Tim Cappello

Tim Cappello (born May 3, 1955), also credited as Timmy Cappello, is an American multi-instrumentalist, composer, and vocalist. He is primarily known for his saxophone work supporting Tina Turner in the 1980s and '90s, as well as for his musical performance in the 1987 vampire film The Lost Boys.

He is notable for his muscular physique, his sexually provocative movements during performances, and for a tendency to perform shirtless, with oiled skin and a ponytail.

Early life Cappello was born and grew up in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Harrison, New York, which, at the time, had a White Plains, New York, postal address. in addition to touring with Gabriel. Cappello also toured with Garland Jeffreys in 1978, playing both saxophone and keyboards. After struggling with heroin addiction, Cappello quit the drug "cold turkey" in 1979 and began bodybuilding in 1980. —a band that included drummer J.P. "Thunderbolt" Patterson (also of The Dictators and Manitoba's Wild Kingdom) and Joe Carroll, a composer/producer who is president and founder of the Manhattan Producer's Alliance (ManHatPro). Cappello toured with Ringo Starr in 1992 and 1999 as a member of his All-Starr Band.

At tall, and reportedly in 1985, —for her four-hour documentary series about the Rat Pack for the A&E channel, and for her 2001 TV documentary Lana Turner... a Daughter's Memoir.

In 2018, Tim was featured, along with singer Indiana, on the British Synthwave band GUNSHIP's single "Dark All Day" from the album of the same name. The album rose to number 1 in the Electronic charts in the US, UK, and Canada.

He also released his first solo album, Blood on the Reed, in 2018 and toured to support the album in 2019 and 2020 until COVID-19 hit.

In 2021 Tim was featured in the Netflix docuseries Worn Stories in which he tells about his relationship to his codpiece, first given to him by Tina Turner, as a symbol of strength in the face of the ups and downs of the music business and the saxophone's regard (or lack thereof) in popular music.

In 2021 and 2022, Timmy appeared as one of the rock experts on the AXS show 'The Top 10 Revealed, Starring Katie Daryl', appearing in four episodes in 2021 and again in 2022.

He made an appearance in June 2022 in a 35 minute video concert collaboration between Stranger Things and Doritos called 'Live From The Upside Down' starring Charli XCX, The Go-Go's, Corey Hart, and Soft Cell.

Cappello toured the US all through 2022 in support of his album Blood on the Reed.

In September 2022, Cappello was featured in the season 2 finale of the FX series Reservation Dogs. Cappello appears in the closing scene singing and playing saxophone to "I Still Believe" with White Jesus.

In September 2023, GUNSHIP released the "Unicorn" album, in which Cappello is featured in 'Monster in Paradise', 'Empress of the Damned' and 'Tech Noir 2' alongside other featured artists.

In December 2024, Cappello was once again featured alongside GUNSHIP in 'China in Your Hand'.

In popular culture

Actor Jon Hamm portrayed a pony-tailed, shirtless saxophonist named "Sergio" in an SNL Digital Short titled "The Curse", which aired on Saturday Night Live (SNL) on January 30, 2010. In the short, Andy Samberg's character is cursed by Sergio, who appears out of nowhere playing his saxophone at inopportune times. and Urlesque. The saxophonist in the video, also known as Sexy Sax Man, is shirtless, long-haired and is named Sergio Flores, echoing both Cappello's image and Jon Hamm's character's in the SNL parody. Paste magazine ranked the video #3 on their list of the 10 best viral videos of 2011.

Discography Studio albums Blood on the Reed (2018)

Guest appearances "Perspective", "Home Sweet Home" (from Peter Gabriel's Peter Gabriel) (1978) "We Don't Need Another Hero (Thunderdome)", "One of the Living" (with Tina Turner from Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome soundtrack) (1985) "Typical Male" (with Tina Turner and Phil Collins from Break Every Rule) (1986) "I Still Believe" (from The Lost Boys soundtrack) (1987) "Tonight" (with Tina Turner and David Bowie from Tina Live in Europe) (1988) "Look Me in the Heart", "Ask Me How I Feel" (from Tina Turner's Foreign Affair) (1989) "Dark All Day" (from Gunship's Dark All Day) (2018) "Los Feliz" (from Sonder Wilde's Los Feliz) (2019) "Monster in Paradise" (from Gunship's Unicorn) (2023) "Empress Of The Damned" (from Gunship's Unicorn) (2023) "Nuclear Date Night" (from Gunship's Unicorn) (2023) "China in Your Hand" (Single from Gunship) (2024) "Outro" (from Bonginator's Retrodeath) (2025) "Light's Last Stand" (from The Protomen's Act III: This City Made Us) (2026)

Filmography + Film Year Title Role Notes 1987 The Lost Boys Beach Concert Star 1987 Hearts of Fire Nico 1989 Tap Harry Uncredited 1993 What's Love Got to Do with It Keyboard Player