John Stax

John Stax (born John Edward Lee Fullagar, 6 April 1944, Crayford, Kent) is an English musician best known as original bassist for the Pretty Things. He adopted the name "Stax" because of his fondness for the music produced by Stax Records.[1]

Pretty Things in 1965 Netherlands from left to right: Brian Pendleton, John Stax, Dick Taylor, Phil May, Viv Prince

He played on all of their charting singles, which included "Rosalyn," "Don't Bring Me Down," "Road Runner," and "Cry to Me."[2] He also frequently contributed backing vocals as well as harmonica performance. He played on the Pretty Things' first three albums: The Pretty Things,[3] Get the Picture?[4] and Emotions, although his exact contributions to the latter are unknown. He also played on the band's first two EPs, The Pretty Things and Rainin' in My Heart. Stax left the band in January 1967, a month after rhythm guitarist Brian Pendleton. Stax emigrated to Australia in 1970 where he currently resides. Stax currently builds and sells cigar box guitars. He rejoined the Pretty Things on their 2012 Australian tour, taking the stage on a couple of songs to play bass guitar and harmonica.

Stax also played with Melbourne R&B 'supergroup' Blues Hangover, which featured Dave Hogan (vocals, harp), Warren Rough (guitar) and Ken Farmer (drums; all from The Paramount Trio) plus Peter Wells (Rose Tattoo) and Lucy De Soto. The band's passionate, gritty brand of R&B; was heard to good effect on two albums issued on the Dog Meat label, Blues Hangover (1995) and Roadrunner (1996).[5]

References
  1. Pretty Things, the Pretty Things Get the Picture? CD , liner notes by Pierre Perrone, Madfish, Snapper Music, 2011, liner notes
  2. Brown, Tony, Jon Kutner & Neil Warwick, The Complete Book of the British Charts: Singles and Albums, Omnibus Press, London, 2002 p. 795
  3. The Pretty Things, Fontana, TL 5239 1965, liner notes
  4. The Pretty Things, Get the Picture?, Fontana TL 5280, 1965, liner notes
  5. McFarlane, 'Peter Wells' entry at the Wayback Machine (archived 15 June 2004). Archived from the original on 15 June 2004. Retrieved 2 July 2014.


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