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20 Aug 2012

Unforgettable People (XLI): Bob Birch

Born and raised in Michigan, Detroit, Bob Birch played saxophone, bass and bassoon, throughout his school years. After graduating from the fine musical institution of Wayne State, with performance and a education degree, he moved to Los Angeles. He played in several Californian groups and also toured with Jose Feliciano. In 1986, he joined future Elton’s keyboard player Guy Babylon in a band called Ashton, and issued in 1988 the critically acclaimed 'Modern Pilgrims' album through RCA Records. Before, he was “Bobby” Birch on a male pop rock group called Fortune, then with Larry Greene on vocals, along with brothers Richard Fortune on guitar and Mick Fortune on drums, plus keyboardist Roger Scott Craig. Although the album achieved significant sales in Europe and Japan, the band itself received virtually no revenue or recognition. He did several other projects together with Babylon in the mid 80s. And he also was part of the group The Stickmen, which featured John Mahon and a drummer and vocalist.

In 1991, Guy Babylon recommended him to join “Warpipes”, a group featured some members of Elton’s band, where Davey Johnstone wrote most of the music and lyrics were provided by Steve Trudell. When Davey needed a bass player for Elton’s 1992 world tour, after Pino Palladino declined the work, he inmediatily thought about Bob Birch.

In 1995, while “Made In England Tour”, Bob Birch crushed his legs and his lower back was broken when a truck spun out of control while he was walking down a Montreal sidewalk, and forced the band urgency to find another bass player; David Paton finished the tour. And during the Red Piano concert in Rotterdam, Holland, Bob had to perform from a chair due to suffering a back injury. “His leg was bothering him but he is doing fine”, explained me Michele Birch, asking about this.

In 1997, he collaborated with Davey Johnstone on music for an episode of Fox TV's "King Of The Hill". And Jimmy Hunter's “Cazador” sessions bred Bob Birch recording rythm section with Rod Stewart guitarrist Paul Warren, and collaborated with them on 2005 album, "A Slender Thread," by rock singer, songwriter, and Austin, TX native Stacey Evans. Other project in 2005 found Bob Birch in Steve Archer’s reflective solo album “Call It Grace”; Steve is formerly from The Archers, an American contemporary Christian music group of the 70s.

Also he featured on the debut solo album from Emerson, Lake and Palmer member Keith Emerson. The Keith Emerson Band, with guitarist vocalist Marc Bonilla along with Bob Birch on bass and Gregg Bissonette on percussion, released “The House Of Ocean Born Mary", 2008, inspired by a romantic New England ghost story from Marion Lowndes, first published in "Ghosts that still walk" (1941). It consists of brand new compositions written by both talented Marc Bonilla and Keith Emerson, with Marc Bonilla complementing Keith with his exquisite guitar playing and superb vocals. Also he produced bands like Crush Velvet Cowboys and mastered Generalstore’s “Mountain Review” at Masterdix, Los Angeles. Birch had also played with great musicians like Eric Clapton, John Mayer, Phil Collins, Sting or LeAnn Rimes.

Unfortunetely, the music body was found around the corner from his San Fernando home in the early hours, on 15th August 2012. His death was investigated as a possible suicide after a gunshot wound was found to the head. He was aged 56 at the time of his passing. It seems the tragic accident he suffered in Montreal let him spent the remaining years of his life fighting to manage his pain and suffering in silence.

Bob was a great reader and had an awesome feel on the bass. In the years since, he had become a centerpiece of Elton’s band, described by Elton himself as his greatest bass player.

Pictures of Bob Birch courtesy by Brigitte Jouet-Pastre's archive

16 Aug 2012

Bob Birch's Concerts With Elton

Bob Birch had played 1442 concerts with Elton John. Since 26 may 1992, with his first show, until last 21th July 2012, in Nimes, France, he'd been travelling around the world and had visited so many countries. So: how many countries had he been performing? Which was the song most played live by him? Take a look! That's Bob's legacy!

