Keeping Secrets

Bassist-for-hire Guy Pratt talks about his love for Brighton, his passions for food and clothes and his new Pink Floyd-influenced supergroup A Saucerful of Secrets

- Lars Mullen

With a career in the music industry spanning over 38 years, Guy Pratt has played bass guitar with some of the world’s elite artists – including Madonna, Michael Jackson, Bryan Ferry, David Bowie and Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour.

His latest project is being cast as a super group with Pink Floyd’s drummer Nick Mason and the band Saucerful of Secrets also featuring Gary Kemp from Spandau Ballet, Lee Harris from The Blockheads and keyboard player/composer Dom Beken.

“It was actually Lee who had the idea,” says Guy. “He’d been building a gite somewhere in France. I think he was bored and was missing playing live. He came to see me on tour with David, after which he got on a bit of a Pink Floyd trip and came up with the idea of forming a band with Nick who is a founder and only constant member playing drums on all the albums and live shows. The idea being to play early Pink Floyd tracks from the 1960s up until Dark Side of the Moon in 1972. I didn’t think Nick would be interested, but he thought it was great idea.”

While Guy has recorded and toured for many years with David, it was a different scenario when it came to learning the songs from the band’s early years. “I was five and into cartoons like Wacky Races back then”, he laughs.