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Herbie Flowers (Steve Catlin/Redferns)

Herbie Flowers (1938–2024), Walk on the Wild Side bassist

by Linnea Crowther

Herbie Flowers was an English bassist who played on legendary tracks like Lou Reed’s (1942–2013) “Walk on the Wild Side” and David Bowie’s (1947–2016) “Space Oddity.” 

Herbie Flowers’ legacy 

Flowers first began performing music while he served in the Royal Air Force in the 1950s and ‘60s, playing the tuba in an Air Force band. He then began the double bass, an instrument he continued to play in jazz groups after his time in the service. Flowers’ work as a respected and sought-after session bassist began in the late ‘60s after he bought an electric bass guitar and became proficient with it as well as the stand-up bass. 

Flowers’ most recognizable bassline was one he composed at Lou Reed’s request. In the studio to record Reed’s 1972 album, “Transformer” – on which Flowers played both bass and tuba – he was asked to develop the bassline based on the former Velvet Underground singer’s chords. What he came up with was an instantly recognizable sliding line, one that is played on both double bass and electric bass, both performed by Flowers. The bassline helped make the song, “Walk on the Wild Side,” an enduring classic, and it became familiar to a new generation when prominently sampled in the 1990 A Tribe Called Quest hit, “Can I Kick It?” 

As a session musician, Flowers played on some of the great albums of the ‘60s and ‘70s. These included Elton John’s “Tumbleweed Connection” and “Madman Across the Water,” Bowie’s self-titled sophomore album and “Diamond Dogs,” and Harry Nilsson’s (1941–1994) “Nilsson Schmilsson.” He played on solo recordings by three of The Beatles – Paul McCartney, George Harrison (1943–2001), and Ringo Starr – and he wrote and performed the instantly recognizable bassline to David Essex’s 1973 hit, “Rock On.” 

In addition to his work as a session bassist, Flowers was also a founding member of Blue Mink, who had a hit in the U.K. with “Melting Pot.” He joined T. Rex in the band’s final years, playing on their last album, “Dandy in the Underworld.” He released several solo albums and less than a dozen singles, plus taught bass guitar. 

Flowers on “Walk on the Wild Side” 

“Lou had the chords written out on a piece of paper, and my job was to come up with the bassline. What the producer wants is for you to come up with something that is a bit catchy, and with Lou Reed, it was easy to say, ‘Can I get the double bass out of the car? Because this song is a bit jazzy, and the electric bass doesn’t work,’ although it did work when I put the bass guitar on a 10th above it. You could only do that once on a record because it’s such a distinctive sound.” — from a 2022 interview for Guitar World  

Tributes to Herbie Flowers 

Full obituary: Deadline 

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