Biography
Terry Edwards is an English multi-instrumentalist. He plays the saxophone, trumpet, guitar, keyboard and the flute. Whilst studying electro-acoustic composition with Denis Smalley at the University of East Anglia in the early 80s he co-founded punk-funk band The Higsons which was signed to Jerry Dammers’ label Two-Tone, after which he formed Butterfield 8 with Madness bassist Bedders. In the meantime he forged a remarkable career as a session musician, featuring performances for artists as wildly diverse as Nick Cave, Ronnie Spector, PJ Harvey, Eric Mingus and Big Star.
He aspires to play like Earl Bostic and Davey Payne. Along the way, he’s been mastering the two-saxophone technique pioneered by Rahsaan Roland Kirk.
His live appearances include :
Appearances with Holy Holy (Tony Visconti, Glenn Gregory & Woody Woodmansey), Madness, Gallon Drunk, Tindersticks, Jimi Tenor, Mike Garson, Glen Matlock (Sex Pistols), The Blockheads, Spiritualized, Snuff, Siouxsie Sioux, Hot Chip, Robyn Hitchcock, Rhoda Dakar.
Other collaborations :
• Musical director of Blow The Bloody Doors Off!! – music from Michael Caine movies, performed at London’s Barbican and Adelaide Festival;
• Musical director for Shane MacGowan’s 60th birthday celebrations, featuring Nick Cave, Imelda May, Bono, Sinead O’Connor, Sharon Shannon, Johnny Depp;
• The ‘Revisited’ Series – Music of Jim Jarmusch; David Lynch; Jacques Brel; Tom Waits’Rain Dogs (featuring St Vincent, Alex Kapranos, Erika Stucky, Arthur H, Marc Almond,Steve Nieve);
• Beck Songreader feat. Beck, Villagers, Joan as Policewoman;
• The Black Rider (Tom Waits/Robert Wilson/William Burroughs) – theatre piece performed in London, Sydney, San Francisco, Los Angeles feat. Mary Margaret O’Hara,
Marianne Faithfull, Richard Strange, Matt McGrath;
• Yoko Ono’s Meltdown Double Fantasy with Earl Slick, Boy George, Peaches, Pete
Molinari, Roger Eno
Some selected recordings :
Hope 6 Demolition Project – PJ Harvey (UK number 1)
Wake Up The Nation – Paul Weller (UK Number 2)
Murder Ballads – Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds (UK Number 3)
Ladies & Gentlemen… – Spiritualized (UK Number 4)
But also with Madness, Julian Cope, Dopesmugglaz, Jesus and Mary Chain, The Creatures, Franz
Ferdinand, Hot Chip and many more.
