Pat O’Neill, fearsome guitar player from the outstanding Black Rose.
Some say, he sleeps with his guitar!
Some say it’s not true that he uses 13 to 52 gauge strings on his guitars (it can't be possible)!
Some say that he has iron for a bloodstream and ice behind his eyes!
Some say that on that dark and holy night, at the crossroads, when deals were struck and dusters dust became the sale, Lucifer, the light, sold his soul to Pat O’Neill!
Some say we haven’t seen the best of him yet!
But we all say what a phenomenal guitar player he is!
Pat’s first encounter with the guitar came at an early age in the form of his uncle, Mick Tucker (Axis, White Spirit & the mighty Tank).
“I was about 10 years old when I first took an interest in guitar. I would go around my grandmother’s house and spend hour’s just watching Mick jam along to tracks or working out solos from the latest UFO or Scorpions albums”.
This went on for about for about a year until……
“Mick would play all day long then go for a few beers on the night, and that’s when I’d get my hands on his guitar and make some not very musical noises”.
For Pat this was a very acceptable arrangement, however Mick had other ideas.
“ One night he came home early and caught me playing his prized Gibson Flying V,
that’s when he gave me two pieces of very sound advice, firstly “Put the fucking thing down” then secondly ‘”If your gonna do it, do it fucking properly””
“The latter piece of guidance from Mick is the most important piece of advice I have ever been given”
To motivate Pat and set him on his way, Mick got hold of a semi acoustic and then the weekly lessons began.
“To say Mick was a hard task master would be an understatement, but I like to think he put me on the right path”
The lessons went on for about a year and a half until Mick left for London to join White Spirit.
Pat battled on, learning Michael Schenker, Michael Schenker and then some more Michael Schenker tracks from his extensive UFO / MSG record collection.
“ God you had to put the hours in, not much in the way of TAB and definitely no YouTube lessons back then”.
Then Pat’s first break with a band arrived.
“I was about fourteen and a half at the time and I decided to put an add in the local rag, to see what response I’d get, and to my surprise I got a phone call from a Stockton based band called Tura. All the lads where a bit older than me (about 17 or 18 if memory serves me right) and doing original tunes and it was all fun and not taken too seriously”.
After about six months or so the local music fraternity became aware of this young, hot guitar player and interest from more serious quarters was shown.
“ I was approached by a local band called Arizona, who at the time had recorded and released a 12” single and had a new demo under their belts with hopes of pushing things on to the next level, so I thought why not give it a go. I stayed for roughly a year, and if I’m honest it was a year going nowhere, just rehearsing for things that never happened”.
At this time with no real plans on what to do next Pat got a very unexpected phone call.
“ I was at home one day and the phone rings, I pick it up and get “Hello Mick Thompson here, are you Pat O’Neill the guitar player”.
It turned out to be the bass player for hot NWOBH band Black Rose, who were on the lookout for a new lead guitarist.
“Mick didn’t have my number, so he went through all the O’Neill’s in telephone book until he landed it”
Pat got a copy of the latest demo and a week later the auditions were held.
“ It was all very strange, I was 16 years old , never done a gig, never recorded, blowing tunes with guys that had experience that I only dreamed of”.
After a morning of auditions Pat was told to return in an hour.
“ I really didn’t know how things had gone because I was so focused on getting the parts right, but I must have done something right because when I went back I was told the job was mine if I wanted it”.
Two weeks later Pat and Black Rose were in Neat records recording the “Walk it How You Talk It” album followed by a lengthy U.K. tour supporting the album.
After eighteen months or so of gigging and then recording a demo for the next album, Black Rose strike gold when they are told the album has been re-packaged and released in the USA and a tour to back it up is needed.
“ I remember thinking fuck me this is a result, we’ve cracked it”.
Sometimes fate can deal a poisoned hand, as one door closes another slams in your face!
“Within weeks before going to the U.S we got a solicitors letter advising us (Black Rose) that all USA copies of the album were to be pulled from the shelves due to infringement of copyright relating to an American Black Rose and issues involving re-packaging in the USA as opposed to importing”.
