Norman Watt-Roy
| Norman Watt-Roy | |
|---|---|
 Norman Watt-Roy at Water Rats, July 2011 | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | Normsferatu |
| Born |
15 February 1951 Bombay, India |
| Origin | Harlow, Essex |
| Genres | Jazz funk, Rock and roll, Blues rock, New Wave, Art Rock |
| Occupations | Bassist |
| Instruments | Bass guitar |
| Years active | 1967–present |
| Labels | Stiff |
| Associated acts |
Ian Dury The Blockheads Wilko Johnson The Clash Roger Daltrey |
Norman Watt-Roy (born 15 February 1951, Bombay, India) is the bassist for The Blockheads, previously known as Ian Dury & the Blockheads.[1]
Growing up
In November 1954, the Watt-Roy family, including Norman, his older brother Garth (born Garth Philip Watt-Roy, December 1947 in Bombay, India) and his sister, moved to England. They settled in Highbury, North London, where Norman went to St Joan of Arc Primary School, Blackstock Road. When Norman was eight, the family relocated to Harlow, Essex. At the age of ten, he had been shown some guitar chords by his father, and played in school bands with his older brother Garth, who started playing in 1961, on lead guitar. Norman Watt-Roy left school at 15 and briefly studied art at Harlow Technical College, before moving back to London.
Early band work
In early 1967, Norman Watt-Roy formed the band The Living Daylights with his brother Garth and released a single on the Philips label called "Let's Live For Today" (April 1967) and did regular gigs in venues such as The Angel Blues Rooms in Edmonton, London. In 1968, Norman and Garth Watt-Roy formed a nine-piece soul band and toured US military bases in Germany, backing American soul singers such as Sonny Burke and played a summer residency at the Maddocks Club in Spain.
By this time the band was known as The Greatest Show On Earth and by 1969 had won a recording contract with Harvest Records. This led to the release, in February 1970, of the single "Real Cool World", which was a hit in Europe, reaching #1 in Switzerland. The band's debut album Horizons was followed by a second album The Going's Easy, both issued in 1970, and another single "Tell The Story" .
Pre-Blockhead
In 1972, Watt-Roy joined then band Glencoe and met guitarist John Turnbull. The quartet released two albums Glencoe and The Spirit of Glencoe along with three singles and four recorded John Peel radio sessions before breaking up, and in 1974 got together with keyboardist Mick Gallagher to form the nucleus of a band which, with the addition of drummer Charlie Charles, would become Loving Awareness (managed by Radio Caroline guru Ronan O'Rahilly). It was while doing a session with Charles for a friend in 1976 that they met Chaz Jankel and Ian Dury and went on to play on the album New Boots and Panties!!, which was released on the Stiff Records label.
Ian Dury and the Blockheads
The 'Loving Awareness' quartet were later to join up with Jankel and Dury for the first Stiff Tour of UK and became known as Ian Dury and The Blockheads, releasing two more albums on Stiff and a bevy of singles, achieving a UK #1 in 1979 with "Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick".
It was when Jankel was replaced for a time in 1980 by Wilko Johnson that a rapport between Watt-Roy and Johnson resulted in Watt-Roy becoming a regular member of Johnson's own band by 1985.
Other work
During the 1970s and 1980s, Watt-Roy did session work, appearing on albums such as Nick Lowe's Jesus of Cool, Rachel Sweet's Fool Around and Jona Lewie's single "You'll Always Find Me in the Kitchen at Parties". He also made an appearance on The Selecter's 1981 album Celebrate the Bullet and played on The Clash's Sandinista! album along with fellow Blockhead Mick Gallagher on keyboards. Watt-Roy also played bass on their Cut The Crap recordings.
In 1983, Watt-Roy provided the original bass line for the Frankie Goes to Hollywood single "Relax" and, in 1984, teamed up with Gallagher again for Wreckless Eric's Captains of Industry album.
In 1984, Watt-Roy provided bass on all tracks to Roger Daltrey's solo album "Parting Should Be Painless"[2] on which had one minor hit single "Walking in My Sleep" which featured Ian Dury singing backing vocals and Watt-Roy on the music video.
In 2001, Watt-Roy completed sessions with members of Madness, with whom he sporadically joined for live work at the time, and the ex-producer of Depeche Mode, who had recorded him jamming with drummer Steve Monti with plans to sample the results. Since then he has been busy working with Nick Cave on Cave's solo shows, without the Bad Seeds, and continuing to be Wilko Johnson's bassist.
He released a solo album, Faith & Grace (Cadiz Music), in 2013, with guests including former Blockheads drummer Dylan Howe. He also guested on Viv Albertine's The Vermillion Border (Cadiz Music) in 2012.
References
External links
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