Roderick Demick (born 17 March 1947) is a British guitarist and bassist who has played with many leading musicians.

Life and career

Born in Prestatyn in

north Wales North Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, with Snowdon ...

, Demick moved with his parents to

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

, aged 5. He learned guitar and at the age of 11 joined his first band, the Vibros, who later became the Telstars (or Tony and the Telstars). In 1963 he joined another Belfast band, The Wheels, and moved with them to England the following year. With Demick on

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a guitar technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse (music), pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., d ...

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica incl ...

and vocals, the band released several singles, including "Bad Little Woman", later recorded by The Shadows of Knight, and supported visiting American musicians such as John Lee Hooker. Biography by Craig Harris, ''Allmusic.com''
Retrieved 26 April 2020 Michael Limnios, "Rod Demick: The Blues Therapy", ''Blues.gr'', 31 March 2015
Retrieved 26 April 2020 After the Wheels broke up in 1967, Demick and his bandmate, lead guitarist Herbie Armstrong, joined Screaming Lord Sutch's band, known at the time as the Beautiful Quality, for six months. The following year, the pair left and recorded as the James Brothers, releasing two unsuccessful singles on the Page One label in 1968. Demick and Armstrong continued as a duo under their own names, toured with a band, and released several singles and two albums, ''Little Willy Ramble'' ( MAM, 1971) and ''Lookin' Through'' ( A&M, 1972), described by

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 ...

reviewer Craig Harris as "impressive". Demick worked as a

session musician A session musician (also known as studio musician or backing musician) is a musician hired to perform in a recording session or a live performance. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a reco ...

in the 1970s. In 1973, he joined influential pub rock band Bees Make Honey, but the album recorded by that line-up of the band was unreleased and the band split up in 1974. Demick reunited with Herbie Armstrong in 1978, in the band Yellow Dog. He then joined the band

Meal Ticket Meal Ticket were a country rock band who emerged from the London pub circuit during the 1970s and signed to Logo Records. They had several line ups which included Ray Flacke, Jack Brand, Andy Coulter, Rod Demick, Chris Hunt, Keith Nelson, Stev ...

, toured with them and appeared on their 1978 album ''Take Away'', before working with singer-songwriter Ian Gomm, touring the US with Gomm as support act for Dire Straits, and appearing on two of Gomm's albums, ''What a Blow'' and ''Village Voice''. Rod Demick / Demick and Armstrong, ''StrawbsWeb''
Retrieved 26 April 2020 Demick joined David Essex's band as bassist in the early 1980s, touring with Essex for several years and appearing on the 1983 album ''The Whisper''. He also played with Ron Kavana, before joining the Strawbs in 1985 as replacement for

John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), better known as John Ford, was an American film director and producer. He is regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers during the Golden Age of Hollywood, and w ...

. He continued as a member of the Strawbs until 1998, also playing with their spin-off blues band, Turkey Leg Johnson, and in several bands led by Jim McCarty, including

the Yardbirds The Yardbirds are an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1963. The band started the careers of three of rock's most famous guitarists: Eric Clapton (1963–1965), Jeff Beck (1965–1966) and Jimmy Page (1966–1968), all of whom ...

at the time of their 1992 reunion performances. Other musicians with whom he has performed include Dr. John, Billy Ocean, and

Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal ( ; ; ) is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was commissioned in 1631 by the fifth Mughal Empire, Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his belo ...

. In the early 1990s, Demick joined the Paul Lamb Blues Band. After finally leaving the Strawbs, he became a permanent member of Paul Lamb and the King Snakes in 1999. "Rod Demick", ''PaulLamb.com''
Retrieved 26 April 2020

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Demick, Rod 1947 births Living people Rock guitarists from Northern Ireland Male bass guitarists from Northern Ireland Musicians from Belfast People from Prestatyn Bees Make Honey (band) members 20th-century bass guitarists from Northern Ireland