Ian Gibbons (67) – the Kinks – was born on18 July 1952
Gibbons began playing the accordion at the age of nine, playing in the school band, and solo at music festivals, competitions and charity events. At the age of 14, he started a school rock band, playing guitar and singing. He changed to organ after leaving school and played in local and resident bands until 1972, when he joined Moonstone, which released three singles. He was a founder member of what was known in London as the ‘Southend Musical Mafia’ which contained a great many talented musicians who were born in sight of Southend Pier. In time he played for Moonshine, the Feelgoods, Maggie Bell, the Love Affair, the Kursaal Flyers, the Nashville Teens, Samson, Ian Hunter, Suzie Quattro, Andy Scot, Chris Farlow, Roger Chapman and, rumor has it, Martha and the Vandellas to name but a few.
When Punk and new wave came along Gibbons worked with rock based and new wave bands until an audition for the Kinks in 1979.
Of that audition Kinks Co-founder Ray Davies said:
“When he auditioned for the band, he only played a few chords before I knew he was the right guy to have on keyboard, he seemed to know the right voicing to musically slot in between the other members of the band. And with the Kinks, that took some doing!”
He was asked to join, and stayed with them during the band’s late-career resurgence, playing on such popular tunes as “Come Dancing,” “Better Things,” “Destroyer,” “Don’t Forget to Dance,” “State of Confusion” and “Do It Again.” until 1989. It’s possibly a measure of the esteem Ian Gibbons was held in by fellow musicians that he rejoiced (?) in the nicknames Stubz, Stubzie, Gibbo and even Little legs! In the Kinks though he was one of two diminutive people known collectively, and with great affection as the two little sods!
Gibbons worked with Love Affair and the Nashville Teens, whilst also working with Dr. Feelgood, the Kursaal Flyers, Ken Hensley, Mike Vernon, Samson, Randy California and others, mainly recording. Other artists he worked with were Roger Chapman, the Sweet, Suzi Quatro and Ian Hunter. He rejoined the Kinks again in 1993, staying with them until their break-up in 1997.
He continued to record and perform with Chapman and Hunter, along with Chris Farlowe, Maggie Bell, Andy Scott, the Chicago Blues Brothers and on Ray Davies choir and and contributed to some solo projects by guitarist Dave Davies. He was also an actor and writer, known for Halloween: The Night He Came Back (2010), Return to Waterloo (1984) and The Kinks: Don’t Forget to Dance (1983).
In 2008, Gibbons joined The Kast Off Kinks, a band that has featured various former Kinks members, including original drummer Mick Avory, keyboardist John Gosling and bassists John Dalton and Jim Rodford. Rodford died in January 2018 at age 76.
Ian Gibbons died from bladder cancer at home, on 1 August 2019, at the age of 67
Kinks guitarist Dave Davies issued a statement regarding Gibbons’ death that reads, “It was a great shock to hear about Ian Gibbons passing. He worked with the Kinks throughout the ’80s. He was always such a positive and optimistic guy. He was the perfect professional. I never had any problems with him and we got on really well. My heart goes out to his family and friends at this difficult time. He added a lot of color to the Kinks music. I’m devastated and he’ll be badly missed.”
Co-founder Ray Davies said: ‘On the road, he could always be guaranteed to give a smile of encouragement from his side of the stage and buy a round in the bar after the show so we could have a party in Ian’s noisy room,’ the frontman added. ‘Being in a band is like being in a family and today it is as though we have lost family member.’ ‘He was also was a brilliant accordion player and, apparently, a bit of a childhood prodigy on that instrument. In the studio, he would willingly try out the most random musical idea I would throw at him.’
The Kinks music with songs like Waterloo Sunset, You Really Got Me, Sunny Afternoon, See My Friend, a.o. has gone down as one of the defining sounds of the flower power generation, and has since been made into a musical, Sunny Afternoon, by the Davies brothers.
