B. J. Cole
Encyclopedia
Brian John Cole is an English
pedal steel guitar
ist. Coming to prominence in the early 1970s with the band Cochise
, Cole has played in many styles of music, ranging from mainstream pop and rock, to jazz and eclectic experimental music
.
He played and is heavily featured with Deke Leonard's (~MAN) Help Yourself band at the legendary live concert/recording 'Christmas at the Patti, (19th Dec 1972 Patti Pavilion Swansea). The resultant album was issued as an unusual 10" double LP and at a budget price of only £1.43 due to vinyl shortages at the time of the 1970s energy crisis
. He later played with Marc Bolan
/ T.Rex on their 1974 album Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow
, as well as with Elton John
on his albums Tumbleweed Connection
and Madman Across The Water
, specifically on the song
s "Country Comfort" and "Tiny Dancer". For a few select appearances in 1998, Cole joined R.E.M.
for live performances of the latter's "Daysleeper
", "Country Feedback
", "Man on the Moon
", and a cover
of Iggy Pop
's "The Passenger
", which closed out the band's appearance on Later with Jools Holland
. He has also worked with Cat Stevens
, Kevin Ayers
, Billy Connolly
, Richard Ashcroft
, The Verve
, Luke Vibert
, Graham Coxon
, Roger Waters
, Juno Reactor
, Rockin Dave Taylor, Depeche Mode
, Doll by Doll
, Devon Sproule
, Björk
, Chumbawamba
, David Gilmour
, Hanson
, Ian Siegal
, Jah Wobble
, The Stranglers
, Sting, Icebreaker
and Brian Joseph Friel
.
Cole features on the track "Then I Close My Eyes" on David Gilmour
's 2006 album On An Island
. He also appears on The Moody Blues
' 1981 album Long Distance Voyager
playing on the track "In My World".
Cole also appeared (as 'Manley Footwear') in the Hank Wangford
band. When The Verve
's lead guitar
ist Nick McCabe
left in the summer of 1998, Cole took over from him for the live dates
.
He currently plays once a month at Darbucka World Music Bar in Clerkenwell
, London
, alongside Steve Lawson and other experimental ambient
/jazz
musicians as part of The Recycle Collective, and has recently been appearing as featured soloist with Icebreaker
, in a live version of Brian Eno
's album, Apollo: Atmospheres & Soundtracks.
Solo
With Luke Vibert
With Pete Molinari
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
pedal steel guitar
Pedal steel guitar
The pedal steel guitar is a type of electric guitar that uses a metal bar to "fret" or shorten the length of the strings, rather than fingers on strings as with a conventional guitar. Unlike other types of steel guitar, it also uses pedals and knee levers to affect the pitch, hence the name "pedal"...
ist. Coming to prominence in the early 1970s with the band Cochise
Cochise (band)
Cochise was an English country rock band that performed in the 1970s.This band is more significant for who they included than what they produced. Singer Stewart Brown had grown up with Reggie Dwight, later Elton John, and co-founded the band Bluesology with him. After the demise of Cochise, Mick...
, Cole has played in many styles of music, ranging from mainstream pop and rock, to jazz and eclectic experimental music
Experimental music
Experimental music refers, in the English-language literature, to a compositional tradition which arose in the mid-20th century, applied particularly in North America to music composed in such a way that its outcome is unforeseeable. Its most famous and influential exponent was John Cage...
.
He played and is heavily featured with Deke Leonard's (~MAN) Help Yourself band at the legendary live concert/recording 'Christmas at the Patti, (19th Dec 1972 Patti Pavilion Swansea). The resultant album was issued as an unusual 10" double LP and at a budget price of only £1.43 due to vinyl shortages at the time of the 1970s energy crisis
1970s energy crisis
The 1970s energy crisis was a period in which the major industrial countries of the world, particularly the United States, faced substantial shortages, both perceived and real, of petroleum...
. He later played with Marc Bolan
Marc Bolan
Marc Bolan was an English singer-songwriter, guitarist and poet. He is best known as the founder, frontman, lead singer & guitarist for T. Rex, but also a successful solo artist...
/ T.Rex on their 1974 album Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow
Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow
Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow – A Creamed Cage in August is the ninth studio album by Marc Bolan & T. Rex, released in February 1974. When originally released the initial pressings were a multi-layered triple gatefold sleeve, a latticework image of the current cover featuring...
