Big Jim Sullivan

Big Jim Sullivan (born James George Thompkins, 14 February 1941, Uxbridge, Middlesex, England) is an English musician, whose career started in 1959. He is best known as a session guitarist. In the 1960s and 1970s, Sullivan was one of the most "in-demand" studio musicians in the UK, and performed in more than one thousand charting singles over his career. He was called "Big Jim" to distinguish him from Jimmy Page, who was a popular session guitarist at the time and known as "Little Jim".

Early life

Sullivan was born at Uxbridge Hospital and he went to Woodfield Secondary School in Cranford, London. In 1959, at The 2i's Coffee Bar, he met Marty Wilde and was invited to become a member of his backing group, the Wildcats.

Guitarist, record producer and arranger

Jack Good introduced Sullivan to session work when he met him on the set of the television series Oh, Boy! Sullivan went on to become one of the most sought-after guitarists throughout the 1960s and the 1970s due to his flexibility in playing different styles of music.

He played on at least one thousand UK chart entries. This meant he averaged three recording sessions a day, which allowed him to appear on many hit records.

In 1969, Sullivan joined Tom Jones, with whom he spent the next five years touring, and it was during his time in Las Vegas...
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