Alvin Lee Tributes
ALVIN LEE . December 19th 1944 - March 6th 2013
A moment of reflection was held for Alvin
on April 7, 2013. The audience
at Olympia
Hall in Paris were joined by
friends and
fans around the world in honoring
the beloved
guitarist.Thank you to everyone
who particpated.
Following are some of the tributes
from his
peers and fans:
Joe Brown, close friend and musician: Alvin was probably
the best Rock 'n Roll guitarist
I’ve ever
met. It is going to be a great
loss to us
all. I'll certainly miss him"
Chris Wright, Chairman (non Exec) BMG Chrysalis
UK: "My career, and the foundations of the
entire Chrysalis organisation
started when
Alvin and his group, who soon
changed their
name to Ten Years After, came
up to Manchester
in 1966 to play in a small student
blues
club I operated with a friend.
I immediately
signed them to a management contract,
and
later they joined both Chrysalis
Records
and Chrysalis Music.
They went on to be an integral
part of the
British rock and blues invasion
of the States,
and starred at both the Woodstock
Festival,
and in the subsequent film. For
a while in
the late 60s and early 70s they
were on a
par with any group in the World
in terms
of popularity.
He was known as the fastest guitarist
in
the West, but that belied the
fact that he
was also one of the most talented,
and certainly
the most proficient. He was also
a great
on stage performer.
It is really sad we will never
see him again.
His passing leaves a tremendous
void in an
era of great British music."
Brian May, musician: Writing on his website "(Lee was) a
legendary and influential guitarist
and very
nice bloke. His speed and dexterity,
in the
days when I would go as a student
to the
Marquee Club to see Ten Years
After, was
scary and exciting. He was daring
enough
to play and sing close to his
limit every
time. As a man off-stage, his
persona was
modest and gentle. On stage -
a giant who
will be missed greatly"
Roger Chapman, musician: "Alvin Lee. What a great natural guitar
player. Frightened of nothing,
just grabbed
a guitar & rocked like f***.
Met him in 1961 thereabouts,
shared a stage
in Nottingham with him &
he was on it
then. Playing songs, me being
a bit snobbish,
I never thought any other British
muso knew
except myself so I was instantly
impressed
& have been ever since. Always
stayed
pals even though we were separated
by different
roles & countries.
He did a lot of really good stuff
on my albums
over the years. "Do you
wanna run through
Alv" I'd say & he'd
reply "nah
just sling it down & take
it". What
a natural! What a guy!
Lotsa love Alvin it was a pleasure
knowing
you."
Mylon Le Fevre, musician: Everybody knows he was a great musician and
guitarist but he was a lot more
than that
to me. He was my brother and
friend from
the first time I met him in 1970.
His was
a good man with a good heart.
He was an honest
man. As far as I know he did
everything he
ever told me he would do. He
never lied to
me one time. He was generous,
kind and loyal
to our friendship. He was a Rock
Star and
I was just a country boy from
Georgia, in
an opening band. But from the
beginning he
treated me like an equal. We
met when my
band opened for TYA on one of
their first
American Tours after the Woodstock.
At first
we just hung out after the gigs,
got loaded
and jammed. Eventually we started
to write
some songs together. After one
of the five
tours we did together we decided
while on
vacation in Jamaica to lay down
some tracks
and see where it led us. That
was the beginning
of "On the Road to Freedom".
During
the 43 years that I knew him,
I learned to
truly love him like a brother
and I will
miss him. It was an honour to
be his friend.
Slash, on Twitter: "I just heard about Alvin
Lee's passing. He was the 1st
badass, super
fast lead guitarist I remember
hearing as
a kid. legend. RIP. iii]; )'
Geezer Butler, Black Sabbath: "Shocked and saddened
to hear of Alvin Lee passing,
one of the
true greats and a major influence
on Sabbath,"writes
Butler. "The fastest guitar
in the west.
He was one of the few people
that believed
in Sabbath when we started out,
and he got
us our first major London gig,
at the Marquee.
A true gentleman and lovely bloke.
RIP Alvin."
Bill Ward, Black Sabbath: "Thank you, Alvin for
all that you were. For all that
you gave.