, as well as with Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
on his albums Tumbleweed Connection
Tumbleweed Connection
Tumbleweed Connection is the third album by English international recording artist Elton John. It is a concept album based on the Country and Western/Americana themes. All songs are written by Bernie Taupin and Elton John with the exception of "Love Song" by Lesley Duncan. It was recorded at...
and Madman Across The Water
Madman Across the Water
Madman Across the Water is the fourth studio album by British singer/songwriter Elton John, released in 1971 through DJM/Uni Records. The title song, "Madman Across the Water", was set to be released on Elton John's previous album Tumbleweed Connection. However, it was set aside and would...
, specifically on the song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
s "Country Comfort" and "Tiny Dancer". For a few select appearances in 1998, Cole joined R.E.M.
R.E.M.
R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's...
for live performances of the latter's "Daysleeper
Daysleeper
"Daysleeper" is a song by R.E.M., released as their first single from their eleventh studio album Up, and the first single to be released by the band since the departure of drummer Bill Berry.Sleep and dreams have often played an important part in R.E.M...
", "Country Feedback
Country Feedback
"Country Feedback" is a song by R.E.M. from their 1991 album Out of Time.Michael Stipe has claimed that he did not even write the whole lyric down, that he "just had a piece of paper with a few words. I sang it and I walked out." The following day, the hastily-improvised take was deemed good enough...
", "Man on the Moon
Man on the Moon (song)
"Man on the Moon" is a song by the American alternative rock band R.E.M., released as the second single from its 1992 album Automatic for the People. The song makes numerous references to the performer Andy Kaufman, including his Elvis impersonation and work with wrestlers Fred Blassie and Jerry...
", and a cover
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of Iggy Pop
Iggy Pop
Iggy Pop is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Though considered an innovator of punk rock, Pop's music has encompassed a number of styles over the years, including pop, metal, jazz and blues...
's "The Passenger
The Passenger (song)
"The Passenger" is a song by Iggy Pop and Ricky Gardiner, recorded and released by Iggy Pop on the Lust for Life album in 1977. It was also released as the B-side of the album's only single, "Success"...
", which closed out the band's appearance on Later with Jools Holland
Later with Jools Holland
Later... with Jools Holland is a contemporary British music television show hosted by Jools Holland. A spin-off of The Late Show, it has been running in short series since 1992 and is a part of BBC Two's late-night line-up, usually at around 11pm to 12 midnight...
. He has also worked with Cat Stevens
Cat Stevens
Yusuf Islam , commonly known by his former stage name Cat Stevens, is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, educator, philanthropist, and prominent convert to Islam....
, Kevin Ayers
Kevin Ayers
Kevin Ayers is an English singer-songwriter and was a major influential force in the English psychedelic movement...
, Billy Connolly
Billy Connolly
William "Billy" Connolly, Jr., CBE is a Scottish comedian, musician, presenter and actor. He is sometimes known, especially in his native Scotland, by the nickname The Big Yin...
, Richard Ashcroft
Richard Ashcroft
Richard Paul Ashcroft is an English singer-songwriter. He was the lead singer and occasional guitarist of alternative rock band The Verve from their formation in 1990 until their split in 1999, and continues as a lead vocalist working with guitars and keyboards...
, The Verve
The Verve
The Verve were an English rock band formed in 1989 in Wigan by lead vocalist Richard Ashcroft, guitarist Nick McCabe, bassist Simon Jones, and drummer Peter Salisbury. Guitarist and keyboardist Simon Tong later became a member. Beginning with a psychedelic sound indebted to shoegazing and space...
, Luke Vibert
Luke Vibert
Luke Vibert is a British recording artist and producer known for his work in many subgenres of electronic music. Vibert began his musical career as a member of the Hate Brothers, only later branching out into his own compositions...
, Graham Coxon
Graham Coxon
Graham Leslie Coxon is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and painter. He came to prominence as the lead guitarist, backing vocalist and occasional lead vocalist of rock band Blur, and is also a critically acclaimed solo artist, having recorded seven solo albums...
