In 2014, the legendary Sparks album “Kimono My House” celebrated its 40th birthday. Some critics noted at the time that it was inspired by Gilbert and Sullivan, incorrectly as it turned out, but a nice try nonetheless. Martin Gordon, the creator of the Rickenbacker bass lines prominently featured on the by-now millionplus selling album, has often included one or two G&S tunes on his solo releases, but now he goes the whole hog with an entire album devoted to the pair’s eccentric output. Gordon revisits their finest work and rearranges it for the contemporary ear. Using guitars, bass and drums (plus brass, keyboards and devices) the “Gilbert, Gordon & Sullivan” album trawls through a raucous selection of their finest compositions. With selections ranging from the well-known (‘Modern Major-General’, ‘When I Was a Lad’, ‘Lord High Executioner’) to the obscure but exquisite (‘Make Way For the Wise Men’, ‘Go Away Madam’), Gordon delivers the finest G&S tunes in a highly unrefined manner. Gordon was the bassist with Sparks, Jet, the Radio Stars and the reformed John’s Children in the 1990s. The album will be supported by live dates in the UK in 2016, plus a series of G&S workshops.
