Pino Paladino

Pino Palladino
Palladino with The Who, 2008
Background information
Birth name	Giuseppe Henry Palladino
Born	(1957-10-17) 17 October 1957 (age 59) Cardiff, Wales
Genres	Rock, pop, soul, funk
Occupation(s)	Musician, songwriter, record producer
Instruments	Bass guitar
Years active	1974–present
Labels	Verve, Atlantic
Associated acts	Paul Young, The Who, John Mayer Trio, The RH Factor, Gary Numan
Notable instruments
Pino Palladino Signature Fender Precision Bass Fender Jaguar Bass Music Man StingRay Fretless Bass

Giuseppe Henry "Pino" Palladino (born 17 October 1957) is a Welsh bassist who is a founding member of the John Mayer Trio. He replaced John Entwistle in The Who and has recorded and toured with D'Angelo and the Vanguard.

Palladino plays a late-1970s, fretless, Music Man StingRay bass guitar, a fretted Fender Precision, and Jaguar basses. His playing has earned him custom instruments bearing his name.

Born in Cardiff to an Italian father from Campobasso, Umberto Palladino, and a Welsh mother, the former Ann Hazard, Palladino began playing the electric guitar at age 14. By 17 he decided to play the bass guitar, and bought his first fretless bass one year later, playing mostly R&B, funk, and reggae with a rock and roll backbeat. His first professional gig, at age 20, was at a television station in Cardiff in 1978. During the same year, he joined Jools Holland's band and appeared on the album Jools Holland and His Millionaires.

Touring with Holland to support the album gave him the opportunity to purchase his own Music Man StingRay Fretless Bass. While Holland was touring with another new band, the Q-Tips, its frontman, Paul Young, became acquainted with Palladino and, a year later, offered him a place in his backing band.

After Young signed a solo contract in 1982, he hired Palladino. Young had chart success with the album No Parlez and with the hit songs "Wherever I Lay My Hat" (No. 1 in the UK) and "Love of the Common People," on both of which Palladino played. Palladino stayed with Young for five years.

In 1983, Paladino joined The Law with Paul Rodgers, formerly of Bad Company and The Firm, and drummer Kenney Jones, who had succeeded Keith Moon in The Who after Moon died, and recorded the album The Law.