NICKY HOPKINS AND MACCA
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John Bezzini
Much is known about Nicky Hopkins marvelous session work with both John Lennon and George Harrison following the breakup of the Beatles. Not as much is known, especially in the United States about a charity single written by keyboard player Nicky Hopkins and Craig Mathieson in the late 80’s. Paul McCartney not only produced the track but played bass on it as well. It was recorded at Paul’s Sussex studio. According to the excellent Nicky Hopkins biography written by author Julian Dawson, which is featured elsewhere on this site on an earlier post, Paul may have also sung backing vocals on the charity single.
The proceeds of the single were to go to the BBC sponsored “Children in Need” project. The charity is for disadvantaged children and young people in the UK and the BBC has helped with this charity since 1980 and they have raised nearly a billion pounds in those years according to this Wikipedia source:
The drummer on the track was Woody Woodmansey who was the drummer for many early Bowie albums. With the death of David Bowie in January of 2016, Woodmansey became the last surviving member of the Spiders from Mars group ensemble.
I was able to locate and purchase a copy of this charity single at the Discogs music search service. This is the front cover of the 45:
This is the back cover of the sleeve featuring the details and credits of the 45:
The A-side:
The B-side which is listed as an instrumental:
Saw that someone posted the two tracks on YouTube. The A-side and the instrumental B-side! Based on the album cover it appears the tracks were taken from an underground LP release:
Spirit Of Play – Children In Need (Independent BBC release, produced by Paul McCartney, 1988)
JOHN ‘BUZZ’ BEZZINI
Art & Craft
Original art and craft related to Liverpool and the Beatles
And here’s the video: https://photos.app.goo.gl/bKw1mJUTYqBYfDZFA It really is a beautiful song! Did you know that a documentary about Nicky Hopkins was recently released? ‘The Session Man’ is on Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B0DBPKT9K7/ Enjoy!
More info: http://www.thesessionmanfilm.com
The documentary was excellent John, and you are to be complimented for the honor you bestowed on this great musician with your production of “The Session Man.” Thank you for sharing this information with our viewers. Best Wishes to you, sir!
Much effort was required on my part to locate this song in the States. I was grateful to find this 45 with the picture sleeve from a reputable record dealer. Definitely worth the investment! It’s a beautiful song!
Thank you for the comment, Jennifer. Sometimes seeking out a more obscure type of recording can be both rewarding and/or frustrating depending on whether you are successful in finding what you are looking for. Where I live there are not too many dependable record stores so my favorite Online source has been Discogs!