You were one of a kind. Your
music rocked
with passion, force, excitement;
brave in
risk, bringing this listener
to the point
of "wowism". In short,
thank you.
Thank you. Thank you. Our condolences
go
to Alvin's family. Heartfelt
sympathy at
this time of loss.
Joe Satriani, musician: "Alvin Lee was a big influence
on my playing. He was a great
musician and
a gentleman, too. I still have
the pick he
gave me a few years back...R.I.P
Alvin Lee...Joe"
Glenn Hughes,Deep Purple: RIP Alvin Lee.....so very sad
to hear of another friend passing.
Joe Bonamassa: Enough said.....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bW5M5xljdCI.....
Rest in Peace Alvin Lee... Another
hero gone
this week.... This is becoming
too regular
....... A very sad night... Enjoy
the song...ladies
and gents.. Joe Bonamassa:
Kenny Wayne Shepard: Rest in Peace Alvin Lee one of the greatest
guitar players ever. We lost
you too soon.
Thanks for the music.
Mick Mars, Motley Crue: Rest in peace Alvin Lee. I
loved you very much. You taught
me well
Peter Frampton: I still can't believe we've lost Alvin Lee.
My day went into slow motion
after I heard
this. Been talking to friends
about times
we all spent together. It's very
sad. He
was a wonderful person and an
amazing guitar
player.
Leslie West: God Speed Dear Friend. I hope you bring
the pedals I gave you to heaven.
They need
it a little louder up there.
Keith Emerson: Dear Alvin, you checked out way too early
my friend. I'll miss the fun
we had on mini-
motorcycles, you as "Awful-
Knawful"
and our failed attempt to swim
back to England
from the Bahamas. That was some
time ago,
but we made it through. Above
all, everyone
will remember the fun and the
music you made
Tommy Iommi, Black Sabbath: I was extremely saddened
to hear of Alvin's death. It
was a great
shock. I had not known that he
was ill. Alvin
was a really great guitar player
but, more
importantly, has been a good
friend of Black
Sabbath over the years.
In the early days, when we were
still going
by the name of Earth, it was
Alvin who helped
us get some gigs. He'd been out
there a bit
before us, and knew the ropes.
We'd sit and
talk the night away at a flat
in London.
I remember telling him that we
were thinking
of changing our name to Black
Sabbath. He
was horrified! He told me we'd
never do any
good with a name like that.
Ric Lee: We are all stunned. All of us. I don''t
think it's even sunk in yet as
to the reality
of his passing. We are all thinking
of his
family and friends today, and
offer our own
condolences.
Leo Lyons: "It came as a complete shock to me.
I still haven't taken it in.
I feel very
sad. He was the closest thing
I had to a
brother. We had our differences,
but we shared
so many great experiences together
that nothing
can take away. I will miss him
very much.
He was an inspiration for a generation
of
guitar players. Keep on rockin',
Alvin!"
Chick Churchill: It has taken me a few days to accept that
my inspiration has gone. Though
I accept
it, it does not make it any easier.
In the
early days he gave me such encouragement
with my keyboard playing that
he made me
a much better player. When I
lived in Spain
we spent many hours together
and Evi cooked
some wonderful meals for us.
Evi and I have
emailed and she is a very brave
lady. I send
all my hearfelt prayers to Evi,
Jasmine and
Suzanne. I shall miss a great
man.
Bryan Adams : Alvin Lee RIP. We jammed together many
years ago in Sweden. Such an
incredible guitarist.
The Zombies: So sad to hear of Alvin Lee's passing. I
vividly remember Ten Years After
supporting
us back in '67, when they were
an up and
coming young band. I was totally
knocked
out with his playing. ~ Rod
Fish, former lead singer of Marillon: A great guitarist
and fine and lovely bloke. Will
never forget
the laughs we had together in
Tel Aviv at
an extremely dodgy festival and
the eternal
drinking in the bar waiting on
the gig that
never happened."
Foghat: "Truly one of the great guitarists
of our time. Our hearts and thoughts
are
with his family and friends.
You will be
missed."
Steve Hackett, Genesis: "I'm sad to hear of the passing
of Alvin Lee. He was a great
guitarist and
ten Years After was an extraordinary
band."
