Paul Wassif (born 25 April 1963) is a British musician, guitarist, and singer songwriter.

Early career

Paul Wassif's early career included a brief spell with

Punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

/Rock band

The London Cowboys The London Cowboys were a British rock 'n' roll band who performed from 1980 to 1987. Formed by Steve Dior (vocals) and Barry Jones, formerly of The Idols, the band was somewhat of an enigma. Although these two remained constant and wrote t ...

. This was followed by various stints in New York City bands including The Ugly Americans with ex

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members, Jerry Nolan and

Sylvain Sylvain Sylvain Mizrahi (February 14, 1951 – January 13, 2021), known professionally as Sylvain Sylvain, was a Syrian-American rock guitarist, most notable for being a member of the New York Dolls. Early years Sylvain was born in Cairo, Egypt, to a S ...

. The 2008 London Cowboys retrospective release 'Relapse'Relapse
The London Cowboys.,

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

features the song 'Dragging in the Dirt' with band founder Steve Dior.
Wassif formed a group in the late 1990s with Henry Olsen (of

Primal Scream Primal Scream are a Scottish rock music, rock band originally formed in 1982 in Glasgow by Bobby Gillespie (vocals) and Jim Beattie (musician), Jim Beattie (guitar). The band's current lineup consists of Gillespie, Andrew Innes (guitar), Simon ...

) named Distant Cousins. The band toured across America with

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English Rock music, rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s l ...

on his

Pilgrim The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often vocalize it as ...

World Tour in 1998 performing at such venues as New York's

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...

.Where's Eric Tour Archive
Whereseric.com, retrieved 09/05/14Bonhams Auction
Bonhams.com, retrieved 09/05/14 Just before the tour Clapton gave Wassif his Martin 000-28 EC signature model acoustic guitar which he occasionally borrowed back during the tour. Wassif has also appeared as a featured guitarist on albums by Steve Knightley, Sam Sallon, Mark Abis and Saiichi Sugiyama.
Wassif is also a member of Blues/Folk trio Three Pilgrims with Mark Abis and David Watson.Folk Radio Review
published by Helen Gregory 30-04-14; retrieved 12-06-14

With Bert Jansch

Wassif collaborated on two of Bert Jansch's albums. On the album ''Edge of A Dream'', released in 2002, Paul duets with Bert on 'Black Cat Blues'. This track was subsequently featured on the soundtrack of ' Calendar Girls'.Calendar Girls Soundtrack
IMDb.com, retrieved 24-04-14 On Bert Jansch's final studio album ''The Black Swan'', released in 2006, Paul co-wrote 'Magdalina's Dance' and performs on 'My Pocket's Empty' and 'A Woman Like You'.
In an interview for Acoustic Guitar Magazine Bert Jansch described Paul Wassif as "a fantastic player. He's got a very, very gentle touch".Acoustic Guitar
Bert Jansch: Leading the Way by Teja Gerken on Acoustic Guitar 2007 Wassif also played regularly on stage with Bert Jansch. Bert Jansch One review of Bert's 2007 Somerset House concert (that also featured Bernard Butler and

Beth Orton Elizabeth Caroline Orton (born 14 December 1970) is an English musician known for her "folktronica" sound, which mixes elements of folk and electronica. She was initially recognised for her collaborations with William Orbit, Andrew Weatherall ...

) described that "''Wassif adds a country tinge to the music, which remains as sweet as ever as their first number ignores vocals to revel instead in these guitarists' undiluted skill''".musicOMH
Bert Jansch at

Somerset House Somerset House is a large neoclassical architecture, neoclassical building complex situated on the south side of the Strand, London, Strand in central London, overlooking the River Thames, just east of Waterloo Bridge. The Georgian era quadran ...

, London, 14 July 2007 by Jenni Cole In August 2010 Paul opened for Bert Jansch playing two nights at the

Queen's Hall The Queen's Hall was a concert hall in Langham Place, London, Langham Place, London, opened in 1893. Designed by the architect Thomas Knightley, it had room for an audience of about 2,500 people. It became London's principal concert venue. Fro ...

as part of the Edinburgh Festival.Queen's Hall Edinburgh

Edinburgh Festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of Arts festival, arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the ...

, 26/27 August 2010. On 3 December 2013 he performed on four songs at the concert "A Celebration of Bert Jansch" at London's Royal Festival Hall alongside

Robert Plant Robert Anthony Plant (born 20 August 1948) is an English singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer and lyricist of the rock band Led Zeppelin from its founding in 1968 until their breakup in 1980. Since then, he has had a successful solo ca ...

, Lisa Knapp,

Donovan Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946), known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter and record producer. He emerged from the British folk scene in early 1965 and subsequently scored multiple international hit singles ...

and various members of Pentangle, amongst others.The Observer
published 8 December 2013, retrieved 23-04-14 The concert was broadcast by BBC4 in the UK on 28 March 2014 under the name ''The Genius of Bert Jansch: Folk Blues and Beyond''.Folk Radio
published 25 March 2014, retrieved 23-04-14

''Looking Up Feeling Down'' (album)

Paul Wassif's first solo album ''Looking Up Feeling Down'' was released digitally on 5 May 2011 and on CD on 5 September 2011.Paul Wassif
Paulwassif.comLooking Feeling Down, Paul Wassif
Amazon.co.uk. The album features guest appearances from Bert Jansch and

playing and recording together for the first time on two tracks; 'Please Don't Leave', written by Paul Wassif and 'Southbound Train' written by

Big Bill Broonzy Big Bill Broonzy (born Lee Conley Bradley; June 26, 1893 or 1903August 14, 1958) was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. His career began in the 1920s, when he played country music to mostly African-American audiences. In the 19 ...

. Jansch also played on a further three tracks on the album in what was to be his final released recording.Last FM Bert Jansch Biography
Last.fm, retrieved 09/05/14 The album also features drummer Evan Jenkins from the Neil Cowley Trio,About
Neilcowleytrio.com David Watson, James Watson, Robin Clayton, Lynn Glaser, Steve Counsel and Seamus Beaghen. ''Looking Up Feeling Down'' was produced by Paul Wassif and David Watson, mastered by Tony Cousins at Metropolis Studios in London, and is released on Black Brown & White Records,Black Brown & White Records
Blackbrownandwhite.com a record label owned by Stephen Lyttelton
''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

''. (son of jazz musician Humphrey Lyttelton) and Karen Sonego (daughter of Brazilian folk musician, Zé Tapera)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wassif, Paul 1963 births Living people Musicians from Bristol English folk singers English rock singers English folk guitarists English male guitarists English rock guitarists English male singers British male songwriters