Chris Copping

29 August 1945, Middleton, Lancashire, UK

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Frans Steensma writes:
Chris played bass with The Paramounts from October 1960 until Christmas 1962 (when Diz Derrick took over).

The first time Chris played with Procol Harum live was during the Rolling Stones Christmas Show at the London Lyceum, 21 December 1969 (two shows). His first public appearance with the band as a four-piece was on German TV (15 December 1969) when the Bob Rooyens directed Dusty Springfield Show was shown.

His last public appearance with Procol (as was his first) was on TV: 12 March 1977 Procol Harum recorded the Sight & Sound In Concert at the Golders Green Hippodrome in London. March 18 it was broadcast on radio and TV simultaneously. This was Copping's final gig with Procol.

One month later I saw him with Frankie Miller's band (managed by Keith Reid) in Paradiso, Amsterdam. Chris played keyboards then (Chris Stewart was on bass). When Frankie went on an American tour in June 1977, Copping joined in too. I have a Cashbox concert review of July 9, 1977 which mentions Chris. More at BtP from Frans here
 

Online movie of Chris Copping playing Homburg on piano and organ

Other works:

ALBUMS

• Astrid Munday – Apparition; Laughing Outlaw Records, release April 2000:
  Keyboard Strings & Harpsichord.
• Gnidrolog – Gnosis: Recorded 1999
  Hammond (see Professor Copping and the Gnidrolog connection)
• Doug Mansfield & The Dust Devils – Trouble Follows Me; Niche Records Nic 1150: (1999)
  Piano track 6 White Collar Redneck and track 9, Please Explain.
• Peter Caulton – Raining On The Rock; Bear Family Records BCD 16392AH (1999)
  Bass guitar, Hammond, piano.
• Richard Gillard: Recorded 1998 : Hammond.
• 1998: JoJo Leslie – For No Other Reason 4 Song EP (1997); Musicaper Australia P/L:
  Hammond.
  Chris contributes Hammond organ to the first track of the EP on a song called That's me. Jo Jo informed Larry Pennisi that Chris '... became involved via a mutual friend.' That mutual friend was Cletis Carr …
• Cletis Carr, 1992 solo album, Wooden Nails: Hammond organ. (Cletis Carr also produced the JoJo Leslie For No other Reason: he knew Chris since they both recordings at Fortissimo, South Melbourne, where Chris parked his L100)
• Peter Caulton – Southern Man; Unicorn Productions: (1993)
  Producer, bass guitar, Hammond, piano.
• Mark Hilton – Beauty and Innocence (2000) [full report on this great record here]
  Mark is a singer / songwriter / guitarist from Melbourne, Australia. Chris Copping plays bass – track 6, Hammond and piano – tracks 6, 9 and 11, electric piano – track 12, honky-tonk piano – track 1; Chris also played at the launch on 23 August 2000. (mp3s here)
• Paul Hester from Crowded House: The Best in Town
  Chris writes, "Did I mention the thing I did with Paul Hester (he lives minutes away from me) in about January 2001 – me on bass and organ [Chris plays his own, battered L100: listen to mp3 sample here] and Hessie doing the rest."

If you like the sound of the clip, there is a limited number of CDs left of I Like it Rare featuring the track ... see here for details

SHORT FILMS

• Miss Fortune – Live Action Short Film – Directed by Andrew Henderson, starring Guy Pearce, 1999
• Slim Pickings – Animated & Directed by Anthony Lucas (Screened at Sundance Film Festival 2000) 1999
• The Web – ABC TV 13 x 5min. Animated Series on endangered animals (Title theme music, 1995)
• Lift Off – Series – various: Beeze, Potties (1994) Children's Television Foundation (Aust). Screened in UK.
• Thing: Animated & Directed by Funny Farm Animation International Sales (around 1985 – 6).
• Mr Snip: Animated & Directed by Mickey Duck Animation Studios (mid 1980s.)

OTHER SHORTS

• Cheeze, Beast with 100 Eyes
• Upwardly Mobile Frogs, Felix & Alexander (1992)
• TV programme called John Safran's Music Jamboree – 10 x 30 sec episodes – I did quite a bit of the music – pretty left field, eg a Jewish Boy Band sending in a tape to a Christian label trying to get a deal (the track and the band are called Jewtown) – there's another one where a dog directs a video clip.

OTHER

• Music for Television Commercials – both National and International accounts eg. Singapore Airlines, Garuda Airlines and many others.
• Played with The Huxton Creepers: 'Guest Hammond work by ex-Procol Harum organist Chris Copping is more eyebrow-raising than ear-opening.'
• Last Thoughts on Woody: a page about this extended Dylan / Copping piece
• Somewhat in the mode of Chris's Last Thoughts on Woody comes his musical setting of The British Meteorological Office's Shipping Forecast: mp3 extract here! The Shipping Forecast, broadcast several times a day by BBC Radio 4, is of course of crucial importance to the mariners of Island Britain; in addition, however, it has achieved iconic status among landlubbers, penetrating the communal psyche as a litany of hypnotic power, an ever-changing national poem laced with the mysterious names of shipping areas – Cromarty Forth Tyne Dogger etc – most of us will never encounter in any other context. Those who have grown up with it playing in the daily background hold it in nostalgic veneration, perhaps as a reminder of a time when everything seemed that weighty and incomprehensible. It is great to hear what Chris has done with it over 6 or so minutes of music ... of which our mp3 sample is about eight percent. You can listen to the current forecast here and see the sea-areas on a map here (such is the fame of this institution that when well-loved sea-area Finisterre was renamed 'FitzRoy' earlier in 2002, it made the national news).

Chris Copping's own website

Tunes Music Network on Chris Copping

Interview with Chris by Antonio Costa Barbé for this website

More Procol personnel