HIS beloved bassplayer Wally will be the star at this Sunday’s gig in Windsor for Ian Francis and his band.
Ian told the Courier the tale. It was 23 years ago to the month when he was at a jam afternoon at the Fitzroy Hotel that he first met Wally.
“Andrew Denmeade ran the jams back then,” Ian said. “I had a mixed line-up of whoever could turn up at the time and for this particular Sunday I was short a bassplayer.
“I rang a muso friend called John Castray and he put me onto a guy called Wayne Rountree. He told me he could play anything and sang great harmonies.
“Wally came and played that day and we have been playing together ever since. Twenty three years is a long time and it has been a constant joy.”
Wally is well-known amongst north-west Sydney musicians as a kind and very laid-back soul who can listen to something and then play it straight off.
Wally came and played that day and we have been playing together ever since.
- Ian Francis
The Ian Francis Band is on at the Rex Hotel, George Street, Windsor on Sunday, March 26 from 3-7pm.
You can also catch Ian and Wally as a duo at the Bird in Hand at Pitt Town on April 16 from 2pm.