Gilson Lavis, RIP
Sorry to hear that Gilson Lavis, the original drummer with Squeeze, has died. He was 74.
Born in 1951, Gilson was a few years older than the other members of Squeeze. The band was founded by Glen Tilbrook and Chris Difford in 1974. Gilson joined the following year and they released their first record in 1977.
The first time I saw Squeeze (and Gilson Lavis) was at the Music Hall in Aberdeen that same year when they supported Eddie and the Hot Rods. A few years later, after I moved to London, I saw them again at the old Hammersmith Palais, an all-standing venue that was extremely hot and sweaty!
Gilson was the drummer until 1982, when the band split for the first time, and again from 1985 (when they reformed) to 1992, after which he was sacked (due, it was said, to his drinking, although he wasn’t alone in that). He then joined the band’s former pianist Jools Holland in what became Jools Holland and his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra. For over 30 years they toured, recorded, and performed together on Later... with Jools Holland. He retired from music only last year, playing his final gig with the Rhythm & Blues Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall.
Paul Carrack, who played keyboards on two Squeeze albums – East Side Story (1981) and Some Fantastic Place (1993) – posted a lovely tribute on Instagram:
Very sad to hear we’ve lost another good bloke today. Gilson Lavis, drummer with Squeeze and later with Jools Holland for many years. Gil was my roommate when I joined Squeeze in 1980 (?) My initiation was a 6 week tour of the US with Squeeze and Elvis & The Attractions sharing the same bus !
Absolute powerhouse drummer & a scary ball of fire back in those crazy days. Mellowed in later years and took up painting & drawing. You made your mark Gil. Rest in peace.
Others who have paid tribute include Jools Holland and Chris Evans.
An interview published by Mojo magazine in January 1996 is worth reading:
“It’s been a speckled career. Before all this, you know, I was a cabaret drummer and singer. I used to wear smart dinner jackets. My mum and dad – God bless them, they’ve both passed on now – they didn’t want me to be a drummer. They wanted me to be a Matt Monro – ‘You sound just like him!’ they used to say to me. It’s with smoking too much, I suppose.”
In later life not only did he mellow (tributes repeatedly refer to him as a ‘gentleman’), his parallel career as an artist shone a whole new light on him.
See also: Lincolnshire saved my life (Lincolnshire Pride, December 2023, scroll down)
Home page image: Unsplash/Matthijs Smit