, Roger Waters
Roger Waters
George Roger Waters is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. He was a founding member of the progressive rock band Pink Floyd, serving as bassist and co-lead vocalist. Following the departure of bandmate Syd Barrett in 1968, Waters became the band's lyricist, principal songwriter...
, Juno Reactor
Juno Reactor
Juno Reactor is a musical and performing act known for the cinematic fusion of electronic, orchestral, and global music. Central to the project is Ben Watkins and his collaborations with a constantly changing ensemble of musicians from across the world, including percussionist Mabi Thobejane from...
, Rockin Dave Taylor, Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in 1980 in Basildon, Essex. The group's original line-up consisted of Dave Gahan , Martin Gore , Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke...
, Doll by Doll
Doll by Doll
Doll by Doll were a London based rock band formed by Jackie Leven in 1975. They came to prominence during the New Wave period but were largely ignored by the music press of the time - their emotional, psychedelic-tinged music was judged out of step with other bands of the time .The original line up...
, Devon Sproule
Devon Sproule
Devon Sproule is a musician based for many years in Charlottesville, Virginia. She married musician and singer-songwriter Paul Curreri in 2005. She shared the prestigious ASCAP Foundation Sammy Cahn Award for 2009 with Oren Lavie...
, Björk
Björk
Björk Guðmundsdóttir , known as Björk , is an Icelandic singer-songwriter. Her eclectic musical style has achieved popular acknowledgement and popularity within many musical genres, such as rock, jazz, electronic dance music, classical and folk...
, Chumbawamba
Chumbawamba
Chumbawamba is a British musical group who have, over a career spanning nearly three decades, played punk rock, pop-influenced music, world music, and folk music...
, David Gilmour
David Gilmour
David Jon Gilmour, CBE, D.M. is an English rock musician and multi-instrumentalist who is best known as the guitarist, one of the lead singers and main songwriters in the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. In addition to his work with Pink Floyd, Gilmour has worked as a producer for a variety of...
, Hanson
Hanson (band)
Hanson are an American pop rock band formed in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by brothers Isaac , Taylor , and Zac Hanson . They are best known for the 1997 hit song "MMMBop" from their major label debut album Middle of Nowhere, which earned three Grammy nominations...
, Ian Siegal
Ian Siegal
Ian Siegal is a British blues singer and guitarist, whose style reflects the more rootsy side of the genre, drawing on influences such as Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, Bo Diddley, Son House, Junior Kimbrough and Tom Waits....
, Jah Wobble
Jah Wobble
Jah Wobble is an English bass guitarist, singer, poet and composer. He became known to a wider audience as the original bass player in Public Image Ltd in the late 1970s and early 1980s, but left the band after two albums...
, The Stranglers
The Stranglers
The Stranglers are an English punk/rock music group.Scoring some 23 UK top 40 singles and 17 UK top 40 albums to date in a career spanning five decades, the Stranglers are the longest-surviving and most "continuously successful" band to have originated in the UK punk scene of the mid to late 1970s...
, Sting, Icebreaker
Icebreaker (band)
Icebreaker is a UK-based new music ensemble founded by James Poke and John Godfrey. The group have established themselves as one of the UK's leading new music interpreters specializing particularly in post-minimal and "totalist" repertoire. They always play amplified and have a reputation for...
and Brian Joseph Friel
Brian Joseph Friel
Brian Joseph Friel is a Scottish folk, country and rock singer-songwriter and guitarist.-Biography:He released two albums on the Dawn Records label , Brian Joseph Friel, otherwise known as Second Hand Dealer and Arrivederci Ardrossan...
.
Cole features on the track "Then I Close My Eyes" on David Gilmour
David Gilmour
David Jon Gilmour, CBE, D.M. is an English rock musician and multi-instrumentalist who is best known as the guitarist, one of the lead singers and main songwriters in the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. In addition to his work with Pink Floyd, Gilmour has worked as a producer for a variety of...
's 2006 album On An Island
On an Island
On an Island is the third solo album by David Gilmour, best known as vocalist and lead guitarist for Pink Floyd. It was released in the UK on 6 March 2006, Gilmour's 60th birthday, and in the United States the following day. It was Gilmour's first new solo album in 22 years...
. He also appears on The Moody Blues
The Moody Blues
The Moody Blues are an English rock band. Among their innovations was a fusion with classical music, most notably in their 1967 album Days of Future Passed....
