Bass Player: Terry ‘Thunderbags’ Pack

In 1979, at the height of the Punk movement in the United Kingdom, a group of unreconstructed hippies decided to launch a kind of Classical/Progressive Rock hybrid using modern Rock instruments to create instrumental music that was very Classical in feel but fully orchestrated in a way that was not really precedented at the time. Of course, commercially, it was a complete disaster but, nevertheless, The Enid, as they were called, continue to work to the day having been through a ridiculous number of line-up changes. The one constant is pianist/composer Robert John Godfrey, the former orchestrator for the Prog/Folk band Barclay James Harvest. Alongside guitarist Francis Lickerish and Stephen Stewart, Godfrey and the rest of the band would construct beautifully orchestrated pieces including this one. The tune is called ‘Humouresque’ and is the first part of a suite called ‘Charades’ that forms side one of the original vinyl record for ‘Touch Me’, released by The Enid in 1979.

Interestingly, the bassist on this piece, Terry Pack, was contacted by Bilbo to discuss the nuances of the closing section of the piece where the electric bass seems to disappear. Terry confirmed that it is likely that the bass was replaced with a Moog synthsiser for the string ensemble sound that is achieved during the closing section (from 4.33 onwards). What was shocking in discussing the recording with Terry is that he has NEVER HEARD THE ALBUM. He reports that the recording was a stressful experience for him as a musician and he has never listened to the album since it was released.

The bass part, whilst beautifully arranged and incorporated into the overall ensemble sound, it is actually pretty demanding both in terms of reading and playing. The are sections of the bass part that are not, in any way, a conventional Rock bass line, rather a quasi-fugue line (think of an organist’s left hand playing a Bach counterpoint). Great fun once you get a handle on it, though.