It really hurts: Jimmy Bain, a fantastic bass player who I’ve been planning to interview in the nearest future, passed away. One of the finest Scottish musicians, Bain was playing with HARLOT when Ritchie Blackmore invited him to join RAINBOW’s most celebrated, if short-lived, line-up that recorded 1976’s “Rising” – a classic which became a pinnacle of refined hard rock and a stepping stone for heavy metal – before Jimmy moved on form WILD HORSES. Still, he wouldn’t be part of this group’s purported reunion of 2016, as the veteran had a new venture, LAST IN LINE, with former DIO members, whose debut, “Heavy Crown,” will see the light of day in February.
DIO was Bain’s main endeavor in the ’80s, as Ronnie James Dio had a special rapport with the man he bonded with in RAINBOW, and although the singer and bassist had parted company in 1989, the link between the two was restored in 1999, when the band returned to their classic style on "Magica", and lasted for five more years. With DIO, Jimmy contributions to songwriting which seemed hugely downplayed when it came to credits for the likes of “Tarot Woman” became obvious, and it was him behind the driving rhythm of “Stand Up And Shout,” although those who followed Phil Lynott knew that Bain left his print on THIN LIZZY’s “Black Rose” and co-wrote a couple of classics on Philo’s solo albums. There were also recordings with GARY MOORE, WORLD WAR III and 3 LEGGED DOGG, yet not so many fans remember Jimmy as a political activist: the only song Bain released under his own name, “Victims” (see video below), was inspired by the “Occupy” movement.
“Remember” is the word of the moment now that Jimmy’s joined Ronnie and Cozy Powell up there. May he rest in peace.
