Bob Brunning's Passing
 

The papers are reporting that Bob Brunning has passed away yesterday, at the age of 68. His first wife Sujatin Elspeth Johnson confirmed his death on October 18, 2011, in an email to me. Mr. Brunning had 2 children with Sujatin Johnson, Simon and Rachel.

He also had a son Daniel, with his second wife Halina. He had six grandchildren.

A blogger has prepared a nice tribute to Bob Brunning here: http://www.roybaintonwrites.com/2011...done-gone.html

We've never had to say that before about a member of Fleetwood Mac.

Michele

15 more times all-in-all. Probably double that by including members of their solo bands.

RIP Bob.

Bee, couldn't help it, but that sig you have of Lindsey from the Live 1980 album...squint just right and he kinda looks like SpongeBobSquarePants.

Yep, we just lost the first link in the chain. Let's hope it's not a 3 pack.:(

Rest in peace, Bob.

RIP Bob. While his impact on Fleetwood Mac was minimal, his contribution to British blues over the years was enjoyable.

Thank you so much to Wetcamelfood for getting me into Bob Brunning's music and all those albums that I would never have had the opportunity to hear otherwise.

I have spent many a happy time listening to Brunning Sunflower Blues Band or The De Luxe Blues Band. While they never made it to stardom, they were an excellent band that produced some wonderful music.

The only video I could find that featured BB on bass (somewhere over in the corner)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QaFKZ...feature=colike

You're welcome Chris. :)

My computer crashed last night before this news broke so I just saw this now.

I couldn't help thinking over the last few years that we were lucky to never have needed to encounter this situation with one of our 16. It's amazing when you think of all the other bands out there and what their fans had to go through regarding members they were fans of that had been lost but as has been pointed out here it is inevitable and if nothing else it will help us prepare for those unavoidable future days we hear more news like this.

This will be a strange day not knowing the feelings that will overcome me.

John

Yes as terrible as it sounds, and while his death has made me sad, it certainly hasn't affected me like the passing of some of the members will. That sounds callous, but I don't mean it to be so.

Sad to hear this news. RIP Bob.

A few YouTube clips that include Bob on bass guitar:

From Fleetwood Mac's debut gig at Windsor:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e08kol0ZzrM

Studio recording of "Long Grey Mare":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSvU8OXqmzM

From Tramp, with Danny Kirwan and Mick Fleetwood:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_v5r4rd5ZA

Very sad. He has taken part of the band's history with him. I really do wish Mick could do a super Mac album with all the members of the Mac on record: one song per songwriter. That's my dream. I wish it were his.

We might get something exciting in 2017... if we are lucky. Surely they have to release something different, rather than another rehashed greatest hits album?

Won't happen. That will be the 40th anniversary of Tumours. God, please let them re-release it on 8-track! Because they will still have to beat that old, dead, road carcass.:lol:

LAME. They were artists, once upon a time. Now, well,....just they may as well stock up on some red light bulbs.....

An "artist" creates. Not REcreates, a 40yo work of art, without putting something new on the palette(I don't count them doing SYLM as new). They're sort of a cover band now, because all they do is oldies. So SYW didn't have anything worth still performing? Hmm...

Their solo careers are where they put their artistic effort now. Fleetwood Mac is just for the money.:o

R.I.P, Bob.
His anecdote about him auditioning for Greeny always makes me laugh.
"Do you know you namesake, the famous Peter Green?"
"I AM Peter Green, you twat!"

Or something like that...

Agreed
 

Never understood it either. Some folks don't let us move on. I've heard about :sorry:similar eye-rolling sentiments to mine from others regarding such attitudes.
Eric: "Come on Eric, quit messin' about. Give us that old Les Paul/Marshall stuff like before..."
or
Mark: "Let's hear the old stuff. When is DS having a reunion?"

'No man having tasted the old wine, straightway desires the new.' I suppose some of us have to live with that.:sorry:

Yup... that's exactly what came to my mind immediately... RIP Bob.

