You'll have to forgive me for exhibiting trainspotter-like tendencies and being a bit of a guitar nerd, but what's the deal with the Rickenbacker bass that Tony James of Generation X (Billy Idol's "punk lite" band from before he went solo) is playing in this classic archive clip from BBC TV's Top Of The Pops.
Did Rickenbacker ever make a bass with a Fender-esque competition stripe (and what would they call it? "Competition-Glo"?), or is it a self-applied graphic, OR is the bass actually a Japanese knock-off?
Furthermore, do I win any points for Most Irrelevant Guitarz Blog Post?
G L Wilson
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It's a self-applied graphic. A lot of punk bands covered their guitars in stickers back then, remember Joe Strummer's Tele? I've been watching Punk Brittania on BBC4 and the Rickenbacker 4001 seems to have been the bass of choice for a lot of those bands. Isn't nostalgia a wonderful thing, with one hand it makes you feel young again and with the other it reminds you how old you are!
ReplyDeleteLook at the t-shirts, then decide if they were into customising things! I reckon it's a self-applied endeavour. I bought some similar tape from my local car shop (you know, the sort that sell paint, spare parts, cleaning materials etc. - fantastic places for bargain guitar tinkering/modding supplies!)
ReplyDeleteNice to see how groovy Gen X were too.