United States


Albany - NY (5 times)
Albuquerque - NM (1 times)
Ames – IA (2 times)
Ames – IO( 1 times)
Amherst – MA (2 times)
Anaheim - CA (6 times)
Ann Arbor – MI (1 times)
Asheville – NC (1 times)
Atlanta - GA (18 times)
Atlantic City - NJ (3 times)
Auburn Hills - MI (2 times)
Augusta - GA ( 1 times)
Austin - TX (3 times)
Bakersfield - CA (2 times)
Baltimore – MD (1 times)
Baton Rouge – LA (1 times)
Bethel – NY (1 times)
Billings – MT (1 times)
Biloxi – MS (2 times)
Birmingham - AL (3 times)
Bismarck – ND (1 times)
Boise - ID (2 times)
Bonner Springs – KS (1 times)
Boston - MA (12 times)
Bozeman - MT (1 times)
Bridgeport - CT (2 times)
Bristow – VA (2 times)
Buffalo – NY (5 times)
Burgettstown – PA (1 times)
Camden – NJ (2 times)
Casper - WY (1 times)
Chapel Hill – NC (2 times)
Charleston – SC (1 times)
Charlotte - NC (6 times)
Charlottesville - VA (1 times)
Chattanooga – TN (1 times)
Chicago - IL (15 times)
Cincinatti – OH (6 times)
Clemson – SC (1 times)
Cleveland - OH (5 times)
Columbia – MD (4 times)
Columbia - MO (1 times)
Columbia - SC (3 times)
Columbus - OH (6 times)
Chorpus Christi - TX (1 times)
Cyahoga Falls – OH (1 times)
Dallas - TX (6 times)
Dayton – OH (1 times)
Daytona Beach – FL (1 times)
Denver - CO (5 times)
Des Moines - IA (1 times)
Detroit – MI (9 times)
Duluth – GA (1 times)
Duluth – MN (1 times)
East Rutherford – NJ (3 times)
El Paso - TX (1 times)
Essex Junction. VT (1 times)
Estero - FL (3 times)
Evansville – IN (2 times)
Fargo - ND (3 times)
Fort Lauderdale - FL (6 times)
Forth Worth – TX (1 times)
Foxboro – MA (4 times)
Fresno - CA (2 times)
Gainesville - FL (1 times)
Glendale - AZ (1 times)
Grand Forks – ND (1 times)
Grand Rapids – MI (2 times)
Green Bay – WI (2 times)
Greensboro – NC (1 times)
Greenville - SC (3 times)
Hartford – CN (4 times)
Hartford - CT (4 times)
Hershey - PA (1 times)
Hidalgo – TX (1 times)
Houston - TX (10 times)
Indianapolis - IN (5 times)
Jacksonville - FL (3 times)
Kalamazoo – MI (1 times)
Kansas City - MO (4 times)
Knoxville – TN (2 times)
La Crosse – WI (1 times)
Lafayette – LA (2 times)
Lake Tahoe – NV (1 times)
Lakeland – FL (1 times)
Landover – MD (2 times)
Laredo – TX (1 times)
Las Vegas - NV (290 times)
Lexington – KY (2 times)
Little Rock – AR (1 times)
Los Angeles – CA (19 times)
Louisville – KY (3 times)
Lubbock - TX (1 times)
Madison - WI (4 times)
Manchester - NH (2 times)
Mansfield – MA (6 times)
Maryland Hgts – MO (1 times)
Memphis - TN (3 times)
Miami – FL (6 times)
Milwaukee - WI (7 times)
Minneapolis – MN (6 times)
Missoula - MT (2 times)
Moline - IL (2 times)
Mountain View – CA (3 times)
Nashville - TN (7 times)
New Orleans – LA (2 times)
New York City- NY (54 times)
Noblesville – IN (2 times)
Norfolk - VA (2 times)
North Charleston - SC (2 times)
Oakland – CA (5 times)
Oklahoma City - OK (4 times)
Omaha - NE (2 times)
Orlando - FL (7 times)
Pensacola - FL (2 times)
Peoria – IL (1 times)
Philadelphia - PA (18 times)
Phoenix - AZ (5 times)
Pittsburgh – PA (6 times)
Portland - MA (1 times)
Portland - OR (5 times)
Providence - RI (1 times)
Pullman - WA (2 times)
Raleigh – NC (4 times)
Reading - PA (2 times)
Reno – NV (2 times)
Richmond - VA (3 times)
Roanoke – VI (2 times)
Rochester – NY (1 times)
Rosemont - IL (1 times)
Sacramento - CA (4 times)
Salt Lake City - UT (5 times)
San Antonio - TA (1 times)
San Antonio – TX (3 times)
San Diego - CA (6 times)
San Francisco – CA (2 times)
San Jose – CA (4 times)
Saratoga Springs – NY (1 times)
Savannah - GA (1 times)
Seattle - WA (6 times)
Silver Lake – CA (1 times)
Sioux Falls - SD (1 times)
Spokane – WA (1 times)
St. Louis – MO (5 times)
St. Paul - MN (3 times)
State College – PA (3 times)
Syracuse – NY (2 times)
Tacoma – WA (3 times)
Tallahassee - FL (3 times)
Tampa - FL (5 times)
Texan – TX (1 times)
Toledo – OH (1 times)
Tucson – AZ (1 times)
Tulsa - OK (2 times)
Tupelo – MI (1 times)
Uncasville - CT (3 times)
Uniondale – NY (6 times)
Universal City – CA (1 times)
University Park – PA (1 times)
Virginia Beach – VA (2 times)
Washington - DC (5 times)
Wichita - KS (1 times)
Wilkes Barre - PA (3 times)
Winston Salem - NC (2 times)
Worcester – MA (1 times)
Yakima – WA (1 times)
Youngstown – OH (1 times)

