Ged Peck obit

Ged Peck 1947-2015

 

He was not on the list.

Accomplished Marxist and caring friend, with an encyclopaedic intelligence of our class’s history, Ged Peck passed away on 10 January from a blood illness, aged 67. He leaves his partner Lena Calvert and two sons, Alex and Duncan.

Ged was a formidable rock guitarist. He played with a range of bands through the 1960s and 70s and was in US singer Marsha Hunt’s group at the 1969 Isle of Wight festival.

He also studied Russian and had a tight chess style full of ornate traps. Once when we were playing a game Ged was called by a member of Deep Purple. Contemptuous of name-dropping, he refused to tell me who.

He played delightfully complex jazz pieces seamlessly. His favourite artist was free jazz legend Ornette Coleman.

He played in several bands - mainly backing work with Billy Fury, Vince Eager, Tommy Quickly when he was managed by Brian Epstein, Americans Bob & Earl who had a hit single with Harlem Shuffle, The Flower Pot Men, the Pirates, singers Marsha Hunt, Billie Davis, Screaming Lord Sutch and David Garrick, whilst doing numerous studio sessions.

He recorded for the BBC with Billy Fury, Marsha Hunt, Billie Davis[2] and James Royal, whilst playing on an early recording by Marc Bolan which was produced by Mike Hurst of The Springfields.

In the 1980s he switched from being a professional musician to a lecturer. He joined Luton Socialist Workers Party (SWP) when he moved from London in 1983.

He met lecturer Mushtaq Arain at Luton Miners’ Support Group. In 1989 the two began teaching trade unionists. Their left wing approach helped the Trade Union Centre get up to 1,200 enrolments per year. His online tuition was recognised by the TUC nationally.

He never tired of our queries whether basic or elaborately detailed. He had left the SWP, but recently attended St Albans SWP meetings and the Gaza protests in London.

Rest in peace Ged—the struggle continues.

He began playing semi-professional when still at school and was soon working the big London hotels with the Rudi Rome Orchestra. He also played at the famous 2i's Coffee Bar in Old Compton Street and was offered a residency which he turned down due to his reluctance to sign any contracts with owner Tom Littlewood. After a later spell in northern England playing with a Bury-based group, he returned to London and joined a "mod" band called the Favourite Sons who recorded some tracks in 1965 with Mike Hurst and also played on the album they made. It was this band that occasionally backed Vince Eager and Tommy Quickly.

In 1966, he joined the Freddie Mack Sound which consisted of anything between ten and eighteen personnel with a full scale horn section led by baritone sax player Roger Warwick and toured Britain, Ireland and France incessantly. It was here that he met drummer B. J. Wilson and bassist Alan Cartwright, both of whom were later to join Procol Harum. The band also included Liverpudlian singer Derry Wilkie who had previously topped the bill over The Beatles in Germany with his band the Pressmen. The Freddie Mack Sound was so popular on the road that people would be turned away at some gigs. This was certainly the case when the band appeared at Liverpool's Cavern Club. Freddie Mack was a former American light-heavyweight boxer of some repute. The connection helped to get them a regular residency at English boxer Billy Walker's Uppercut Club in Forest Gate, east London. They played with all the leading acts of the time such was The Who, Pink Floyd, The Small Faces and Jimi Hendrix.

Following a myriad of aforementioned backing work, Peck was then invited by Alan Cartwright to join Every Which Way, a short-lived band prior to Cartwright and B. J. Wilson joining Procol Harum. He had a knack for turning down such promising offers having previously refused to join the chart-topping Foundations. He was also known for walking out of engagements he did not like, and was either lauded or criticised by contemporaries for his very fast playing style.

During his time backing The Flower Pot Men around Europe, who also played at Wembley's Empire Pool with Cliff Richard and The Shadows, two members of the backing band – bassist Nick Simper and organist Jon Lord – were approached by guitarist Ritchie Blackmore to form what later became Deep Purple. Peck and Blackmore had previously met in Hamburg through their drummer Carlo Little, although there was no animosity about the band's break up. They continued to exchange guitars and amplifiers for subsequent recording sessions. Simper was then temporarily replaced by former Georgie Fame bassist Tex Makins who toured Switzerland with Peck and Little backing singer David Garrick. Before this, Peck, Lord, Simper and Little had taken part in a 'package tour' with the U.S. band Vanilla Fudge, and Steve Winwood. Incessant touring around Europe taking in Germany many times, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Belgium continued to take their toll.