L A U R I E W I S E F I E L D
Following the departure of original member Ted Turner, Laurie Wisefield joined Wishbone Ash in May 1974. Laurie was born in East London on August 27th 1953 and began playing guitar at the age of eight, when his grandfather bought him a £6 Unicorn acoustic. He later progressed to a Watkins Rapier 33 and a Watkins Westminster amp and began to get into numerous band with friends. At the age of thirteen, Laurie formed his first semi-pro band, the Four Fables, who played Beatles and Shadows covers at weddings and parties. The band's main claim to fame was an appearance on the Stubby Kaye Show, a TV talent contest. After the Four Fables split, Laurie answered a Melody Maker ad and went down to Tooting Bec where he met bassist Cliff Williams (later of AC/DC). This was the beginning of Sugar (not to be confused with Andy Powell's pre-Wishbone combo The Sugarband).
After leaving school Laurie went to art college and then began to work designing jewellery in Cheapside, by which time Sugar was playing regularly at London's Whiskey-a-Go-Go club. Laurie eventually gave up his day job, although Sugar split soonafter. Laurie and Cliff Williams then teamed up with Mick Stubbs, a vocalist/songwriter and drummer Mick Cook to form Home. Home released three albums on CBS between 1973. The band supported Led Zeppelin at Wembley, as well as Wishbone Ash on a UK tour. After mainman Stubbs quit the band, the remaining members of Home were adopted as Al Stewart's backing band for a US tour. It was during this stint that Wishbone's Andy Powell flew out to the States to ask Laurie if he would be interested in replacing Ted Turner in Wishbone Ash.
Laurie's debut with Wishbone Ash was on 1974's There's the Rub, and his playing, which was more technically orientated than the more soulful Ted Turner, took the band into an exciting new direction. Laurie would also soon establish himself as a strong songwriting force within the band with songs such 'You See Red', 'Goodbye Baby Hello Friend' and 'Living Proof'.
Laurie remained with Wishbone Ash until December 1985, by which time he felt he needed a change of direction. Laurie has since played with numerous major artists such as Tina Turner, Joe Cocker, and Roger Chapman. Laurie is also a regular member of all star projects such as the SAS Band (featuring Queen sideman Spike Edney) and The Night of the Proms, a European touring project which combines a symphony orchestra with rock/pop artists.
In recent years Laurie has also appeared in the West End production of the Queen/Ben Elton musical We Will Rock You at London's Dominion Theatre, as well as in Jeff Wayne's stage presentation of War Of The Worlds. He toured with Tina Turner throughout 2008/09 and became a member of the rock supergroup Snakecharmer.
