Big Jim Sullivan - Biography
A professional guitarist since the age of 16, Big Jim got his first break as one of Marty Wilde’s original Wildcats; having given the odd guitar lesson to Ritchie Blackmore, the immensely talented Jim soon found himself on the road backing US Rock & Roller Eddie Cochran on his ill fated tour of the UK.
Jim moved on to session work and it was his versatility and ability to play in all styles including Country, Classical, Blues, Jazz and Rock & Roll that led him to become known throughout the entertainment industry as the “go to guy”. Working with a list of artists so long its reads like the who’s who of the record business Jim played on a staggering 1000 chart entries.
Sometimes averaging 3 sessions a day, Jim has played on some of the world’s most recognizable tracks. The Kinks “You Really Got Me”, David Bowie’s “Space Oddity”, Carly Simon’s “You’re So Vain” and Shirley Bassey’s “Goldfinger” all benefited from Jim’s remarkable style, it’s easy to see why he became one of the worlds most sought after session musicians.
In 1969 Jim joined Tom Jones, with whom he spent the next 5 years touring and performing, he played on some of his best loved tracks including “Its Not Unusual” , “What’s New Pussycat”, “Thunderball” and “Delilah” and it was during his time in Las Vegas performing with Tom that Jim met and formed a friendship with Elvis Presley.
Jim left Tom in late 1974 and set up record label “Retreat” with Deep Purple and Wishbone Ash producer Derek Lawrence, They produced various artists including 'Chas 'n' Dave', 'McGuiness Flint' and 'Tiger' , Derek and Jim moved out to the states and produced a Glam Metal band called 'Angel'. This success of Angel kept Jim in America until 1975 when he headed back to the UK to concentrate on Tiger
In 1978 Jim became part of the James Last Orchestra, with whom he performed for the following 9 years. After so many years of touring Jim took time off from the road to concentrate on composing music for film. His performing took a back seat for a few years until a friend suggested he perform with local musician Willie Austen, The Duo performed together in local venues for about 12 years and in 1997 they parted ways
Since early 2003 Jim and his friend and guitarist Doug Pruden have been touring as the BJS Duo. They regularly amaze audiences with their outstanding performances, just as they will with their Guitar Maestro’s DVD.
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