Hawaii


Honolulu (4 times)
Maui Kahului (2 times)

Puerto Rico


San Juan (1 time)

Canada


Calgary( 2 times)
Edmonton( 2 times)
Eugene (1 times)
Hamilton( 3 times)
Kelowna( 2 times)
Kingston( 1 times)
Montreal( 6 times)
Ontario (1 times)
Ottawa( 3 times)
Prince George( 1 times)
Quebec City( 3 times)
Regina( 4 times)
Saskatoon( 3 times)
Sault Sante Marie( 1 times)
Toronto( 9 times)
Vancouver( 5 times)
Victoria (2 times)
Winipeg( 3 times)

United Kingdom


Aberdeen( 1 times)
Berkshire( 1 times)
Birmingham( 13 times)
Blackpool (1 times)
Bolton( 1 times)
Bournemouth( 1 times)
Bristol( 2 times)
Cardiff( 4 times)
Carlise( 1 times)
Charlton( 1 times)
Chesterfield (1 times)
County Durham( 1 times)
Coventry( 1 times)
Darlington( 1 times)
Doncaster( 1 times)
Edinburgh( 1 times)
Falkirk (1 times)
Glasgow( 8 times)
Harrogate (1 times)
Hertfordshire (1 times)
Hove( 2 times)
Huddersfield( 1 times)
Inverness( 1 times)
Ipswich( 1 times)
Kent( 1 times)
Kilmarnock( 1 times)
Liverpool( 3 times)
London( 44 times)
Manchester( 8 times)
Newcastle( 2 times)
Newcastle Upon-Tyne( 2 times)
Norfolk( 1 times)
Northamptonshire (1 times)
Norwich( 1 times)
Nottingham( 3 times)
Oxford( 1 times)
Paddock Wood( 1 times)
Perth( 1 times)
Plymouth( 1 times)
Reading( 1 times)
Sheffield( 6 times)
Shrewsbury (1 times)
Somerset( 1 times)
Southampton( 1 times)
Stoke-On-Trent( 1 times)
Swansea( 1 times)
Swindon( 1 times)
Taunton - Somerset (1 times)
Watford( 2 times)
Weybridge-Surrey( 1 times)
Worcester( 1 times)

