Ollie Halsall
Ollie Halsall |
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'Ollie may not have been the best guitarist in the world, but he was certainly among the top two.' - John Halsey, 1997
Peter John 'Ollie' Halsall (14 March 1949 - 29 May 1992) is best known for his role as a guitarist in the bands Patto and Boxer, and for his work with Kevin Ayers. He was known as Ollie because of his distinctive way of pronouncing his surname, with a dropped 'h.'
Halsall came to London in 1967 to play vibraphone with pop-rock outfit Timebox (which included bassist Clive Griffiths and keyboard wizard 'Professor' Chris Holmes). Ollie took up guitar and they acquired Mike Patto on vocals, and finally drummer 'Admiral' John Halsey.
It has been suggested that the electric guitar parts played in Donovan's psychedelic 1968 single Hurdy Gurdy Man was played by Halsall.
In 1970, following the departure of Holmes, Timebox evolved into Patto. They played a unique blend of 'progressive' jazz-rock (for want of a better term) featuring Halsall's guitar work, which began to develop legendary status.
In 1973, Halsall left to join Jon Hiseman's Tempest. After less than a year, he quit and did numerous sessions including one track for Kevin Ayers; this led to a permanent position in Ayer's band The Soporifics.
In 1975, Patto staged a brief reunion comprising just three benefit gigs. The reuniting of Halsall and Patto sparked the formation of Boxer, a band which unfortunately promised more than it delivered, and are best remembered for their debut album Below The Belt and its controversial sleeve design. In 1976, Halsall rejoined Ayers, with whom he stayed on and off for the next 16 years until the former's untimely death in 1992.
Probably the best known recording of Halsall is his work on the album The Rutles (1978), where he plays many of the instruments. His role in the accompanying film, however, went instead to Eric Idle and Halsall only featured as a very minor cameo role as Leppo, the fifth Beatle who became lost in Hamburg.
The Ollie Halsall Archive was established, in 1985, with the aim of documenting and promoting the work of a unique musician.
Halsall was a left-handed guitarist.