In the world of Formula One, hospitality guests were regularly subjected to team boss Eddie Jordan banging away at the drumkit with all the panache of a toddler in the pots and pan cupboard with his band 'V10', frequently accompanied by former World Champ Damon Hill on 'guitar'.

Pat Cash plays with 'The Wild Colonial Boys' and of course there was that whole Hoddle/Waddle bit of business.

I suppose of all the hobby bands the only one that's come close to critical and commercial success is 'Juliette (Lewis) and The Licks'. Am I wrong?

...had a band called Dog Star or some such. No I haven't heard them, and don't plan to!

I read the recently deceased Anthony Minghella had a prog band and their album was produced by Tony McPhee of The Groundhogs. Minghella was a well known prog fan- I think he owned an old mellotron!

I also read that Woody Allen has played on stage with jazz guitarist Allan Holdsworth at some point.

Spanish (despite her name) actress Leonor Watling fronts chill-trip-hoppy outfit Marlango with considerable success. And for several years now, another Spanish-despite-her-name actress, Najwa Nimri, has been pitching herself as the Iberian Bjork, with mixed results.

..has just put out a disc, endorsed by "Dave" Bowie. Haven't heard it, nor Carla "Supermodel" wife of french PM Bruni and her poems, by others, set to her music. However Minnie Driver went on tour last year or so, to promote her LP, which, ever in search of a cover version, has a passable Hungry Heart, as in Bruce.

Carla Bruni's record, No Promises, was one of my favourite albums of last year. I'd never heard of her before one of her songs popped up on a Word cd. I loved 'Lady Weeping at the Crossorads' and bought the album on the strength of it alone. Fantastic stuff and yet another example of a Word recommendation leading to a satisfying purchase.

On topic, I saw Sam Shephard sitting in on a trad session in the Abbey Theatre last year. He more than held his own..

And I'm sure I saw Steve Martin playing banjo with Earl Scruggs on Letterman a couple of years back.

Prejudice 1, Confirmation 0. Yes, you are right, there was a Carla Bruni track. I confess to a cursory few bars and then skipping, assuming it would be up to nowt. I seem to recall a somewhat Nico-esque vocal style, again off-putting, but that may be my expectation rather than the reality.

... Jamie Oliver had a band called Scarlet Division, no doubt influenced by Toploader. My mind is incapable of imagining quite how bad that band could be and I'm too scared to look on youtube.

'Jamie Oliver had a band' - surely there are no more fearful words in the English language.

We're all doomed

Hello

Woody and the Band has been performing regularly for the last ten years at The Carlyle.
You can get info on myself and the Band here
http://www.jerryzigmont.com

Also check out the Blog.

BTW - We played at The Hammersmith a few years ago and the British crowd was wonderful!

..Warren Zevon was in the band for a while.

sings in his own (well-respected) mariachi band. I don't think they've released any records, though.

I saw Samantha Fox perform with Motorhead once, before her own musical career took off, when she was really only famous for her contributions to Page 3.

Thirty odd foot of grunts apparently are no more. He's now got a group called The ordinary fear of God.Same initials, probably saved them from having to make up a new batch of merchandise.

Friend of Word and all round good egg Mark Radcliffe has a band I believe, The Family Mahone. He's mentioned them once or twice on his wireless programmes.

Also I may have dreamt this but isn't Steven Seagal, the 'actor', an American folk singer of sorts? I have a vague memory of reading a review of an album in some lesser publication, and I think it got a pretty good review.

Mike

It's a known fact that all male tennis stars play in a rock band. It's conjecture that most of them are rubbish. (Linger in the pubs of southwest London in early summer and you may find out.)

Some of the better known wannabes include:
John McEnroe
Jim Courier
Pat Cash
Gustavo Kuerten
Mats Vilander
Wayne Ferreira
Henri Leconte
Anders Jarryd
Andy Roddick (a rapper, god help us)
Guillermo Vilas (apparently "sings a pretty darn good Honky Tonk Women")
Vitas Gerulaitis (already linked to rock by allegedly inspiring the song "Outbreak of Vitas Gerulaitis" by Half Man Half Biscuit)
Yannick Noah (apparently "a proper rock star in France", which is possibly no better than being "a proper tennis star in Britain").

...Samantha Fox did a turn at the 30th anniversary Hawkwind gig at the Astoria. This was quite controversial- even Lemmy objected to it as he argued she was deliberately brought on during Nik Turner's only vocal number ('Master Of The Universe' I think?). Relations between Dave Brock and Nik Turner seem to be slightly frosty these days...

Steven Seagal has made at least one blues album, there was one out recently called 'Mojo Priest'. He even played a venue near me actually.

Between knocking out Resident Evil films of ever-decreasing quality, M-Jov has recorded a couple of albums. Excitable young ladies on Amazon have compared her favourably to Tori Amos and Kate Bush. I actually have a track of hers, despite not being young or a lady (and less excitable by the year), and can report that it's not bad. She can certainly hold a note, at the very least.

the former England test cricketer is a pretty good singer/ guitarist by all accounts.
The general tone of this thread seems to be that hobby bands are a bit ridiculous. i think they’re great. Even if they’re rubbish, if that makes sense. Making music shouldn’t be something only deemed worthwhile if it’s done by “proper professionals” anymore than painting watercolours or playing tennis are. And there‘s plenty of people struggling in the music game who should get a proper job and do it as a hobby - it’s never been easier to both record and distribute music on that basis. Good luck to people with bands-on-the-side, I say.

I saw Fred Harris from Play School playing in a trad jazz combo at Ealing Cricket Club about 20 years ago.
Even though by that time in my life I had met 2 Beatles, 1 Superman and Billy Bragg I was still very excited to see a childhood (as opposed to young adulthood) hero in the flesh!
Alex

I can't believe that nobody has brought up Macarthur Park by Richard Harris... or howabout the Godlike genius that is William Shatner... last album Has Been was released in 2004.He also supplied guest vocals to Go the last track on '64-'95 the last Lemonjelly album.

So she's got an album coming out..... Tom Waits covers. Can she sing? Who cares, can she act? does she have to.

Lost In Translation.

I rest may case... (sighs)

...respectively play saxophone and keyboards and in the Brighton Beach Boys and keyboards in some weird Hollywood Dad's hobby band with the fat policeman who could hear people's thoughts on Heroes.

The Bacon Brothers. Haven't checked them out. Has anyone?