Matt

Actually I was thinking more along the lines that it was 50 years of Fleetwood Mac, I forgot about Rumours.

I was hoping that Brunning would release another album from his De Luxe Blues Band, but obviously that is not to be now. I noticed on one of the pages that have sprung up since his death a comment about how he had been playing with a band fairly recently. No idea of any more info about that though.

Given the past (and present?) drug abuse and/or alcohol abuse of people like Dave Walker, Danny Kirwan, Peter Green, Stevie Nicks, Bob Welch and of course Mick Fleetwood and John McVie, it seems cruel that Mr Brunning, probably one of the clean-living Mac members, who had a 30 year teaching career, should be the first to pass away.

RIP Bob

He played bass in Long Grey Mare and I Believe My Time Ain't Long. Two favorites of mine.

He also made a claim somewhere that he played uncredited on other tracks when McVie was too drunk to play. I don't know if that is widely accepted or not though? :shrug:

Ok now here is a question of the Brunning fans. Both of you...

I knew I had read somewhere about the number of albums that Bob had released so I went looking back in the news section of this page (well the Penguin bit of this site) and found the following quote

"The grandfather gave up the life of a full-time bluesman to teach, but has been playing in various line-ups and has just recorded his 43rd album."

Now I was wondering how accurate that figure was...

So to my count:

1 x Five's Company album
1 x Cub Scout album - Songs For Your Enjoyment
3 x Fleetwood Mac albums (Live at the Marquee, Pious Bird of Good Omen and PG's FM) I know this is one bootleg and three tracks, but..
1 x Savoy Brown album (and that is really stretching the truth a bit)
2 x Tramp Albums
4 x Brunning Sunflower albums
8 x De Luxe Blues Band albums
3 x BB Blues Club Albums (although did he appear on all of them?)

That gives us a total of 23 albums.

We could stretch that further by mentioning the Rarities album, and even the Tramp 1974 album by Jo-Ann Kelly (which I think he was on some tracks). Admittedly Long Grey Mare pops up on a few albums but that would really be grasping at straws.

I know he guested on a couple of albums by Bob Hall as well although I don't know which ones, etc. I'm guessing he may have turned up on albums by Dave Kelly, Danny Adler, etc, although once again I'm guessing at that.

Even then, would that be classified as "recording" 43 albums.

That article and the "43 albums" has annoyed and niggled at me for 10 years. I guess now is as good a time as any to ask the question...

Maybe this 43 albums figure includes a lot of guest appearances on obscure british blues bands along the years. Don't have a clue though.

Yeah I think this is including compilations. Actually I bet it would total a lot more than 43 if you included every redundant release related to any recording he ever played on but my guess is they probably took that number from his allmusic.com "credits" listings which I'd guess looks roughly around 43 (but I never counted them) though there are a couple on there that were recorded by another Bob Brunning (John Stewart's Bullets In The Hour Glass, Rip Masters' Big Red '57, etc.).

I have seen write ups like this on other artists where they say "(so and so) has appeared on nearly 900 albums (etc.)" and this could be true for the Waddy Wachtel's of the world but the artists I was reading about (can't remember who now but will post if I do remember) were not session players by any stretch so I think it was safe to say in those cases they HAD to be including comps.

However please do let those of us interested :) know if you come across anything he played on (where the recordings in question have not already appeared in some form) and I'll do the same if I come across anything as well. :)

John

Well if you count the Allmusic.com numbers it comes to 49 or so...which would make sense. Especially as it only lists 3 of the DBB albums!

Though here is a question John, do you have the compilation of Brunning Sunflower called Long Old Road? I didn't even know it existed, and the next question is, is there anything on there that isn't on the other albums. Oh and what the hell is Disc 3? Never heard of those songs. They are listed as being written by Hutto. I've heard of J.B. Hutto but is that him, and what does he have to do with Brunning Sunflower? Was Disc 3 a short tribute disc?

