In the Beginning . . . When I’m asked about The AllStars and how we got together, I always just fall back on our standard blurb out of a combination of laziness and practice! It goes something like this: “Since their creation in the spring of 2004 The AllStars Collective has brought together some of London’s top session musicians, taking the back-room talent responsible for some of the best known music in the world into the spotlight. Between them, The AllStars have live and recorded credits with many of the world’s biggest artists, including Michael Jackson, Mariah Carey, George Michael, Amy Winehouse, Stevie Wonder, The Eurythmics, Madonna, Rod Stewart, Elton John, Chaka Khan, Jennifer Lopez, Shakira, and many more. These unsung heroes have been described by the major record labels as a unique concentration of talent and are very much at the core of perpetuating the UK’s reputation as one of the global centres of excellence in popular music.” But that’s a bit cold and doesn’t really tell the whole story – in fact it really just skims the surface – and the list of credits in reality goes way beyond the big names we picked as headline grabbers and into every corner of the music world – in a way that is both inspiring and mind blowing to me – do you like jazz? Then how about Branford Marsalis, Herbie Hancock, Stanley Clarke, John McLaughlin and Marion Montgomery on our list – or how about Rock – try Jeff Beck, Glen Hughes, The Waterboys, Eric Clapton, Cher and Tina Turner – or Reggae? Try Ernest Ranglin, Arrow and Jimmy Cliff! Disco or Pop? Try Gloria Gaynor, Kylie Minogue, The Pointer Sisters, Westlife, Robbie Williams, Enrique Iglesias, Mark Ronson and Take That - and I could go on and on – and the stories in the band room do! Matthew Clackett (September 2008) For the full story click here |
