Bergantino Welcomes Suzy Starlite to Their Family of Artists

Suzy Starlite, the British songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, shares her amazing history as a musician and her journey to falling for the bass…

Photos provided by Bergantino

Full of life and with a plethora of amazing stories, Suzy Starlite has had quite a career as a lifelong songwriter. The fearless, well-traveled multi-instrumentalist is no stranger to trying new things, which has led her to become an award-winning radio broadcaster as well as an award-winning motorcycle racer. With this adventurous spirit, Suzy found herself gravitating toward the bass later in her career and instantly fell in love! Bergantino sat down recently to learn more about her amazing story – interview here:

What inspired you to want to start playing bass and who drew you to it? 

I was messing around with a cheap bass guitar and our Sequential Tempest drum machine in the studio when Simon and I had just moved to France. Simon had a four-on-the-floor groove going down and I joined in. He looked at me with wide eyes and said “You’re a bass player”. Of course, I didn’t believe him but he insisted saying I had a natural feel for the groove and the way I played on the one. 

To cut a long story short, a few months later I decided that I would start learning and see how I progressed and, more importantly, if I was any good. A year later I was on tour!

We’ve read that, besides singing and playing the bass, you also play many instruments! Can you share what other instruments you play? 

My first instrument was a harmonica when I was a child followed by descant and treble recorders. At Grammar School I played French Horn and now play piano, fife, synthesizers (specifically my beloved Prophet 5), mandolin, percussion and acoustic guitar. I like to make sounds with anything so that can range from a child’s xylophone to a kazoo. Simon bought me a Leaf Audio microphonic soundbox for Christmas two years ago which is great fun. 

Tell us about your first music teacher. What lesson did you learn from this person and still use today? 

I grew up in Ross-on-Wye in the beautiful countryside of Herefordshire – just think of The Shire where the Hobbits lived and you get the picture.

I attended St. Joseph’s Convent even though my family weren’t Catholic because it was renowned for being an excellent school and my first music teacher at the age of four was Sister Cuthbert or ‘Sister Bertie’ as we liked to call her.

She was the oldest nun in the Convent – so wrinkly she looked 150 years old and played the piano during our morning assemblies. The whole school marched into the room to the tune of some Classical god – single file – military fashion – no talking – eyes straight ahead – we were a student army of disciplinary excellence.  

Sister Bertie taught singing, descant and treble recorders. I remember the silhouette of her habit as we practised – holding our recorders unusually high at 95 degrees which I always thought was rather strange compared to all the other schools. 

What did I learn from her? Well, my first introduction to reading music and a sense of discipline – if you’re going to do something – give it your best!

What was your first bass?

My first bass was a Gretsch ThunderJet. It’s a semi-hollow short-scale fitted with flat wound strings and has that great vintage sound – perfect for those ‘60s punchy lines you hear in Free and The Beatles.

I chose it because I have small hands and thought it would be a great instrument to learn my chops on. On the advice of Andy Seward, who I mention later, I fitted Thomastik-Infeld flat wound strings.

It’s a mighty fine-looking bass and people would come up to me at the end of gigs and all they wanted to talk about was my bass and how sexy it looked hahaha.

What are the basses you have and use now?

Not long after the ThunderJet my husband Simon bought me a surprise wedding present in the shape of a Mike Lull M4V – their version of a Jazz bass with a Hipshot drop D peg and Lindy Fralin pickups. I was stunned – I’d never been given a present of this magnitude before and also deep down I thought oh crikey – I already have one, why do I need another? That’s how naïve I was. 

The M4V is such a versatile and exquisite bass we bonded straight away. This is my Avatar dragon where I truly became one with my instrument and really took off when it came to my playing.

I also have a 1974 Fender Precision which my son James gave me. Simon had given it to him as his 18th birthday present and he thought I’d make better use of it. I was blown away! The P bass is great for tracking in the studio. It sits so well in any mix and you can’t mistake its signature sound. 

I also have a King John acoustic bass made by Roger Bucknall of Fylde Guitars. It’s a magnificent instrument which I bought from bassist Josh Clapp who is well-known in the UK folk scene.

Sadly he contracted Lymes disease and couldn’t play anymore so we saved up and a year later I became custodian of this old soul which is one of the finest-sounding acoustic basses you will ever hear. There’s history in the wood, Sting has played it and it has also graced the stage of the Royal Albert Hall.