:shrug:

Thanks :)

Stunning how these questions arise only AFTER his passing....:shocked:
R.I.P. Bob

You couldn't get Mr Brunning to answer questions when he was alive, so we might have better luck now. Refer to the Q&A which he disappeared from part way through, or ask John about his dealings with him.

Nevertheless, his passing gives us a chance to reflect on his career...

Long Old Road was just a box set compilation of the Brunning Sunflower albums plus the JB Hutto album the Brunning Sunflower band played on as Hutto's backing band (Hipshakin' Live In London)

http://www.discog.fleetwoodmac.net/discog.php?pid=389

As far as I know that's the only way (as of now) to get that album on CD and I found the Trojan 2fers of the Sunflower albums to be of better use than the ones included in this box so I kept the Hutto disc (since they are mini LP replicas) and sold the rest (the minimalist that I am).

Yes, I don't want to kick him on the way to the burial ground but the nicest way to say it is I just found it strange that in his books he seems to gleefully talk about his times to anyone that wants to hear about them but then when we did converse it was almost like he was annoyed. I mean, I understand he might feel embarrassed not remembering which songs he played on from some of the albums he's been on over the years but I never meant it that way, I didnt expect him to remember those details but just wanted to go through the process of asking him the question so I could then walk away knowing I asked and he doesn't remember you know so I wouldn't always think "maybe if I asked him he'd have recalled" and just found it odd he seemed to be really into talking about his musical travels not only in his books but the liner notes he'd do for CD reissues etc. yet it was as if you were asking him personal questions when just asking him about the recordings so I just found that to be a contradiction is all.

Still, like Chris says, we can look at his recorded works now with pride regarding the quality his body of work has (given he ended up being what might be referred to many as a "semi pro" music career next to his educational career). :)

John

Thanks John, I knew that we would have discussed it before had there been anything different from the other BSBB albums. The Hutto one confused me slightly for a minute though.

I think I said to you before John, I have always thought of Brunning Sunflower and De Luxe Blues Band as being like going to your local bar and seeing a really good blues band play. They weren't in the league of Fleetwood Mac, but they were enjoyable nonetheless.

And not too many local bar bands had guest players like Brunning Sunflower Blues Band did:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-uQmWRgRaI

Or even better, what a joy/honor it must have been to support on this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3u8f...eature=related

Actually BSBB and Tramp were very much tongue in cheek, they often produced quite witty songs. There are some great songs that make you laugh, they weren't taking themselves too seriously. C&W Blues, Big Belly Blues, I Met This Bird In Playboy, What You Gonna Do When The Road Comes Through, Paternity Orders (Keep On Rolling In), etc.

The De Luxe Blues Band went all serious on us though (most of the time). I guess DLBB were more the bar band than BSBB and Tramp were.

Though to be honest both Bob Hall and Jo Ann Kelly were world class. Oh and if anyone was taken from us too young, it was Jo Ann Kelly. Oh what a voice!

You're welcome Chris, and I agree, the BSBB & DLBB did bring out the best in that bar band type sound. I guess it's those recordings I always have in mind when I say they were semi-pro, perhaps not top notch craftsmanship (craftspersonship? gotta get the politically incorrect 70s phrases out of my vocabulary), but very pleasant and laid back. :)

John

Yes, Jo-Ann was taken too soon as well. Yeah at a push, I do find myself listening to Tramp & BSBB stuff more than DLBB but the Deluxe's had some great stuff too, I always wondered if Danny Adler and Rick Vito would ever consider getting together to do something, I know they know each other and I think that would make for an interesting blues pairing. :)

John

Bob Brunning: Original bass player with Fleetwood Mac

Alan Clayson
Tuesday, 25 October 2011

The summit of his career as a professional musician was, ostensibly, as temporary bass guitarist with Fleetwood Mac. Nevertheless, even during subsequent decades as headmaster of a London comprehensive, Bob Brunning was mainstay of other respected outfits that made headway during the blues boom of the later 1960s. He was also author of several associated books, such as 1995's Blues in Britain, a near-definitive history. As a measure of his own standing in the movement, this was launched with a show at central London's 100 Club, featuring Brunning, Colosseum saxophonist Dick Heckstall-Smith, guitarist Danny Adler from Roogalator, vocalist Chris Youlden of Savoy Brown and, on drums, former Jeff Beck and Rod Stewart sideman Mickey Waller.