' 1981 album Long Distance Voyager
Long Distance Voyager
Long Distance Voyager is the tenth album by the British rock band The Moody Blues, first released in May 1981. on the group's Threshold record label...
playing on the track "In My World".
Cole also appeared (as 'Manley Footwear') in the Hank Wangford
Hank Wangford
Hank Wangford is a distinguished English country and western songwriter. Hank Wangford is the stage name of Dr. Samuel Hutt, . His music is notable for its humour and cheerful irony, and occasional excursions into biting political undercurrent....
band. When The Verve
The Verve
The Verve were an English rock band formed in 1989 in Wigan by lead vocalist Richard Ashcroft, guitarist Nick McCabe, bassist Simon Jones, and drummer Peter Salisbury. Guitarist and keyboardist Simon Tong later became a member. Beginning with a psychedelic sound indebted to shoegazing and space...
's lead guitar
Lead guitar
Lead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
ist Nick McCabe
Nick McCabe
Nick McCabe is a musician best known as the lead guitarist of The Verve.-Early life:Nick McCabe was the son of a bus driver and has two older brothers, Alan and Paul...
left in the summer of 1998, Cole took over from him for the live dates
Concert
A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
.
He currently plays once a month at Darbucka World Music Bar in Clerkenwell
Clerkenwell
Clerkenwell is an area of central London in the London Borough of Islington. From 1900 to 1965 it was part of the Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury. The well after which it was named was rediscovered in 1924. The watchmaking and watch repairing trades were once of great importance...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, alongside Steve Lawson and other experimental ambient
Ambient music
Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...
/jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
musicians as part of The Recycle Collective, and has recently been appearing as featured soloist with Icebreaker
Icebreaker (band)
Icebreaker is a UK-based new music ensemble founded by James Poke and John Godfrey. The group have established themselves as one of the UK's leading new music interpreters specializing particularly in post-minimal and "totalist" repertoire. They always play amplified and have a reputation for...
, in a live version of Brian Eno
Brian Eno
Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
's album, Apollo: Atmospheres & Soundtracks.
Discography
With CochiseCochise
Cochise was a chief of the Chokonen band of the Chiricahua Apache and the leader of an uprising that began in 1861. Cochise County, Arizona is named after him.-Biography:...
- CochiseCochise (album)Cochise is the debut album from the British rock band Cochise.-Track list:#"Velvet Mountain" – 3:26#"China" –3:55#"Trafalgar Day" Cochise is the debut album from the British rock band Cochise.-Track list:#"Velvet Mountain" (Mick Grabham) – 3:26#"China"...
(United Artists Uas 29177) 1970 - Swallow TalesSwallow TalesSwallow Tales is a 1971 album by British country rock band Cochise.Cochise was most well known for guitarist Mick Grabham, who joined British rock band Procol Harum after Cochise dissolved in 1972. The album was released in 1971, and featured several supporting artists including Tim Renwick and...
(Liberty Lbg 83428) 1971 - So Far (United Artists Uas 29286) 1972
Solo
- The New Hovering Dog (1972)
- Transparent Music (1989)
- Heart Of The Moment (1995)
- Trouble In Paradise (2004)
With Luke Vibert
Luke Vibert
Luke Vibert is a British recording artist and producer known for his work in many subgenres of electronic music. Vibert began his musical career as a member of the Hate Brothers, only later branching out into his own compositions...
- Drum 'n' Bass 'n' SteelDrum 'n' Bass 'n' SteelDrum 'n' Bass 'n' Steel is a 12" vinyl release of a collaboration between Luke Vibert and BJ Cole.-Track listing:Side A#"Drum 'n' Bass 'n' Steel" - 5:46Side B#"Tom 'n' Us" - 4:04#*Bass guitar: Tom Jenkinson#"Party Animal" - 4:00...
(1999) - Stop The PanicStop the PanicStop the Panic is a collaboration album by Luke Vibert and B. J. Cole, originally released in the UK by Cooking Vinyl and Law & Auder Records.-Credits:*Bass: Andy Hamill*Drums: Jeremy Simmonds*Engineer, guitar, mixed by: B.J...
