Acclaimed British bass guitarist Herbie Flowers, who worked with the likes of David Bowie, Paul McCartney and Sir Elton John, has died aged 86.
Flowers played bass in pop group Blue Mink and rock band T. Rex, and is thought to have contributed to more than 500 hit albums by the end of the 1970s.
He was credited with creating the famous bassline in Lou Reed’s Walk on the Wild Side from his 1972 album Transformer.
Tributes from family and friends said Flowers was a “beautiful soul” and his musical contributions had touched many lives.
In 1969, Flowers became one of the founding members of the pop group Blue Mink.
The band found chart success with their debut single Melting Pot in 1969, and again with The Banner Man in 1971.
It was also in the 1960s that Flowers acquired his reputation as a session bass guitarist, working for record producers such as Shel Talmy, Steve Rowland and Tony Visconti.
He played bass guitar on David Bowie’s self-titled 1969 album and Diamond Dogs in 1974.
One of his greatest achievements was to be the creator behind the legendary bassline for Lou Reed’s 1972 hit Walk on the Wild Side.
In the late 1970s, Flowers founded the instrumental prog rock band, Sky, recording and performing with the band until 1995, releasing seven albums.
Herbie Flowers, an accomplished British bass guitarist who collaborated with artists such as Sir Elton John, Paul McCartney, and David Bowie, passed away at the age of 86.
Flowers was a bassist for the rock group T as well as the pop group Blue Mink. At the close of the 1970s, Rex is believed to have contributed to over 500 successful albums.
On Lou Reed’s 1972 album Transformer, “Walk on the Wild Side,” he is credited with composing the iconic bassline.
On Facebook on Saturday, his immediate family confirmed his death. Flowers was described as a “beautiful soul” and his musical contributions had touched many lives in tributes from family and friends.
He was born Brian Keith Flowers, and during his nine years as a bandsman playing the tuba in the Royal Air Force in the 1950s, he developed his first musical taste.
One of the original members of the pop group Blue Mink was Flowers in 1969. Melting Pot, the band’s debut single, peaked at number one on the charts in 1969, and The Banner Man did the same in 1971.
Additionally, Flowers made his name as a session bass guitarist in the 1960s, playing for producers of records like Shel Talmy, Steve Rowland, and Tony Visconti.
Diamond Dogs (1974) and David Bowie’s self-titled album (1969) both featured him on bass guitar.
He is best known for having written the iconic bassline for Lou Reed’s hit song “Walk on the Wild Side” in 1972.
Flowers, who was paid double for playing two instruments as a session musician, came up with the idea for the bassline, he later revealed in a 2005 interview with the BBC. Flowers lived in Ditchling, East Sussex.
The last lineup of T included Flowers in 1977. Rex just prior to Marc Bolan’s passing, appearing on both Bolan’s Marc TV show and the band’s last album, 1977’s Dandy In The Underworld.
Flowers started the instrumental prog rock group Sky in the late 1970s. The group recorded and performed extensively, putting out seven albums between 1975 and 1995.
