Geoffrey Charles Whitehorn
29 August 1951, London
Main instrument: Guitar, sequencers ...
click here for
a Whitehorn gear film (initially at St Wendel, near Saarbrucken, and latterly at
GW's pub gig in Crayford).
Procol albums: The Long Goodbye, One
More Time, The Well's on Fire,
One Eye to the Future,
Live in Ledreborg (CD,
DVD,
download),
Spirit of Nøkken
Solo albums
Live and on record with
The Palers' Project
Hear Geoff on
the Marshall showcase CD, and with
Siggi Schwartz (here
also)
Audio-visual Whitehorn in action:
Siggi Schwarz Band (Woodstock) |
Siggi Schwarz Band (Purple Haze)
Crawler (Stone Cold Sober) |
Paul Rogers (Fire and Water)
'Beyond the Pale' interview
Shine On interview
Total Guitar interview, January 2000
Dmitri Epstein's GW interview, October
2004
Geoff's solo A Whiter Shade of Pale in Guitar
Techniques.
Geoff onstage in the West End musical, 125th
Street
Guitars and equipment used by Geoff
Whitehorn update, including equipment and winter 2004 gigs
Whitehorn update, including signature guitar
news, 2008
Whitehorn update, including signature guitar
news, 2012
Geoff's 'Thursday Band', and
again here
Pictures and text from Gitaar Plus,
January 2008
Geoff at the Frankfurt Music Fair March
2010 and at Lake Constance in 2011
From Seventeen Watts? by Mo Foster
'As an eight-year old, Geoff Whitehorn took violin lessons and despite hating
them he now appreciates how they helped him to read music. In Geoff's mind, the
marriage between rock 'n' roll and his formal musical education formed an
interesting concept. He says: 'I vividly remember putting a tremolo arm made
from a strip of Meccano on the violin after seeing The Shadows on TV, but that
didn't go down particularly well with the violin teacher. My very first guitar I
actually made from Meccano and fishing line - A Dalekcaster possibly.'
In this same book, says Frans Steensma, there's a picture of Geoff playing in
his first group as a 14 year old: The Sunbeats (more
from Frans here)
Musical CV (thanks, Geoff!)
Took up guitar at age 11
August 1973 - December 1974: toured and recorded with British jazz-rock band,
If
1974 - early solo album, Geoff Whitehorn
1975 toured and recorded with ex-Stone the Crows singer Maggie Bell,
notably opening for Bad Company on their first headlining US tour
1976 joined UK / US band Back Street Crawler, replacing ex-free
guitarist Paul Kossoff after his untimely death. Band's name changed to Crawler.
Band also featured John 'Rabbit' Bundrick on keyboards; it folded in 1979
(pictures here, article here,
listen to Bottom Line 1977 show here)
1979 joined Roger Chapman (ex-Family / Streetwalkers vocalist) in The
Shortlist, touring Europe extensively and recording ten albums (co-producing
three with Chapman). Left in 1988. During this period also toured and recorded
with Elkie Brooks from 1979, becoming her musical Director from 1981
until 1983. Geoff toured with Elkie again, working around the Procol
commitments, from 2004 until December 2007 when he quit her band to pursue other
musical interests: photographs
here and
here [Geoff Whitehorn plays on Elkie's 2005 Electric Lady CD
(Swing Café SWING003): buy online from Amazon
USA
or Amazon
UK]
Released first [sic] solo album, Geoff
Who?, in 1990; second album, Big in Gravesend,
released October 1994.
Joined Bad Company
for their Hold Water US tour in June 1990 until the return of Mick Ralphs
in April 1991.
Joined the reformed Procol Harum in December 1991: still a serving
member!
Joined Roger Daltrey band in April 1994.
Played with The Who at the Hyde Park Quadrophenia Concert in
June 1996, and also at the Madison Square Garden run (6 nights in July 1996) of
the same show.
Playing (since January 1993) with Paul
Rodgers (ex-Free, Bad Company) - promoting the Now
album on which also played (2011)
Has worked as main demonstrator worldwide for Marshall Amplification
since 1986 at NAMM, Frankfurt music shows etc.
Session credits apart from the above include Roger Waters, Manfred Mann, Paul
McCartney, Eric Burdon, Lulu, Kevin Ayers, Paul Young, Billy Ocean, John Parr,
Jimmy Nail, Chas'n'Dave, Vanessa Mae, Dame Edna Everage, British
Rock Symphony, etc ....
Nice clip of Geoff
playing the blues with the NHS band (7 October 1992: personnel credits at
the end of the song)
(right: portrait of Geoff by Mark Brzezicki,
kindly sent to BtP by Matt Pegg)
The above mentions If as Geoff's first band. However, before If he had played
in a Kent band known then as Chapel Farm, which later became Fantasy and
recorded an album called Paint a Picture in 1973. By that time Geoff had
left the band, but he appears on some demo tracks released as bonus tracks of
Fantasy's second album Beyond The Beyond (originally shelved by the
record company and released for the first time in the early 90's). These include
a song called Fire-Fire, written entirely by Geoff, and another track
called Afterthought with Geoff as co-writer.
Mikko
Alapuro
Two Procol guitarists for the price of one
Where can you see a band play twice weekly, once with Geoff Whitehorn, and
once with Prodigal Stranger Jerry Stevenson?
At The Bear and Ragged Staff, in Crayford: e-mail
for details here, including orders for their new album (pictured)
which costs 10 pounds (recorded in November 2003 and produced by Geoff).
Or telephone 01322 664551! |
 |
Sessions list: all non-PH and non-Paramounts
records (up to 1986) to which Procol Harum members contributed
Geoff
Whitehorn's page at The Musicians' Olympus
More Procol personnel