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Brian Matthews - Lead Guitarist
Biography 03-03-1960 to 09-07-2006 Guitar Influences in no particular order: Page, Beck, Hendrix, Atkins, Travis, Reed, Lee (both), King (all three), Henderson, Kessel, Pass, Bream, Collins, Vaughan, Ronson, Bolan, Formby, Garrett, Kossoff, Moore (both), Bell, Robertson, Weedon, Gorham, Jansch, Sumlin, Lagrene, Iommi, Cropper, Ford, Hill, Green (both), Guy, Hooker, Winter, Johnson (both), Gallagher, Waters, Lead Belly, Paisley, Mason, Montrose, Gatton, Townshend, Setzer, Garsed, Gallup, Cochran, Shelley, Clapton, Huff, Vai, Dale, Robillard, Lafertin, Stone, Akkerman, Zappa, Morrison, Benson, Thorogood, Slim, Ellis, Bolin, Hall, Scofield, Burrell, Fripp, Carlton, Cooder, Reid, Edmunds, Taylor (both) Richards, Wood, Young, Cobain, Trout, Cleminson, Halsall, Prince, May, Kotzen, Trower, Buchanan, Santana, Lane, Walker, Farlow, Allman, Walsh, Segovia, Young (both), Torme, Travers, Bender, Emmanuel, Van Halen, Montgomery, Christian, Nelson, Reinhardt, Howe, Gibbons, Broonzy, Blake, Perry, Roth, Slash, Eddy, Paul, Holder, Rodgers, Van Eps, Diddley, Robinson, Alden, Harrison, McLaughlin, Pizzarelli, Smith, Kottke, George, Ralphs, Rush, Scott, Honeyman-Scott, Jones (both), James (all three) Fuller, Watson, Marvin, Hopkins, Williamson, Gilmour, Stern, Firkins, Burton, Ray, Jorgensen, Donahue, Cash, Nolen, McKay, Morello, Becker, Jackson Jr, Mayfield, Williams (both), Thompson, Nocentelli, Schenker, McGeoch, Berry, and er, Blackmore
After being startled by a weasel my mother thrust me into the world mewling and puking. Like another weasel. Surviving infant monsterism and puberty, I decided to take up the guitar after being ordered to give up the violin by the council. This solitary proclivity led to many parental misunderstandings and punishment beatings, my mother being a bit tasty with her fists. Eventually bands were formed with my brother Gavin and a Mr Turnbull. We were finally joined by an Irish Viking called Dave the Irish Viking and became Dervish. Not that we were that similar to a popular diesel fuel, we just liked the name. Then it was the usual story - tours, groupies, alcohol, drugs, Satanism - you name it we'd heard of it. Of course, it couldn't last, with a new bass player, Jam, so-called because he looked like the Robertsons golly, and his anarcho-syndicalist tap-dancing Japanese wife Wan-Di, the band became a monster we couldn't control so we hit it with a spade and pretended it was an accident. Later I tried New Romanticism, Neo-Gothicism, and fruit massage but it didn't satisfy my inner urge so I took to acting in dead pop-star touring musicals. I was John Lennon and Bruce Springsteen in The Roy Orbison Story, Patsy Cline's husband in, er, Patsy Cline-The Muscial, third bloke from the left in Dusty. I did telly, notably Peasant no 364 in The New Adventures of Robin Hood, and most recently the bloke who got shot in toilet in BBC's Grass. I don't get out much these days, so when the chance came to go to Purple I embraced it with open arms and bleeding gums. When I am at home I like to while away the time cataloguing my wasp collection.
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