1. Career

2. References

William 'Willie' Bath (born 21 April 1949, in Battersea, South London) is an English guitarist, best known for his work with Rough Diamond, the super-group formed by singer David Byron in 1976 following his dismissal from Uriah Heep.

Career

Bath started to play guitar at a young age, inspired by Martin Birch, his school friend, who would become a renowned record producer. Yet, it was not until the seventies that he decided to pursue a career as a musician. His first notable gigs were with the ’74 Rock ‘n Roll revival tour featuring Marty Wilde and Billy Fury. As a result, his playing appeared on a live album, which was subsequently sold at Wilde's shows, even though he had left the band once that tour had ended.

An opportunity arose to join The Wild Angels, a notorious 50s tribute act and one album was recorded, "Let’s Get Back to Rock ‘n Roll" on the Pye Golden Hour label.

In 1976, he successfully auditioned as bass player for Rough Diamond. He contributed to the band's debut and only album^[1], released on Island Records, co-composing two songs: "Scared" and "Hobo".

David Byron left the band in early 1977, shortly after the album's release and was replaced by Garry Bell^[2], a Canadian singer, who had been recommended by a friend of the band's drummer Geoff Britton. At that point, the band changed their name to '[https://www.discogs.com/Champion-Champion/release/1971610 Champion]' and recorded one self-titled^[3] album for Epic Records, produced by [https://www.discogs.com/artist/268319-Gary-Lyons Gary Lyons]. A single "It's your life" (co-composed by G.Bell, G.Britton, W.Bath, D.Butcher, D.Clempson) was released in 1978.

With the emergence of the punk movement, many traditional rock bands, like 'Champion', fell out of favour with audiences. Having played only a small number of gigs in the UK and Spain, the band dissolved.^[4]

Bath eventually reemerged with a two-year stint in the Jackie Lynton Band^[5], which memorable appearances at the Reading Festival in 1981 and 1982 that featured the now immortal "Hedgehog Song". That song and "Slow Rider" feature on the souvenir double album "Reading Rock '82 - Volume One". He contributed to Lynton's fourth solo album "White Line"^[6] in 1983, writing the title track as well as "I've got for you".

With little record company support for the album, the longstanding line-up split-up, with Bath, alongside drummer Terry Greg-Short joining Peter Green's band during the period in between "Kolors" in 1984 and "A Case of the Blues" in 1985, although Bath did not play on either album.

Subsequent collaborations followed, including R&B band 'Ivor's Jivers' and 'The Lux De Lux Blues Band', before Bath finally retired from his career as a professional musician after 49 years' active service.^[7] This enabled him to dedicate more time to his long-standing passion of railway locomotives restoration.^[8][9]

References

• Mytho-
• My Tho
• Myth of a Christian Nation
• Myth of Ages
• Myth of Antemurale
• Myth of cattle and grain
• Myth of Emesh and Enten
• Myth of Enlil and Ninlil
• Myth of flat earth
• Myth of General Sineui
• Myth of General Sinui
• Myth of Kosovo
• Myth of meritocracy
• Myth of origins
• Myth of Osiris
• Myth of Osiris and Isis
• Myth of Osiris & Isis
• Myth of sheep and grain
• Myth of Skanderbeg
• Myth of superabundance
• Myth of the Ages
• Myth of the American Sleepover
• Myth of the Flat Earth
• Myth of the flying Africans
• Myth of the Vaginal Orgasm