Yet at grammar school in his native Bournemouth, Brunning had plucked bass in a mainstream pop outfit, Lee Peterson and the Defenders, prior to pledging himself in 1963 to The Sabres, fronted by future national radio disc-jockey Tony Blackburn. Within a year, however, he'd commenced teacher training in London, where he joined Five's Company, who recorded three singles and a concept album, The Ballad of Fred the Pixie.

Becoming more attracted to earthier sounds, he responded in July 1967 to a Melody Maker advertisement that read, "bass player wanted for Chicago-type blues band", placed by Peter Green, fresh from a stint as guitarist with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers. While he passed the audition, Brunning understood immediately that he was in the group only until John McVie, Green's first choice, became available in December.

Billed as Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac, they made their debut at the Windsor Jazz and Blues Festival the following month. Then came a punishing run of round-Britain one-nighters – and studio sessions that yielded a maiden single, "I Believe My Time Ain't Long", and the taping of an in-concert album in autumn 1967 (unissued until 1992).

Brunning remained on amicable terms with Fleetwood Mac, even recording with the group on one occasion when McVie was indisposed. He also formed Tramp, a casual ensemble, with drummer Mick Fleetwood during a sojourn with The Savoy Brown Blues Band, with whom Brunning attempted to balance distant bookings with his day job in a primary school – until the evening he was obliged to interrupt his wedding celebrations to fulfil a contracted Savoy Brown gig in Essex. Nonetheless, on accepting a post at a secondary school in Pimlico, he stayed in touch with the band, mulling over but ultimately turning down a North American tour – and, with a former Savoy Brown colleague, pianist Bob "Big Sunflower" Hall, founding The Brunning-Sunflower Blues Band. Through Brunning's connections with the budget label Saga – responsible for the belated release in 1969 of The Ballad of Fred the Pixie – the band released three albums prior to a fourth offering for another company in 1971.

Perhaps the most unusual of Brunning's musical activities during the 1970s and beyond was his participation in the 22nd Streatham Cub Scouts LP Songs for Your Enjoyment, but more typical was accompanying artists engaged by a Birmingham conglomerate, Big Bear. Through its agency, American Blues Legends revues came to Europe, containing the aged likes of Lightnin' Slim, Homesick James, Big John Wrencher and Eddie Clearwater. As well as backing these veterans both on stage and on disc, Brunning's Deluxe Blues Band – with Hall, Adler, Waller and, later, Heckstall-Smith – became popular in its own right. Despite subsequent turnovers of personnel, the group was still active during their bass player's final years, appearing often at his long-running BB's Blues Club in south London.

Bob Brunning, musician: born Bournemouth 29 June 1943; married (three children); died London 18 October 2011

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/ob...c-2375404.html

I wonder if this was researched or just copied directly out of Brunning/Fleetwood's books. We know that there is dispute about whether Brunning lasted until December (three months) or not.

Thanks for posting though Viv... :)

The Guardian, Dave Laing , Thursday 27 October 2011
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011...?newsfeed=true

Bob Brunning obituary
Founder member of Fleetwood Mac and a stalwart of the British blues scene

Bob Brunning, a founder member of Fleetwood Mac and a stalwart of the British blues scene for five decades, has died after a heart attack aged 68. Brunning played with the group Savoy Brown and for many years led his own bands, often supporting visiting American musicians, while holding down a day job as a teacher.

He grew up in Bournemouth, where he took up the bass guitar. He played with various local groups, including one led by the future Radio 1 disc jockey Tony Blackburn. In 1963 he moved to London to train as a teacher at the College of St Mark and St John ("Marjon") in Chelsea. There, he joined a college group, Five's Company, whose keyboards player was Steve Jones, later a radio presenter. The group had a "thoroughly good time", Brunning later said, and made three singles for Pye Records. None was commercially successful.