Ireland


Belfast( 3 times)
Co.Kerry( 1 times)
Cork( 2 times)
Dublin( 4 times)
Limerick( 1 times)

Gibraltar


Gibraltar( 1 times)

Australia


Adelaide( 5 times)
Brisbane( 5 times)
Canberra( 1 times)
Canungra( 1 times)
Darwin( 1 times)
Hunter Valley( 4 times)
Launceston. Tasmania( 1 times)
Melbourne( 10 times)
Perth( 6 times)
Sydney( 17 times)
Tanunda( 1 times)
Thuringowa( 1 times)
Werribee( 2 times)

New Zealand


Auckland( 4 times)
Dunedin( 1 times)
Wellington( 1 times)

France


Cannes( 1 times)
Divonne( 1 times)
Grenoble( 1 times)
Lievin( 1 times)
Lyon( 3 times)
Metz( 1 times)
Nancy( 1 times)
Nice (1 times)
Nimes( 5 times)
Paris( 14 times)
Strasbourg( 1 times)
Toulon( 1 times)


Monaco 



Monte Carlo( 1 times)

Germany


Aschaffenburg( 2 times)
Baden-Baden( 1 times)
Berlin( 7 times)
Bielefeld( 2 times)
Bonn( 1 times)
Bremen( 1 times)
Cologne( 3 times)
Dortmund( 4 times)
Dresden( 1 times)
Dusseldorf( 2 times)
Erfurtn( 2 times)
Frankfurt( 6 times)
Freiburg (1 times)
Halle( 1 times)
Hamburg( 4 times)
Hannover( 3 times)
Kiel( 1 times)
Koblenz( 1 times)
Konstanz( 1 times)
Leipzig( 2 times)
Ludwigsburg (1 times)
Mannheim( 2 times)
Moenchengladback( 1 times)
Munich( 8 times)
Nuremburg( 2 times)
Oberhausen( 2 times)
Riesa( 1 times)
Stuttgart( 4 times)
Tussling (1 times)
Ulm (1 times)
Wels( 1 times)
Wetzlar (1 times)
Wiesbaden( 1 times)
Wolfsburg( 1 times)
Wurzburg (1 times)

Austria


Innsbruck( 1 times)
Ischgl( 1 times)
Graz( 1 times)
Linz( 1 times)
Salzburg( 1 times)
Vienna( 5 times)

Poland


Gdansk (1 times)
Lodz (1 times)
Sopot( 1 times)
Warshaw( 2 times)

Switzerland


Basel( 3 times)
Frauenfeld( 1 times)
Lausanne( 2 times)
Locarno (1 times)
Vevey( 1 times)
Zurich( 10 times)

Luxembourgh


Luxembourgh City( 1 times)

Holland


Rotterdam( 5 times)

Belgium


Antwerp( 2 times)
Brussels( 2 times)
Ghent( 2 times)
Werchter( 1 times)

Italy


Bergamo( 1 times)
Bologna( 2 times)
Lucca( 2 times)
Milan( 5 times)
Monza( 1 times)
Padova (1 times)
Perugia( 1 times)
Pesaro( 2 times)
Pordenone( 1 times)
Rome( 4 times)
Verona( 2 times)

Spain


Barcelona( 3 times)
Benidorm( 1 times)
Guadalajara( 1 times)
La Coruña( 1 times)
Madrid( 2 times)
Mallorca (1 times)
Marbella( 1 times)
Mijas( 1 times)
Oviedo( 1 times)
Pamplona( 1 times)
Sevilla( 1 times)
Tenerife( 1 times)
Xativa( 1 times)

Portugal


Lisboa( 2 times)