I have one more bass – a Mike Lull custom Starlite T4. It’s influenced by the design of a Gibson Thunderbird but again with a Hipshot drop D, stainless steel frets and the only bass I have fitted round-wound strings (Curt Mangan). The headstock is smaller and lighter than the Gibson so you don’t suffer the dreaded neck dive.

And the sound!! Oh, she is a mighty fire-breathing dragon!! Talk about attitude!!! You can hear it on Saving Me from our latest studio album STARLITE.ONE.

Each bass has its own personality which gives me flexibility when recording and it’s not just the sound, it’s the way they make you play.

I think there could be room for a couple more though, specifically a Rickenbacker 4002 and a Gibson EB2 – everyone needs a semi-acoustic bass complete with mudbucker.

Who are the musicians who inspired you and what qualities do you admire about them?

It’s always a hard question to answer as I’m all about the song so I’m inspired by musicians across all genres, except perhaps death metal – the screaming disturbs me – but you never know as tastes change.

I’ve always had a thing for a great groove and love dancing which meant I was out nearly every weekend at my local nightclub. The first big concert I attended was Stevie Wonder when I was 16 which set the bar for live performances 

I’m also enchanted by beautiful melodies and harmonies of which Karen Carpenter was my childhood musical companion growing up. The emotion was all in her tone and understated delivery – something I think perhaps we are coming full circle back around to.

When writing STARLITE.ONE we created a very eclectic playlist that featured Silver Apples, through Roxy Music, Leonard Cohen, Miles Davis, Arvo Pärt, Can, Sterolab, Low, Nick Cave, Jacques Brel, S P A R K S and Scott Walker to name a few. 

There was also a liberal splash of my new favourite band The Smile which consists of Johnny Greenwood and Thom Yorke of Radiohead and Tom Skinner, formally of Sons of Kennet. Hell, take a listen yourself!

To me, it’s all about the song: melody, performance, instrumentation and production.

In terms of bassists, there were four people that I decided to study when I first started to learn the bass and am documenting that story as part of my Walking The Bass Line series for Bass Musician Magazine – written especially for new bass players. They are John Paul Jones – Led Zeppelin, Andy Fraser – Free, Jack Bruce – Cream and Carl Radle – Eric Clapton.  

You studied at Salford University in the ’90s. What can you share about this experience?

I passed the audition to attend the very first course of its kind in the country for Media & Performance which was the best and also the most challenging thing I have ever done.

The course was based in the Adelphi building which was an old structure – four stories high with big high ceilings and hidden corridors, welcoming you with a big shiny red front door – just like the TV series Fame. 

As soon as I walked inside I had goosebumps. You could hear all kinds of music and brass instruments echoing down the corridors. We had our own studio theatre and the canteen was a real melting pot of activity. 

They also ran the first-ever degree in Popular Music & Recording so there were also some really cool musicians hanging around. The biggest treasure however lay underground in the basement which was full of analogue recording studios. It felt like heaven and practically lived in that building. 

My course was a tapas of everything from acting, script-writing, videography, radio, contemporary dance, dramatical history, singing to dance and musical theatre. I chose this because I needed to find out what I wanted to do and what I was any good at – if anything.

What I discovered is that the music called me more than anything else.

I started writing songs at age 16 with my acoustic guitar and really wanted to play one of the lunchtime concerts – which was unheard of for a ‘drama’ student. So I recruited some of the guys off the music course and under the moniker I Never Used To Like Brussel Sprouts was the first drama/media student to play a hallowed lunchtime concert. 

This then opened the floodgates for everyone and we had loads of drama/media students merging with the musicians – it was brilliant. I also fronted a folk rock band called Megiddo and we toured the UK folk circuit for a few years, self-releasing our album On The Outside.

The hardest lesson and the biggest thing I have learned is that it’s all about contacts more than talent.  

Describe your playing style(s), tone, strengths and/or areas that can be improved on the bass.

I’ll give it a go. You see I never really listened to bass until I started to play and didn’t know what it did. I reached an understanding having listened to the four bass players above plus Tina Weymouth and Carol Kaye. The latter two created riffs and lines that defined the song. Would ‘Psycho Killer’ or ‘The Beat Goes On’ sound the same without that bass line? One band where the bass – and rhythm section – is consistently fabulous is Roxy Music. Listen to Manifesto – outstanding work.

