The boss is on bass
QUESTION Other than Sting and the Police, in which bands is the bassist the lead songwriter?
A COMMON perception of the bass player is of a quiet man who lingers in the shadows, controlling the rhythm section. The classic example is John Entwistle, of The Who, who held the band together implacably as mayhem ensued all around.
Others in the same mould included John Deacon, of Queen, John McVie, of Fleetwood Mac, John Paul Jones, of Led Zeppelin, and Bill Wyman, of the Rolling Stones. Yet there are many rockers who’ve written and sung lead while plucking the four bass strings. The key example is, of course, Paul McCartney, of The Beatles, co-author of countless classics.
No bass player has ever been more adept at serving the composition with fluid, melodic lines, while never losing sight of the instrument’s main role in the rhythm section. To be able to play the most complex of bass lines as in a song l i ke Lovely Rita and to maintain his perfectly tuned, perfectly timed lyrics is a mark of Paul’s skill.
Following the death of guitarist Syd Barrett, Pink Floyd’s bassist, Roger Waters, stepped up to become band leader. He was principal songwriter on several classic albums, including The Dark Side Of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, Animals and his magnum opus, The Wall.
He is a fine, but subtle, bassist, and the band were at their best when the chemistry sparked with guitarist Dave Gilmour.
Phil Lynott’s singing, songwriting and bass-playing gave Thin Lizzy their driving sound. He was also the band’s chief lyricist and a brilliant one at that. Jailbreak, The Boys Are Back In Town, Do Anything You Want and Dancing In the Moonlight were all Lynott compositions.
The great Lemmy Kilmister created the driving hard rock sound of Motorhead that influenced countless metal bands. He had co-writing duties on all Motorhead songs, including Ace Of Spades and was an incomparable frontman.
Bill Ainsley, Swindon, Wilts.
QUESTION Weoley Castle in Birmingham is the least-visited tourist attraction in England. What is its history?
ONCE a fortified moated mansion, Weoley Castle gives its name to an area near Birmingham Selly Oak.
Weoley Castle was built more than 750 years ago as a hunting lodge by the Lords of Dudley. The castle once stood within 1,000 acres of deer park, which extended almost as far as the modern city centre. Its ruins are one of the oldest buildings still visible in Birmingham.
It had a moat, curtain wall, towers, battlements and arrow slits as well as an imposing gatehouse and impressive great hall. There were private rooms for the lords and ladies of the manor and a kitchen with a large fireplace for cooking.
The family had their own chapel and stable range with lodging rooms above, and there was a l arge brewhouse for beer production.
The site of the castle exists as part of a museum c omplex now owned by Birmingham Museum And Art Gallery. The castle became a Scheduled Ancient Monument in 1934. Excavations between 1960 and 1961 unearthed a 13thcentury wooden building.
A recent Heritage Lottery/Birmingham City Council and English Heritage funded-project has led to consolidation of the ruins and the creation of an education centre where schools’ sessions, community meetings and events are held. The ruins are supported by a volunteer group called the Castle Keepers.
According to the Association Of Leading Visitor Attractions, last year Weoley Castle had j ust 5,205 visitors. Because a residential housing estate surrounds the site, which forms part of a recreational park, it is not the easiest place to visit.
Furthermore, Weoley Castle is fenced off and visitors can usually only gaze at it through a fence on special event days.
David Shelton, Worthing, W. Sussex.
QUESTION Were a number of circular battleships built in the 19th century?
FuRTHER to the earlier answer, because of their novel shape, these ships are often claimed to be the worst ever made: Fred T. Jane (founder of Jane’s Fighting Ships) said: ‘On a trial cruise, they (Novgorod and Vitse-admiral Popov) went up the Dniepr very nicely for some distance, till they turned to retire.
‘Then the current caught them, and they were carried out to sea, whirled helplessly round and round, every soul on board helplessly incapacitated by vertigo.’
However, Jane never saw these ships at first hand, and his comment appears to be taken from various reports of the time.
John Jordan’s Warship 2015 gives a more considered assessment of these vessels: ‘In the final analysis, the popovkas seem to have been relatively effective coastdefence vessels; certainly their combination of armament and armour could have only been carried by a conventional ship of much greater draught.
‘Their faults — and they certainly had faults — were exaggerated by critics, both in Russia and abroad, and have left as a legacy stories of uncontrollable ships designed by incompetent men.’
Bill Howells, Southampton.
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