RICK WILLS took his own form of music degree in Cambridge during the the 1960’s and has since gone on to become one of the most respected bass guitarists in the business.

However, it wasn’t one of the grand colleges of the famous university City which saw his graduation; instead, it was the local bars and village halls that provided the perfect place for him to take his first steps in the industry.

“My family moved to Cambridge in 1960, and that was when I first played the guitar,” explains Rick. “I was about 13 at the time and we used to have some students lodging with us. One of them had a guitar and showed me how to tune it, I learnt a few cords and that was it! Playing the guitar took over my life and it became a  love affair for me.”

The sound and look of the ‘Shadows’ had a real effect on Rick and he decided he wanted to make a career out of music. The decision has proved to be a good one and during the years that have followed he has enjoyed success on both sides of the Atlantic, including 13 years as part of one of the world’s supergroups.

After forming his first band called the ‘Sundowners’ with a group of friends in  in the ‘60’s, Rick gained experience playing the local scene before being asked by another  young Cambridge musician to form a new group.

“His name was Dave Gilmour and even at that early stage you could see he had star potential,” claims Rick. “We called ourselves ‘Joker’s Wild’ and we had a great time for a few years playing in places like Spain and living in Paris, before Dave got the call to join Pink Floyd.”

After moving to London Rick became part of ‘Cochise’ and the group made three well thought of albums before they split and Rick, along with Mickey Gallagher and Mike Kellie became part of the ‘Parrish and Gurvitz’ band.

A Call from Peter Frampton in 1972 saw Gallagher, Kellie and Rick join the former Humble Pie man to form ‘Frampton’s Camel.’ The band toured America supporting the likes of The Doobie Brothers, J. Geils Band and Edgar Winter.

Frampton and the band went on to have success both in America and the UK, with Rick helping to co-write hit singles like ‘Do You Feel Like We Do’ and ‘Doobie Wah,’ as they clocked up 13 tours in the space of two years.

When Rick left Frampton he spent time on tour with Roxy Music in the States and Europe during the mid-1970’s, before being asked by Steve Marriott to take over from Ronnie Lane as the ‘Small Faces’ re-formed in 1976 to tour and record two albums, ‘Playmates’ and  ‘78 In The Shade.’

“I enjoyed my time in the Small Faces,” recalls Rick. “They’d always been a favourite band of mine and it was the first time that I really got to play with Kenney Jones.”

The band split in 1978 and after backing Joe Brown as one of his ‘Bruvvers,’ Rick’s career really took off in spectacular fashion in 1979 when he became the new bass player with ‘Foreigner.’ He stayed with them for 13 years and was part of their phenomenal success which saw them produce million-seller singles,  and albums that charted around the world.

Rick left ‘Foreigner’ in 1992 and for 10 years was part of ‘Bad Company’ where he played alongside Robert Hart. Now Robert and Rick are together again in their new band with Kenney Jones and Gary Grainger.

“I think we’re all delighted that we’ve somehow managed to get together,” insists Rick. “We’re having a great time putting the songs together, we get on really well  and there’s a fresh feel to what we’re producing.”