(2000) - Spring CollectionSpring CollectionSpring Collaboration is a collaboration EP by Luke Vibert and BJ Cole.-CD version:#"Swing Lite - Alright"#"Aahfternoon"#"Party Animal "#*Remix: Mr...
(2000)
With Pete Molinari
- A Virtual Landslide (2008)
Appeared on
- Elvis CostelloElvis CostelloElvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...
: Kojak VarietyKojak VarietyKojak Variety is a 1995 covers album by Elvis Costello. "Days" had previously appeared on the album Until the End of the World, the 1991 soundtrack to Wim Wenders' film of the same name.-Track listing:# "Strange" – 2:39...
(2004) - Joan ArmatradingJoan ArmatradingJoan Anita Barbara Armatrading, MBE is a British singer, songwriter and guitarist. Armatrading is a three-time Grammy Award-nominee and has been nominated twice for BRIT Awards as Best Female Artist...
: What's Inside (1995) - BjörkBjörkBjörk Guðmundsdóttir , known as Björk , is an Icelandic singer-songwriter. Her eclectic musical style has achieved popular acknowledgement and popularity within many musical genres, such as rock, jazz, electronic dance music, classical and folk...
: Post (1995) - David SylvianDavid SylvianDavid Sylvian is an English singer-songwriter and musician who came to prominence in the late 1970s as the lead vocalist and main songwriter in the group Japan...
: Gone to Earth (1986) - Cat StevensCat StevensYusuf Islam , commonly known by his former stage name Cat Stevens, is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, educator, philanthropist, and prominent convert to Islam....
: Back to EarthBack to Earth (Cat Stevens album)Back to Earth is a 1978 album released by the British singer/songwriter Cat Stevens. It was the only album he recorded using the name Cat Stevens after his conversion to Islam in December 1977... - Joan ArmatradingJoan ArmatradingJoan Anita Barbara Armatrading, MBE is a British singer, songwriter and guitarist. Armatrading is a three-time Grammy Award-nominee and has been nominated twice for BRIT Awards as Best Female Artist...
: Joan ArmatradingJoan Armatrading (album)Joan Armatrading is the third studio album from the British singer-songwriter Joan Armatrading.Released in 1976, it was Armatrading's first taste of chart success and included her sole Top 10 hit single "Love and Affection"...
(1976) - Chris De BurghChris de BurghChris de Burgh is a British/Irish singer-songwriter. He is most famous for his 1986 love song "The Lady in Red".-Early life:...
: Far Beyond These Castle WallsFar Beyond These Castle WallsFar Beyond These Castle Walls is the first album by Chris de Burgh, released by A&M Records in 1975.-Track listing:All compositions by Chris de Burgh#"Hold On" – 4:03#"The Key" – 4:08#"Windy Night" – 4:53#"Sin City" – 4:35#"New Moon" – 4:59...
(1975) - Jerry Lee LewisJerry Lee LewisJerry Lee Lewis is an American rock and roll and country music singer-songwriter and pianist. An early pioneer of rock and roll music, Lewis's career faltered after he married his young cousin, and he afterwards made a career extension to country and western music. He is known by the nickname 'The...
: The Session Recorded in London (1973) - Elton JohnElton JohnSir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
: Madman Across The WaterMadman Across the WaterMadman Across the Water is the fourth studio album by British singer/songwriter Elton John, released in 1971 through DJM/Uni Records. The title song, "Madman Across the Water", was set to be released on Elton John's previous album Tumbleweed Connection. However, it was set aside and would...
("Tiny DancerTiny Dancer"Tiny Dancer" is a 1971 song by Elton John with lyrics by Bernie Taupin. It appears on John's fourth album, Madman Across the Water, and was released as a single in 1972...
" -1972) - FeltFelt (band)Felt were a 1980s British alternative rock band led by Lawrence, whose surname was never listed in any credits or press; the band's name was inspired by Tom Verlaine's emphasis of the word "felt" in the Television song "Venus"...
: Me and a Monkey on the MoonMe and a Monkey on the MoonMe and a Monkey on the Moon is the tenth and final album by British alternative rock band Felt, released in 1989.- Recording :The album was recorded at ICC Studios in Eastbourne between 5 and 14 August 1989, after earlier demos had been recorded in Brighton...
(1989)