Cliff Williams
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Cliff Williams | |
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| Born | December 14th, 1949 Romford, England, United Kingdom |
| Genre(s) | Hard Rock |
| Affiliation(s) | AC/DC |
| Label(s) | EMI |
| Years active | 1977 - Present |
| Official site | www.acdcrocks.com |
Cliff Williams is the bassist for Hard Rock band AC/DC. He was born on December 14, 1949 in Romford, England. He moved with his family to Liverpool when he was nine, where he spent the first two working years of his life as an engineer before joining his first band.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Before AC/DC
Linking up with singer Mick Stubbs, guitarist Laurie Wisefield, keyboard player Clive John and drummer Mick Cook, Cliff found himself playing bass for a band called 'Home'. By 1970 the group's progressive brand of both hard and soft rock had earned them a deal with Epic Records and a debut LP was released the following year under the title Pause For A Hoarse Horse. In November 1971 Home supported Led Zeppelin at the Wembley Empire Pool on the second of Led Zeppelin's Electric Magic concerts which featured circus acts as well as rock bands.
During 1972 Jim Anderson replaced Clive John on keyboards and Home released a self-titled album, going on to have their one and only hit with Dreamer in November 1972, which peaked at 41 in the UK album charts. The Alchemist followed in 1973 but by then the band seemed to have run their course, and when controversial folk troubadour Al Stewart suggested they back him on his first American tour in March 1974, Mick Stubbs went his own way and the others became the 'Al Stewart Band'. This didn't last long, and Cliff Williams was next to leave the group, moving on to form 'Bandit' in 1974.
Bandit quickly got a deal with Arista Records and released a self-titled album in 1977. Joining Cliff in this line-up were such future luminaries as vocalist Jim Diamond (who went on to success as a solo artist) and drummer Graham Broad (who was later to join Buck's Fizz).
[edit] Joining AC/DC
However, Bandit never became that popular, thus Cliff had no hesitation when he was asked to join AC/DC in 1977. At that time, AC/DC was in need of a bassist after the departure of Mark Evans during the Let There Be Rock tour. Cliff joined the band straight away and helped record AC/DC's fifth album, Powerage, the following year.
[edit] Equipment
Cliff usually plays a 4-string Music Man Stingray bass, alternating between finger picking and using a plectrum.
[edit] Trivia
- Cliff is the tallest member of AC/DC at 5 feet 10 inches tall.
[edit] External links
- AC/DC profile page by Albert Music
- AC/DC profile page by Atlantic Records
- AC/DC profile page by Epic Records