Vernon Reid (Living Colour) : Alvin Lee, like Gary Moore
and Rory Gallagher, was a Burning
down The
House With Everythin In It. MOFO
of a player.
RIP to 1 of the GREATS".
Alex Skolnick (Alex Skolnick Trio; Testament) :RIP Alvin
Lee. After Jimi, his guitar performance
at
Woodstock was my favourite
Pete Pritchard: would like to thank the many people who have
sent me messages of sympathy
at the sudden
and tragic passing of Alvin Lee
on 6th March.
It was my honour to play bass
for him these
last ten years. Alvin was a wonderful
and
unique man. He was totally unaffected
by
his rock star status and hated
all the "star"
hype, preferring to be one of
the lads in
the band.
To say he was an amazing guitarist
is an
understatement. Often his solos
would nearly
lift me off the stage.
I never saw him play a bad show.
He always
walked off to a standing ovation
and encores.
He loved his Rock n roll, rockabilly,
blues
and jazz and I will miss our
chats on all
things music so much.
We were due to play the Olympia
in Paris
April 7th. This will now be a
very difficult
day for me indeed. I can't believe
that I
will never again be together
with Alvin,
Evi (Alvin's wife), Richard Newman
(drums)
and Steve Rispin (sound), laughing
backstage,
enjoying each other's company
and making
music. My condolences to Alvin's
family at
this dreadfully sad time. With
love and respect,
PETE
Canned Heat: R.I.P. ALVIN LEE of Ten Years After who
was one of the Few English bands
to play
at Woodstock in 1969.You will
be missed by
many who loved you and your Guitar
Skills
and Vocals.Canned Heat send their
Condolences
to his Family and Friends.
Tim Hinkley: People often say, "what a wonderful
person he/she was", about
those that
have passed to another world.
In some cases
this is not so. In Alvin Lee's
case it is
so....he was a wonderful person...a
very
generous, simple and down to
earth person.
His love of Blues and Rock'n
Roll carried
him through life and it shows
in his phenomenal
guitar playing. When his daughter,
Jasmin
was born in London, Alvin came
to my apartment
in Chelsea and I sat in awe while
Alvin played
guitar for hours. We made some
great music
together over many a year in
his various
home studios. The first, Space
Studios was
at Hook End Manor with a Helios
board, Studer
tape machines, Tannoy Reds and
Neumann microphones....no
digital gimmickery in those days!
Ian Wallace,
Boz Burrell, Mel Collins, Alvin
and myself
were, "The Gits"....Alvin's
name!
Gosh, I'm still shellshocked
that he's gone.
Justin Hayward,: I knew Alvin well in the 60's and 70's
since Ten Years After and The
Moodies were
both on Decca and were often
booked together.
There was a friendly rivalry
between us because
of the label thing although their
music and
ours were completely different.
Both bands
were booked by Bill Graham and
landed, with
great success, in the USA at
the same time
... I recall that Alvin kindly
lent me his
amps when mine blew up at a psychedelic
club
in Chicago in 1968.
Alvin played with great courage
and took
risks on the guitar that few
of the other
British blues boys dared to take.
He was, and always will be, acknowledged
as one of the greatest British
guitar players
ever.
Alvin Lee will never be forgotten
Omar Kent Dykes, Omar and the Howlers: My thoughts and prayers
are with the friends and family
of Alvin.
We have lost a tremendously talented
artist,
and he will be greatly missed.
Dennis Greaves, Nine Below Zero: Just about to go on stage
last night in Hamburg Wednesday,
when we
heard the news about the passing of Alvin Lee. As you may
or may not know we toured the
UK and the
USA with Alvin and had a great
time with
him and he was always very supportive
of
Nine Below Zero, he even gave
me a couple
of his old Marshall 4x12 cabinets.
Alvin
is one of the reasons I play
a Gibson 335
and was a big influence on me
as a kid. Last time we saw him was in Norway looking
fit and healthy hard to believe
another great
guitarist has gone
Kim Simmonds, Savoy Brown: In shock over the death of
Alvin Lee. I remember his first
London appearance.
He shook the guitar world up
back then
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