Norway


Fredrikstads( 1 times)
Kristiansand( 1 times)
Oslo( 12 times)

Sweden


Goteborg( 3 times)
Malmo( 1 times)
Stockholm( 6 times)

Denmark


Aarhus( 1 times)
Augustenborg (1 times)
Copenhagen( 5 times)
Jelling( 1 times)
Odense( 1 times)

Finland


Helsinki( 4 times)
Pori (1 times)
Turku( 1 times)


Serbia



Belgrade( 1 times)


Hungary


Budapest( 2 times)


Slovenia



Ljublana (1 times)

Czech Republic


Prague( 2 times)

Slovakia


Bratislava( 2 times)
Kosice( 1 times)


Bulgarie



Sofia( 1 times)

Romania


Bucharest( 2 times)

Estonia


Tallin( 1 times)

Latvia


Riga( 2 times)

Lithuania


Vilnius( 2 times)


Belarus



Minsk( 1 times)

Ukraine


Kyiv( 2 times)

Russia


Moscow( 5 times)
Rostov-On-Don( 1 times)
Sochi( 1 times)
St. Petersburg( 2 times)

Greece


Athens( 1 times)

Turkey


Ankara (1 times)
Istanbul( 2 times)

Israel


Tel Aviv( 2 times)

Mexico


Chichén Itzá (1 times)
Guadalajara Jalisco( 1 times)
Guajanato (1 times)
Mexico City( 6 times)
Veracruz (1 times)

Argentina


Buenos Aires( 3 times)

Brazil


Rio de Janeiro( 3 times)
Sao Paolo( 1 times)

Colombia


Bogota( 1 times)

Venezuela


Caracas( 2 times)


Perú



Lima
( 1 times)

Chili


Santiago( 1 times)


Costa Rica



San José( 1 times)

Azerbajan


Baku( 1 times)

Trinidad and Tobago Islands


Tobago( 1 times)

Japan


Fukuoka( 1 times)
Nagoya( 1 times)
Osaka( 2 times)
Tokyo( 6 times)


China


Hong Kong( 3 times)
Shanghai( 2 times)

Taiwan


Taipei( 1 time)

South Korea


Seoul( 1 time)


Malaysia



Genting Kuala Lumpur( 1 time)

Republic Of Singapore


Singapore( 5 times)

Thailand


Bangkok( 1 time)


India


Bangalore( 1 times)

United Arab Emirates


Dubai( 2 times)
Abu Dhubi( 2 times)

Morocco



Rabat( 1 times)


South Africa


Cape Town( 1 times)
Durban( 1 times)
Johannesburg( 2 times)

And playing the following songs on each set list:

Don't let the sun go down on me (1372 times)
I guess that's why they call it the blues (1358 times)
Rocket man (1307 times)
Saturday night's alright (1302 times)
Philadelphia freedom (1270 times)
Bennie and the jets (1255 times)
The bitch is back (1238 times)
Tiny dancer (1137 times)
Daniel (1073 times)
I'm still standing (1044 times)

Funeral for a friend / Love lies bleeding (943 times)
Sorry seems to be the hardest word (768 times)
Take me to the pilot (752 times)
Crocodile rock (743 times)
Your song (672 times)
Levon (671 times)
Goodbye yellow brick road (628 times)
Someone saved my life tonight (598 times)
Pinball wizard (576 times)
The one (574 times)
Sad songs (534 times)
Believe (525 times)

Sacrifice (434 times)
Honky cat (400 times)
Simple life (389 times)
I don't wanna go on with you like that (361 times)
Mona lisas and mad hatters (317 times)
I want love (299 times)
Candle in the wind (277 times)
Burn down the mission (271 times)
Madman across the water (267 times)
Great balls of fire (234 times)
Something about the way you look tonight (200 times)