When its members graduated, Five's Company split up. Brunning answered an advertisement for a bass player in Melody Maker. He later described going for an audition where "I was greeted by a guy who introduced himself as Peter Green. I said to him: 'You've certainly got the right name for a blues guitarist. Do you know about your namesake, who plays with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers?' 'You bloody idiot,' he said, 'I am Peter Green.'"

Despite this faux pas, Brunning got the job, joining Green's Fleetwood Mac. The band made its debut at the 1967 National Jazz and Blues festival at Windsor, after which the group took up a residency at the Marquee Club in Soho. But Brunning was asked to leave three months later when Green and the drummer Mick Fleetwood's former colleague John McVie was persuaded to leave Mayall's band to join Fleetwood Mac.

Undaunted, Brunning moved on to a rival group, the Savoy Brown Blues Band (later known as Savoy Brown), who ran a blues club at the Nag's Head pub in Battersea, south London. His sojourn with this band was equally brief. This time, the parting of ways was caused by arguments over money.

His split from Savoy Brown convinced Brunning that he needed a regular job as insurance against the vagaries of the music business. He found one at a primary school in Pimlico and was to stay in the profession for 30 years, retiring in 1999 as a headteacher.

In the 1970s, he remained active in the British blues scene, forming and leading bands as well as accompanying numerous American musicians, many of whom appeared on the American Blues Legends tours organised by the Birmingham promoter Jim Simpson. Sometimes he would return to London in the middle of the night after a show in the north of England and grab a few hours' sleep before the school day began.

Among Brunning's associates in the south London blues scene were the singer and guitarist Jo Ann Kelly, her guitarist brother Dave, and the pianist and patent agent Bob Hall. With Hall, Bob founded the Brunning Sunflower Blues Band, which made four albums between 1968 and 1970. He next organised a recording group, Tramp, with the Kellys and Hall plus guest appearances from the Fleetwood Mac members Danny Kirwan and Mick Fleetwood.

In 1981 Hall and Brunning returned to live performance as the De Luxe Blues Band, with Danny Adler on guitar and Mickey Waller on drums. The group was formed to back the American blues artists Eddie Clearwater and Carey Bell at a show in London, but the quartet stayed together for more than a decade, adding Dick Heckstall-Smith on saxophones. The band made five albums and toured Europe frequently during school holidays.

In the 1980s, Brunning branched out as an author. His first book, Blues: The British Connection (1986), was informed by his firsthand experience of the scene and remains the definitive guide to the genre. He also profiled Fleetwood Mac in two books, which were updated regularly. Brunning capitalised on his teaching experience by writing a series of books on popular music for children, published under the rubric Sound Trackers by Heinemann.

He continued to perform regularly, ran a Sunday nightclub, BB's, in south London, and issued CDs on his own record label. Always loyal to Fleetwood Mac, he even played occasionally with Fleetwood Bac, a well-regarded tribute band.

Brunning is survived by his wife, Halina, three children and six grandchildren.

• Bob Brunning, blues musician, born 29 June 1943; died 18 October 2011

There's mention of Bob's passing on the BBC website today. It's the first I'd heard of it so RIP Bob.

BBC News Magazine, October 31, 2011 By Nick Serpell Obituary Editor, BBC News
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-15520303

When Peter Green formed the original Fleetwood Mac in 1967 he was initially unable to persuade John McVie to sign up and instead recruited Bob Brunning as the band's first-ever bass player. Brunning was studying at a teacher's training college when he saw Green's advert in Melody Maker. In the event he played on just one track with the band, Long Grey Mare, before McVie changed his mind and Brunning quit. He spent a brief period with Savoy Brown but decided that teaching would provide a more certain income. His interest in music did not diminish and he recorded four albums with his own outfit although none sold that well. He was also a prolific author and published several histories of Fleetwood Mac as well as books about the British blues scene.