Big Jim Sullivan
| Big Jim Sullivan | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | James George Tomkins |
| Born |
14 February 1941 Uxbridge, Middlesex, England |
| Died | 2 October 2012 (aged 71) Billingshurst, West Sussex, England |
| Occupation(s) | Guitarist, arranger |
| Instruments | Guitar, sitar |
| Years active | 1958–2012 |
| Website | dunelming |
James George Tomkins (14 February 1941 – 2 October 2012), known professionally as Big Jim Sullivan, was an English musician whose career started in 1958.
He was best known as a session guitarist. In the 1960s and 1970s he was one of the most in-demand studio musicians in the UK, and performed on around 750 charting singles over his career, including 54 UK Number One hits.
He was born James George Tomkins, in Hillingdon Hospital, Middlesex, England, and went to Woodfield Secondary School in Cranford, Middlesex. At the age of 14, he began learning the guitar, and within two years had turned professional.
He called himself Jimmy Sullivan because it was lyrically similar to Lonnie Donegan.
When he was young he played with Sid Gilbert and the Clay County Boys a Western swing group Johnny Duncan's Blue Grass Boys, Vince Taylor & the Playboys, Janice Peters & the Playboys, and the Vince Eager Band.
Sullivan gave guitar lessons to near neighbour Ritchie Blackmore.
In 1959, at The 2i's Coffee Bar, he met Marty Wilde and was invited to become a member of his backing group, the Wildcats, who were the warm up act on the television series, Oh, Boy!, produced by Jack Good. The Wildcats backed Eddie Cochran and Gene Vincent on their tour of Britain in 1960, during which Cochran died. Wilde bought Sullivan a Gibson Les Paul guitar, reputedly the first to be played in Britain, which he had bought from Sister Rosetta Tharpe. He later played a cherry-red Gibson 345 guitar.
He was the lead guitarist of the Krew Kats, recording the 1961 tracks "Trambone", "Samovar", "Peak Hour", "Jack's Good" and "The Bat".
Sullivan, Ritchie Blackmore and Pete Townshend, persuaded Jim Marshall to make better and more affordable amplifiers.
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