Can you feel the love tonight (195 times)
All the girls love Alice (190 times)
You may be right (189 times)
Hey Ahab (171 times)
Are you ready for love (164 times)
Grey seal (156 times)
The show must go on (156 times)
This train don't stop there anymore (144 times)
Holiday inn (143 times)
Mona lisas and mad hatters part two (143 times)
My life (138 times)
The wasteland (137 times)
Ballad of the boy in the red shoes (131 times)
Come down in time (121 times)
Made in England (113 times)
Gone to Shiloh (109 times)
Monkey suit (106 times)
Uptown girl (105 times)
Circle of life (103 times)
The Bridge (103 times)

They call her the cat (97 times)
Answer in the sky (96 times)
Turn the ligths out when you leave (94 times)
Original sin (88 times)
A hard day's night (85 times)
House (83 times)
Dixie Lily (76 times)
All that I'm allowed (I'm thankful) (73 times)
Lucy in the sky with diamonds (73 times)
If the river can bend (72 times)
Have mercy on the criminal (67 times)
American triangle (64 times)
Pain (63 times)
Blue avenue (56 times)
Herkules (55 times)
Recover your soul (50 times)

Captain Fantastic And The Brown Dirt Cowboy (49 times)
Porch swing in Tupelo (49 times)
Freaks in love (48 times)
Empty garden (46 times)
I'm going to be a teenage idol (44 times)
Weight of the world (44 times)
The best part of the day (43 times)
When love is dying (43 times)
My elusive drug (42 times)
Whitewash county (42 times)
Harmony (38 times)
Never too old  (To hold somebody) (38 times)
The Captain and the Kid (36 times)
Love's got a lot to answer for (35 times)
Lucille (33 times)
New York state of mind (33 times)
They Say It's Your Birthday (33 times)
Back In The U.S.S.R. (32 times)
Lies (32 times)
Postcards from Richard Nixon (32 times)
A dream come true (27 times)
Nikita (27 times)
Electricity (26 times)
Tinderbox (26 times)
Here comes the sun (25 times)

Healing hands (24 times)
When a woman doesn't want you (24 times)
(Gotta get) A meal ticket (23 times)
Blues never fade away (23 times)
If it wasn't for bad (23 times)
Jumping jack flash (23 times)
Birds (22 times)
Sand and water (22 times)
Border song (20 times)
Blue eyes (19 times)
Come together (19 times)
Skyline Pigeon (19 times)
Roy Rogers (18 times)
Stone's throw from hurtin' (18 times)
Country comfort (17 times)
Jimmy Rodgers' Dream (16 times)
Better off dead (15 times)
Hearts have turned to stone (15 times)
Tell me when the whistle blows (15 times)
Blessed (14 times)
We all fall in love sometimes / Curtains (13 times)
Runaway train (12 times)
There's no tomorrow (12 times)
A woman's needs (10 times)
Bite your lip, get up and dance (10 times)
Just like Noah's Ark (10 times)
The king must die (10 times)

Ballad of a well known-gun (8 times)
High-flying bird (8 times)
Old 67 (8 times)
Bitter fingers (6 times)
Don't go breaking my heart (5 times)
Sixty years on (5 times)
Where to now St. Peter? (5 times)
Wouldn't have you any other way (NYC) (5 times)
I must have lost it on the wind (4 times)
I should have sent roses (4 times)
Mansfield (4 times)
Club at the end of the street (3 times)
Eight hundred dollar shoes (3 times)
I can't keep this from you (3 times)
Little Jeannie (3 times)
Long way from happiness (2 times)
Singin' in the rain (2 times)
Texan love song (2 times)
Written in the Stars (2 times)

(What the hell is wrong with) Expressing yourself (1 time)
16th Century man (1 time)
Auld Lang Syne (1 time)
Children of the revolution (1 time)
El Dorado (1 time)
Friends never say goodbye (1 time)
Grandma's song (1 time)
Like father like son (1 time)
Salvation (1 time)
Someday out of the blue (1 time)
The trail we blaze (1 time)
Tutti frutti (1 time)
We once were kings (1 time)
Without question (1 time)