Malcolm Foster is a British musician known best for being the bass player for

the Pretenders The Pretenders are a British rock band formed in March 1978. The original band consisted of founder and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), James Honeyman-Scott (lead guitar, backing vocals, keyboards), Pete Farndon (ba ...

between 1982 and 1987, and a session player for

Simple Minds Simple Minds are a Scottish Rock music, rock band formed in Glasgow in 1977, becoming best known internationally for their song "Don't You (Forget About Me)" (1985), which topped the ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' Billboard Hot 100, Hot 100 ...

between 1989 and 1995.

Career

The Pretenders

Foster received an invitation from

Chrissie Hynde Christine Ellen Hynde (born September 7, 1951) is an American-British musician. She is a founding member of the rock band the Pretenders and is the band's lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter; she and drummer Martin Chambers are the ...

to join the Pretenders after Hynde dismissed original bassist Pete Farndon. Foster permanently joined in late 1982, and helped the band finish their 1984 album, ''

Learning to Crawl ''Learning to Crawl'' is the third studio album by the British rock band the Pretenders. It was released on 13 January 1984 by Sire Records after a hiatus during which band members James Honeyman-Scott and Pete Farndon died of drug overdoses. T ...

'' (his only full album with them). ''

'' was the band's commercial rebound after losing

James Honeyman-Scott James Honeyman-Scott (4 November 1956 – 16 June 1982) was an English rock guitarist, songwriter and founding member of the band the Pretenders. Honeyman-Scott established a reputation, in the words of AllMusic, as "one of the most original a ...

and Pete Farndon, featuring hits such as "

Back on the Chain Gang "Back on the Chain Gang" is a song written by American-British musician Chrissie Hynde, originally recorded by her band the Pretenders and released as a single by Sire Records in September 1982. The song was included on '' The King of Comedy'' s ...

," " Middle of The Road," and their cover of the Persuaders' hit "

Thin Line Between Love and Hate "Thin Line Between Love and Hate" is a 1971 song by the New York City-based R&B vocal group The Persuaders. The song was written and produced by the Poindexter Brothers, Robert and Richard, and was also co-written by Robert's wife, Jackie Mem ...

". After the band's 1984–1985 tour, which wrapped up with a show at

Live Aid Live Aid was a two-venue benefit concert and music-based fundraising initiative held on Saturday, 13 July 1985. The event was organised by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise further funds for relief of the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia, a m ...

, the Pretenders went in to work on their fourth album, ''

Get Close ''Get Close'' is the fourth studio album by rock band the Pretenders, released on 20 October 1986 in the United Kingdom by Real Records and on 4 November 1986 in the United States by Sire Records. The album contains the band's two highest-cha ...

''. Hynde was not satisfied with

Martin Chambers Martin Dale Chambers (born 4 September 1951) is an English musician, best known as a founding member and drummer of the rock band the Pretenders. In addition to playing the drums with the group, Chambers sings backing vocals (lead vocals on t ...

' drumming and let him go. During another session, Foster decided to follow Chambers out of the group.

Simple Minds

Foster joined Simple Minds in 1989, replacing bassist

John Giblin John Giblin (26 February 1952 – 14 May 2023) was a Scottish musician who worked as an acoustic and electric bass player spanning jazz, classical, rock, folk, and avant-garde music. He was a member of Simple Minds from 1985 to 1988, and w ...

. Foster was a session bassist on the albums ''

Street Fighting Years ''Street Fighting Years'' is the eighth studio album by Scottish rock band Simple Minds, released in May 1989 by record label Virgin Records worldwide apart from the US, where it was released by A&M. Produced by Trevor Horn and Stephen Lipson ...

'' (1989), ''

Real Life Real life is a phrase used originally in literature to distinguish between the real world and fictional, virtual or idealized worlds, and in acting to distinguish between actors and the Character (arts), characters they portray. It has become a ...

'' (1991), and '' Good News from the Next World'' (1995).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Foster, Malcolm Living people British bass guitarists The Pretenders members Simple Minds members 1956 births