Greg Ridley

Alfred Gregory Ridley (23 October 1947 – 19 November 2003) was an English bassist who was the bassist and a founding member of the rock band Humble Pie and Spooky Tooth.

Career Ridley was born in Carlisle, Cumberland, England. Early in his career he played under the name Dino as guitarist for "Dino & the Danubes" before joining bands such as the Ramrods. Ridley and Mike Harrison formed The V.I.P.'s in 1963, playing blues-based music. The band added guitarist Luther Grosvenor and organist/pianist Keith Emerson, who stayed for a brief period of time before leaving and forming The Nice. Subsequently, the VIPs changed their name to Art, for the album Supernatural Fairy Tales and then, with the addition of American keyboardist Gary Wright, to Spooky Tooth in 1968. Spooky Tooth signed to Island and recorded two albums It's All About (1968) and Spooky Two (1969).

In January 1969, Ridley was approached by Steve Marriott from the Small Faces, Earlier that year, he had also become involved with a Humble Pie project initiated by Jerry Shirley's reactivation of the group, and the enlisting of another former Humble Pie guitarist and vocalist Bobby Tench. This resulted in the album Back on Track, released by Sanctuary in 2002, and a short tour of Germany with Company of Snakes during the early part of 2003. The project was cut short when Ridley became ill.

Death On 19 November 2003, Ridley died in Alicante, Spain, of pneumonia and resulting complications. He was 56. His funeral was paid for by a concert organised by harmonica player Dave Hunt.

Discography The VIP's Singles: Don't Keep Shouting at Me / She's So Good (RCA Victor [UK], 1964) Mercy Mercy / That's My Woman (Philips, 1966) Wintertime / Anyone (CBS, 1966) I Wanna Be Free / Don't Let It Go (Island, 1966) Straight Down to the Bottom / In A Dream (Island, 1967) EPs: Stagger Lee / Rosemarie / Late Night Blues (1966) - with Keith Emerson on piano & organ What's That Sound (For What It's Worth) / Come on Up / Think I'm Going Weird / Rome Take Away Three (1967) I Wanna Be Free / Don't Let It Go / Smokestack Lightning (1967) Straight Down to the Bottom / Back into My Life Again / Every Girl I See / In A Dream (1967) Compilations: Live at Twen Club 1966 & More (1990) I Wanna Be Free (1990) The Complete VIP's (2007) 2-CD

Art Supernatural Fairy Tales (1967)

Spooky Tooth It's All About Spooky Tooth (1968) Spooky Two (1969) Cross Purpose (1999)

Humble Pie Studio Albums: As Safe As Yesterday Is (1969) Town and Country (1969) Humble Pie (1970) Rock On (1971) Smokin' (1972) Eat It (1973) Thunderbox (1974) Street Rats (1975) Humble Pie: The Scrubbers Sessions (1999) (Eagle) - recorded in 1974 with Boz Burrell, Mel Collins, Ian Wallace Back on Track (2002) Live Albums: Performance Rockin' the Fillmore (1971) King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents: In Concert Humble Pie Live 1973 (1995) (King Biscuit Entertainment) In Concert (1996) (King Biscuit Entertainment) - new edition/reissue of the first released version Extended Versions (2000) Natural Born Boogie: The BBC Sessions (2000) Live at the Whiskey A-Go-Go '69 (2002) Performance Rockin' the Fillmore: The Complete Recordings (2013) (Omnivore Recordings) 4-CD Boxset

Collaborations Marriott - Steve Marriott (1976) - with Ian Wallace Steve Marriott's Scrubbers - Steve Marriott (1996) - with Ian Wallace