No USA album = No USA Tour.
“ That was the end really. Things limped along for a short while but the USA thing really killed the band, or should I say killed any enthusiasm”.
Pat left Black Rose in 1988 and the band eventually folded in 1989
THE LOST YEARS
The final death throes of Black Rose were too much for Pat. As happens in many cases the music industry took its toll and the will to play had gone.
“I’d lost interest really at that point and as I was never the type to hang around with musicians I didn’t really see or feel any reason to carry on playing, I just drifted away from it”.
14 years came and went with only 2 gigs to interrupt family life.
“ I was in a band called Killing Floor for a very, very short while in about 1990. Great, great lads, some very good songs but not the most professional shall we say. Hence it was a short stay”
Fast forward to 2004………….
“ I don’t really know what made me want to have ago at playing again, I think it must have been the curiosity factor of can I still do it”.
Pat replied to an add from Tony Thurlow’s band “Into The Light” who were looking for a new guitarist.
“Again this was all very fast, an audition, a couple of rehearsals and out play some cover tunes, Whitesnake, Deep Purple, a lot of the standard rock stuff the punters love”.
After some internal disagreements and personnel changes, Into the Light called it and day, but Pat and Tony decided to carry on under the banner of Jump The Gun.
“ I really enjoyed working with Tony as we have a very similar approach to the way things should be done and he is a great lad”.
Pat and Tony were joined by ex Black Rose drummer Barry Youll, and then the search for a bass player and keyboard player began.
“ Fuck me it was hard work, plenty of people tell you they can do a job but when it comes to it, few could back up the words. We had a guy on bass (who shall remain unnamed) and we rehearsed for months. One week it would sound fantastic then the next it was like he’d never heard the songs in his life”.
With gigs booked drastic action was needed.
“We needed shot of the bass player and I think he knew it, because he would never answer his phone when Mr Thurlow wanted to give him his marching orders”.
An ex band mate of Barry’s was drafted in on bass, one Mick Howard, and after a few weeks rehearsals it was out gigging.
“ As soon as we got Mick in things just clicked and it all seemed a lot easier”.
After a year of playing the north east pub rock circuit things took an unexpected turn for Pat.
“My father was taken ill and need a lengthy spell of treatment, so my mind wasn’t on the job and my family needed to come first. I spoke to Tony and told him I needed time out but I didn’t know how long, so if he got a full time replacement that was fine by me and I didn’t have a problem”.
So Pat and JTG went their separate ways, but his friendship with Tony (Thurlow) continued...
Early 2009 Pat got a call from Davy Little (Axis, Pauline Gillan Band, Lies of Smiles).
Davy: “I had just attended a dear friends funeral in London, met up with some old friends, Mick Tucker, Tony Thurlow, Mike Sanderson. I said I wanted to continue the LOS project with new musicians as I had just parted company with the people on the last project.
I asked Tony and he said he would be interested, Mick suggested I give Pat a call as we needed him to get off his arse and do something with this incredible talent, Tony & John Lancaster my friend and manager agreed, I called and told him I needed him to make the LOS 2 Project work. Amazingly he agreed, I suspect Mick, Tony and John gave a push. So now I get to work with the second amazing guitar player from that family, although at 14 Pat was giving me Schenker guitar lessons, and the bastards still giving me guitar lessons now"!
"Pat is the classic enigmatic guitar player, says very little, difficult to fathom sometimes, a bit like his uncle Mick, plays like a demon. But I do know that he has an untapped talent, and it needs to be let loose. I really believe we are about to see the very best of Mr O’Neill".
"Pat and Tony are leading the project musically, I want Pat to be everything he promised to be when he was a youngster, and on the showing so far it promises to be a very exciting LOS 2 project. Uncle Mick should be proud of him!!! And for me I have got to be the luckiest boy on the planet, I have four of the best musicians and more importantly four very nice guys to work with".
