IN PRAISE OF PETER GREEN.

I'VE ALREADY WRITTEN A PIECE ABOUT PETER GREEN'S PASSING IN 'THE WORLD OUTSIDE THE WINDOW' FORUM BUT WILL COPY THE MAIN PART OF IT AGAIN HERE WITH AN EXTRA BIT OF PERSONAL INFO NOT MENTIONED IN MY PREVIOUS MESSAGE:

Peter was one of the greatest blues guitartists of all time. BB King said that he was the only other blues player who could make him sweat.

I've admired Peter Green's playing since first hearing 'The Supernatural' when he was with John Mayall. His work on the first Fleetwood Mac albums was outstanding and his version of 'Need Your Love So Bad' was soulful and showcased his heartfelt vocals. 'Man Of The World', 'The Green Manalishi' and 'Albatross' were all classic tracks which I loved back in the day.

In the late 1960s I saw Peter play with the original Fleetwood Mac at a pub just outside of Bradford. I went with fellow Global Village member Alan Quinn. I think Global Village drummer Bryan Holden may have come with us too. There was no stage at the pub and Fleetwood Mac set up on the floor, the same level as the standing audience. I stood just a couple of feet away from Peter and his playing was a revelation. I leaned so much about feel in that hour or so of witnessing him play.

All that was before Peter's mental health condition kicked in and there were many 'wilderness' years ahead. Thankfully, Peter eventually returned to live performance but still seemed somewhat fragile.

He was 73, only a year and a bit older than myself. It saddens me so much that we're losing an entire generation of great musicians at such an alarming rate. Rest in peace and God speed Peter.

Additional to the above, I just remembered that I actually met Peter briefly in the early 1970s. There was an infamous club in London called 'The Speakeasy' which was an after hours hang out and watering hole for many famous musicians, some of who played there in impromptu jam sessions. The club was frequented by people such as The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Frank Zappa, Jeff Beck, Neil Young, Johnny Winter, etc, the list goes on and on.

I first visited the 'Speak', (as it was known to its regulars,) with Jenny Haan of Babe Ruth and I remember on that night Peter Green was sitting in a corner of the club. I wen't to say hello, wanting to tell him that I was an admirer of his playing but he seemed totally out of it and somewhat confused. It was just a few seconds interaction that ended with me feeling rather disappointed and embarrassed. I guess this would be sometime around 1974.

But the speakeasy was a great place, a members only club where musicians could relax and share stories. And sometimes get absolutely legless. I met Curtis Knight there once.

Another time, around 4 am in the morning, I left the club with Be Bop's agent, John Jackson, who was driving me back to my hotel in his Camaro car. There was very little traffic at that time of night but when we pulled up for a red light, a low rumble was heard and when we looked out of the window a cool American Hot Rod had pulled up next to us...and at the driving wheel was Jeff Beck. Jeff looked across at the Camaro and when the light turned green took off like a rocket, beating us to the next set of lights effortlessly. As we pulled up alongside him the next set of lights he looked across at us again with a smirk on his face. 😄

Happy days!

Here's a photo' of the entrance to 'The Speakeasy.'