Farewell, Herbie Flowers – bass player to the stars

The bass player and session musician Herbie Flowers has died at the age of 86, his family said today (Sunday 8 September).

Flowers, who lived in Ditchling, provided the distinctive bass line to Walk on the Wild Side by Lou Reed and featured alongside the likes of David Bowie, Elton John and Bryan Ferry.

Charlatans singer Tim Burgess said: “Farewell, Herbie Flowers. He made the greats sound greater.”

Flowers played on Space Oddity by Bowie and Rock On, the debut single by David Essex as well as on Lou Reed’s greatest hit.

Suede bass player Mat Osman said: “RIP Herbie Flowers. So many great basslines – imagine having played on Space Oddity, Walk on the Wild Side and Rock On.”

Bowie’s estate also paid tribute, saying: “We are very sad to learn of the passing of Herbie Flowers in the last couple of days. His work with Bowie and associates over the years is too long to list here.

“Aside from his incredible musicianship over many decades, he was a beautiful soul and a very funny man. He will be sorely missed. Our thoughts are with his family and friends.”

Flowers was born in Isleworth in 1938 and won renown as a session musician in the 1960s, working for record producers such as Mickie Most and Tony Visconti.

He became more widely known as one of the founders of the band Blue Mink in 1969 before playing with an array of stars in the 1970s onwards.

He played for three of the Beatles – Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr – as well as Harry Nilsson and Cat Stevens. And he was the bassist on Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of The War of the Worlds.

It has been estimated that, by the end of the 1970s, Flowers had played bass on about 500 hit records.

Six years ago, he played Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of The War of the Worlds – Alive On Stage at the Brighton Centre and he played various live performances in Brighton over many years.

He learnt music during his national service with the Royal Air Force, originally playing the tuba before adding the double bass to his repertoire, often playing jazz.

Flowers composed Grandad – a novelty hit in the 1970s, performed by Dads Army actor Clive Dunn – and worked alongside the likes of Steve Harley, Donovan, Alvin Stardust and Captain Sensible.

Closer to home, he taught bass guitar at Ardingly College and led numerous “rockshops” – or rock workshops at schools – helping young people to create and perform their own songs and cover others.