"Blues to me is truth, it can be happy or sad, but you must be sincere in what you play, there's nowhere to hide when you play that music!"

Colin Hodgkinson

Bassist/singer Colin Hodgkinson was born in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. He began playing professionally in 1966, initially in a jazz-rock trio, then as a member of Eric Delaney's Showband.
He was the leader of the jazz-rock trio Back Door, which he formed in 1971 in Blakey, Yorkshire, England, with Ron Aspery (keyboards, saxophone) and Tony Hicks (drums; replaced by Adrian Tilbrook in 1975). The group was unusual in that Hodgkinson's bass was the lead instrument.

Their first, self-titled album, consisting entirely of instrumentals, was released on the local Blakey Records label in 1972. Then, the band was signed to Warner Bros. Records, which reissued the album in 1973 and released their three subsequent LPs, 8th Street Nites (1973), Another Fine Mess (1974), and Activate (1976). Back Door disbanded in 1977. (The Human Bed, an album containing the band's BBC sessions of 1973-1974, was released in 2002.)
All along, Hodgkinson had appeared on sessions with Alexis Korner (Bootleg Him!, Alexis Korner, Mr. Blues, Get Off My Cloud), and after the demise of Back Door, he continued to do so, sometimes performing with Korner in a duo. He also worked with Jan Hammer, Cozy Powell, Whitesnake, Mick Jagger, James Young, Konstantin Wecker, the Spencer Davis Group, and Miller Anderson. Often, he contributed songwriting to these projects as well as playing bass.
Eventually, Hodgkinson moved to Germany, while continuing to appear with different editions of the Spencer Davis Group. In 1998, the German Inakustik label released his debut solo album, The Bottom Line. He also worked with guitarist Frank Diez in the Electric Blues Duo, resulting in the 1998 release Lucky at Cards. A third 1998 album was Steaming, credited to Pete York, Brian Auger, and Hodgkinson. He continued to record with other musicians, notably on Jon Lord's Pictured Within and Chris Rea's Return of the Fabulous Hofner Blue Notes. Backdoor Too!, credited to Colin Hodgkinson Group was released on the Inakustik imprint Rokoko Records in 2008

Interview by Michael Limnios

When was your first desire to become involved in the music, which was your first idols & what does music, offered?
I started to play guitar in 1955 and my big influences were the early Rock'n'Roll, in 1959 I changed to bass because I loved the sound of it and my influences were the great jazz double bass players like Charlie Mingus

What do you learn about yourself from the blues, what does the blues mean to you?
Red Mitchell and Ray Brown but I also liked to play chords and loved Chuck Berry, Jimmy Reed etc so that formed the basis of my style. Then I heard Robert Johnson, Leadbelly, Willie McTell and started to sing that kind of stuff.

Are there any memories from Rocket 88, which you’d like to share with us?
I started playing with Alexis in 1969 and played with him on and off until 1983 the last few years as a Duo which was great. We were both in Rocket 88 too and a great memory from that time was playing a festival with 2 basses Jack Bruce and me!

Who are your favorite bands from ‘60s & of all the people you’ve meeting with, who do you admire the most?
My favourite bands from the 60's were really the bands that were playing Blues or R'n'B, Alexis Korner, Georgie Fame, Zoot Money etc, I wasn't into the pop scene at all.

Would you mind telling me your most vivid memory from the Backdoor?
My best moments with Backdoor were reading our first fantastic review in NME, and going to New York for the first time to record at Electric Lady.

What advice would you give to aspiring musicians, thinking of pursuing a career in the craft?
My advice to young players is to stay true to what you believe but if you want to play as a professional, be prepared to play in different styles because you need to earn a living

Are there any memories from THE ROAD WITH THE BLUES, which you’d like to share with us?
Blues to me is truth, it can be happy or sad, but you must be sincere in what you play, there's nowhere to hide when you play that music!

What's been their experience of touring in Greece? Do you have a message for the Greek fans?
Unfortunately I've only played in Greece once, in a club in Athens a few years ago but it was great and it would be good to come back sometime!

Colin Hodgkinson's website

                            Photo Credits: Peter Heller, Andy Johnson, Hans von Draminski