Paul Gray

Paul Murray Granville Gray (born 1 August 1958) is an English bassist notable for playing with the rock bands Eddie and the Hot Rods and The Damned. Biography Paul Gray was born in Leigh-on-Sea. Inspired by a Hawkwind gig he attended, Gray started learning bass guitar at the age of 13, his playing influenced by bassists such as Steve Currie, Lemmy, John Entwistle, Felix Pappalardi and Roger Glover. He joined Eddie and the Hot Rods as bassist after answering an advert in the Southend Evening Echo. The band had several hit singles and albums in the late 1970s, including "Do Anything You Wanna Do". While working with Eddie and the Hot Rods, he also recorded bass for Larry Wallis, Rob Tyner and Johnny Thunders, as well as filling in as temporary bassist for The Members. In early 1980, following the departure of Graeme Douglas, Gray left Eddie and the Hot Rods and, on the insistence of Captain Sensible and Rat Scabies, joined the punk rock band The Damned, replacing former bassist Algy Ward. Gray contributed to two studio albums, The Black Album and Strawberries, as well as numerous singles and the Friday 13th EP. Frictions in the band led to Gray's departure in February 1983. Shortly afterwards, he joined UFO and remained until their split in 1987. In 1989, after brief stints with Heavy Load, Fastway and Andrew Ridgeley, Gray rejoined The Damned, ostensibly for a one-off reunion tour of the UK, US, and Japan. This tour reunited Gray with Captain Sensible, and the two worked together on Sensible's solo material, as well as touring together. This Sensible-led group briefly evolved into another reunion of The Damned, with Gray concurrently reforming Eddie & the Hot Rods for one album, Gasoline Days, for which he contributed the song writing, and supported the album with several tours in the UK and Germany. In between these high-profile projects, he also played bass with Canvey Island Allstars, and René Berg, and began producing local bands. With the onset of severe tinnitus and hyperacusis interrupting his live music activities, Gray became Lead Tutor for Community Music Wales – a charity aimed at helping young bands based in Cardiff – on a variety of national and international projects between 1995 and 2004. In 1997, Gray formed Mischief with Alan Lee Shaw, a studio-based project allowing him to write and record without damaging his hearing further by playing live.