

‘I went over to Jim’s house and he had this 12-string Fender and he loved the idea of using a bolero-type rhythm for a rock record. He was playing the bolero rhythm and I played the melody on top of it, but then I said, ‘Jim, you’ve got to break away from the bolero beat – you can’t go on like that for ever!’  So, we stopped it dead in the middle of the song – like the Yardbirds would do on For Your Love – then we stuck that riff into the middle……I was using a Les Paul for the lead guitar and for the backwards slide guitar through a Vox AC30 – it was the only amp I had, and it was covered with beer! Actually, I think it was the beer that gave it it’s sound! You can hear Moon screaming in the middle of the record over the drum break. If you listen after the drum break you can only hear the cymbal afterwards ’cause he knocked the mic over! Wonderful!’

Page then joined The Yardbirds, first on bass, then second guitar and was part of the line-up that performed Stroll On in the film Blow Up in 1966, directed by Antonioni. In it, Beck even smashed up a guitar a la Pete Townsend.

‘Well, clearly The Who were asked to do it and they said no. I wasn’t in the position to argue when they paid us a lot of money. Antonioni said, ‘You’ll smash your guitar.’ I said, ‘No, I won’t.’ It was a sunburst Les Paul. He then said, ‘We’ll buy you another one.’ He didn’t grasp that you don’t do that to most guitars. So, they rented six beginner guitars, and they were so cheap they came in a clear plastic bag.’

After a succession of illnesses and feeling generally worn down, he then lost the gig with The Yardbirds. Failure to appear for shows and then often losing his temper, when he did, made it difficult for him to continue in the band.

Instead, he recorded for Mickey Most in 1967, including Hi Ho Silver Lining and then put together the Jeff Beck Group, with Rod Stewart on vocals, Ronnie Wood on Bass, old pal Nicky Hopkins back on the keys and at first Aynsley Dunbar on drums, later replaced by Micky Waller.

They released two albums Truth, which sold well in 1968 and Beck -Ola, which did less business in 1969. By the July of that year, the band had split. but not before laying down backing for the  track Barabajagal for Donovan, again produced by Most. 

His prowess on his instrument of choice, meant he was the name on the lips of those looking for a guitarist for their bands. Pink Floyd wanted him in 1967 to replace Sid Barrett and The Rolling Stones approached him to replace Brian Jones following his death  in the July of ’69 , just as The Jeff Beck Group was folding.

Instead, following a short break recovering from a car accident, he revived the Jeff Beck group, with Bobby Tench taking over the vocal duties. They released Rough and Ready in 1971, and Jeff Beck Group in 1972, which was recorded in Memphis with Steve Cropper , of Booker T & the MGS fame, in the production chair. Once again, the band  folded with the following statement coming from his management

‘The fusion of the musical styles of the various members has been successful within the terms of individual musicians, but they didn’t feel it had led to the creation of a new musical style with the strength they had originally sought.’

In 1975 he released Blow by Blow, his solo album , produced by George Martin,  Beck later credited Martin with salvaging his career.

‘I thought, ‘This sounds like we’re playing in the room — it’s clear and fabulous. That first album was a joy.’

It would become his most successful release. He later released There and Back in 1979 and toured that all-over the US as well as Japan and the UK. In 1981, he played with Eric Clapton for Amnesty International as part of the Secret Policeman’s Other Ball. 1984 saw him named as the inspiration for the character of Nigel Tufnel in the film ‘Spinal Tap.’

“I think the hair was, but it ends there. I knew that Christopher Guest had been watching me, but Nigel is based on different characters from Glam Rock. Ironically, I was the only one who wasn’t Glam Rock. I loved every minute of that movie.  I was watching it at a cinema in Westwood and I was laughing so loud people were telling me to shut-up. It was the funniest thing.’

1985 saw the release of Flash, with Rod Stewart back at the mic for the Curtis Mayfield tune People Get Ready.

He later commented on Stewart, with his tongue firmly planted in his cheek

‘We have a love hate relationship – he loves me, and I hate him.’

After a long recording and touring absence, caused in part from the tinnitus he was suffering from, he came back with the 1989 album Jeff Becks Guitar Shop. The rest of the 90’s and beyond then saw him guesting with a wide variety of  acts, such as Jon Bon Jovi, Hans Zimmer Roger Walters , Kate Bush, Beverley Craven, Morrisey, ZZ Top, Seal and Ozzy Osbourne.

