Greg Ridley

Greg Ridley
Greg Ridley in 1973.
Background information
Birth name	Alfred Gregory Ridley
Born	(1947-10-23)23 October 1947 Carlisle, Cumberland, England
Died	19 November 2003(2003-11-19) (aged 56) Alicante, Spain
Genres	Rock, R&B, Hard rock
Occupation(s)	Bassist
Instruments	Bass guitar, Guitar, Vocals
Years active	1964-2003
Associated acts	Humble Pie Spooky Tooth

Alfred Gregory "Greg" Ridley (23 October 1947 – 19 November 2003) was an English rock bassist and a founding member of Humble Pie.

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 form The Nice. After they changed their name to Art and published an album Supernatural Fairy Tales and then Spooky Tooth in 1968. Spooky Tooth signed to Island and recorded two albums It's All About Spooky Tooth (1968) and Spooky Two (1969).

In January 1969 Ridley was approached by Steve Marriott from the Small Faces - who was forming a new band, called Humble Pie. The line up also included guitarist Peter Frampton from The Herd and drummer Jerry Shirley. Humble Pie's first album As Safe As Yesterday Is was released and a second album Town and Country was also released in the same year. A contract with A&M Records and a re-working of their sound into a harder brand of music, coupled with extensive touring of United States followed. A double album Performance Rockin' the Fillmore, featuring a now historic recording of a raw performance of rare quality, catapulted Humble Pie into rock history. Ridley's powerful bass playing anchored the band's performance and was at the centre of their sound. Together, Ridley and drummer Jerry Shirley comprised one of the most respected rhythm sections in Rock music during this period. Although Ridley rarely sang lead vocals, his deep baritone was frequently used to provide contrast with the higher tenors of Marriott and Frampton. Ridley made several songwriting contributions, including "Sucking on the Sweet Vine" on Humble Pie, "The Light of Love" on Town and Country, and "Big George" on Rock On.