‘Who’s gonna say no when I got the call(s)? 

I’d be proud that someone remembered I was even alive.’
 
The Yardbirds were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992. In Beck’s acceptance speech, he humorously noted that

‘Someone told me I should be proud tonight. But I’m not, because they kicked me out. They did. Fuck them! 

He released Who Else! was released in 1999 and picked up Grammys in 2000 and 2003 for Dirty Mind and Plan B respectively. He toured the world in 2009, following the appointment of renowned promoter Harvey Goldsmith as his manager. He was also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame under his own name, with the award being presented by his old pal Jimmy Page.

‘I couldn’t believe I was even nominated’ Beck later told Rolling Stone magazine ‘I thought the Yardbirds was as close as I’d get to getting in. I’ve gone on long after that and gone through different musical changes. It’s very nice to hear that people have been listening.’

2013 saw him touring with Brian Wilson and 2018 saw him collaborate with long-time pal Johnny Depp on the John Lennon song Isolation which was released in response to the Covid 19 lockdowns.

‘We weren’t expecting to release it so soon but given all the hard days and true ‘isolation’ that people are going through in these challenging times, we decided now might be the right time to let you all hear it.’ July 2022 saw the release of their album 18, which consisted of mainly cover versions.

Off stage, Jeff married twice, first to Patricia in 1963, divorcing in 1967 and for a second time in 2005, to Sandra. When not playing,  Jeff loved nothing better than tinkering with classic Ford Hot Rods, fixing up the engines and exteriors himself. 

When Clapton and Page appeared at Live Aid in 1985, Beck preferred to stay at home and tinker with his beloved collection of classic cars.

‘I didn’t want to go, because I hate large crowds.’

Jeff Beck died from bacterial meningitis in hospital, on the 10^th of January 2023. He was 78. 

 Jimmy Page – ‘The six stringed warrior is no longer here for us to admire the spell he could weave around our mortal emotions. Jeff could channel music from the ethereal. His technique unique. His imaginations apparently limitless. Jeff I will miss you along with your millions of fans.’

Mick Jagger  -‘With the death of Jeff Beck we have lost a wonderful man and one of the greatest guitar players in the world. We will all miss him so much.’

Ronnie Wood – ‘Now Jeff has gone, I feel like one of my band of brothers has left this world, and I’m going to dearly miss him.’

Rod Stewart – ‘Jeff Beck was on another planet. He took me and Ronnie Wood to the USA in the late 60s in his band the Jeff Beck Group and we haven’t looked back since. He was one of the few guitarists that when playing live would actually listen to me sing and respond. Jeff, you were the greatest, my man. Thank you for everything. RIP.’

Slash of Guns N Roses – ‘It’s a lot easier to appreciate Beck’s guitar playing if you’re a guitar player. He just has such a natural control over the instrument. It’s the ability to make it do something that you’ve never heard anybody else do. Blow by Blow is the album I had when I was a kid. He would go from love songs to a really blistering, hard-rock, heavy-sounding guitar without ever going over the top.’

Paul McCartney – ‘Jeff Beck was a lovely man with a wicked sense of humour who played some of the best guitar music ever to come out of Great Britain. He was a superb technician and could strip down his guitar and put it back together again in time for the show. His unique style of playing was something that no one could match, and I will always remember the great times we had together. He would come over to dinner at our place or he and his wife, Sandra, would host an evening at their house. Jeff had immaculate taste in most things and was an expert at rebuilding his collection of cars. His no nonsense attitude to the music business was always so refreshing and I will cherish forever the moments we spent together. Jeff Beck has left the building and it is a lonelier place without him.’

The man himself – ‘I’ve never made the big time, mercifully probably. When you look around and see who has made it huge, it’s a really rotten place to be when you think about it. Maybe I’m blessed with not having had that. And I have to look at it that way. When Led Zeppelin made it so big, I was jealous, absolutely jealous as hell. But I’m glad I carried on as I was. 

I personally couldn’t have put up with that mass adulation.’

 

The Mumper of SE5

Read The Mumper’s other weekly musings on ‘The Speakeasy’ blog page

 

 

 

ART GALLERY CLOTHING

Knitwear

 

JOIN US

Sign up to our newsletter and receive an exclusive promo code, latest news & Art Gallery Clothing offers.