I try and connect the drums with the rest of the band with a combination of groove, riffs and melodic lines.  

Almost all the tone comes from your fingers and to get consistency I play quite softly letting the amp do the work. I love flat wound strings, which combined with a big valve (tube) amp define what I want to hear.  As you know the first big cabinet I bought was the Bergantino NV610, which combined with the 200W vintage HiWatt DR201 or Supertone Matamp 200 really floats my boat.

I do play very loud on stage – it’s that energy that really makes the bass work for me.

I am constantly learning and trying to improve my technique. Playing with a pick was a big challenge for me as I had never used one before and now I am trying to achieve consistency in volume and tone. It’s a love-hate relationship but sometimes that is the only sound that will do. What changed my mind was using the P bass fitted with flatwounds and the Ellio Martinez string-damping system. Instant ‘60s vibe.

How did you and your husband Simon Campbell meet?

I first met Simon when I was living on the Isle of Man. He heard about a singer-songwriter living next to the sea in Laxey through his friend Lenny Conroy who was a postman by day and music promoter on the weekend. Simon and I met up and I played him some of my songs which he really liked.

We ended up gigging as an acoustic duo and then he got a band together for me playing all my original songs named Starlite. So, Simon ended up being the guitar player in my band and we gigged at festivals and all over the place. Then we accidentally fell in love and the rest is history. 

How would your bandmates describe you?

Crikey – that’s a really hard question to answer.

I can be edgy, as I like to get it right and very passionate when playing whether that’s calm for a ballad or jumping around on stage. I have been called intense and off-the-wall which is a fair comment.

Our original drummer Steve Gibson calls me bass queen which is very complimentary and all stems from when his pro-drumming mate Paul Burgess came to see us in concert in Manchester a few years ago and he said to Steve – “finally you have a great rhythm section”.

Describe the creative process when you write new music. 

There’s no set way when it comes to writing. It can come through a riff or a melody. I like to jam with our drum machine and/or Simon and see what comes out.

Lyrically I’m always writing ideas and certain phrases down that inspire me and then I trawl through all those ideas and see what still resonates. I now write mostly on piano as I fell into a nasty chordal trap when writing on guitar, but occasionally write a bass line that we work with. Piano allows me to plonk around until things hit me.

I have never been into music theory and hence do things that aren’t conventional or strictly ‘correct’.

How has social media impacted your music? 

There is no doubt that SM has given musicians more reach but as a result, there’s a lot of ‘noise’ and it’s difficult to be heard. 

The algorithm is a difficult beast to ride, especially when your audience demographic is older than a teenager. Festival and gig bookings now rely heavily on the number of likes, subscribers and plays you have, which in turn affects people’s perception of you.

This can easily be manipulated if you have the right marketing/PR firm working for you plus the many thousands of pounds you need to pay for their services. 

Our first foray away from the algorithm was being avid users of Mastodon following the whole Twitter/X debacle.

We now use a subscription-based platform called Substack where we host our blog/podcast VIBES. Substack is really growing and hosts many independent authors and musicians. 

On VIBES we post articles, music, videos, lyrics, art, photography, The Supertone Show podcast (a music & chat show) plus whatever we feel inspired to write. You can create paywalled content available exclusively for your paid subscribers and it works well for us. It also has a microblogging feature called Notes which enables us to replace X and Facebook et al. We feel this is where the future lies for independent creatives.

Of course, we still post to the bewildering number of SM sites, but generally simple links back to VIBES and Notes.

We have found YouTube to be the best algorithmically based platform as it seems to pick you up if you have good content.

We use Bandcamp for our streaming/downloads and music subscriptions, YouTube/VIBES for videos, and Shopify for our merchandise sales: vinyl, CD, clothing and products for guitar and bass.

What led you to Bergantino?

One of the foremost bass players in the UK folk scene is Andy Seward. He was producing Simon’s second solo album The Knife and when he found out we had just bought a 1974 Hiwatt DR201 valve amp he suggested we compliment this with a Bergantino NV610. He recommended I speak with Mark Stickley at Bass Direct who supplied both of my Bergantino cabinets. That’s the story! 

What drew you to the Bergantino NV610 and the HD112?

The NV610 is a perfect cabinet for that vintage sound so it was a no-brainer. Naturally, I looked at the Ampeg 8×10 but to me, the Bergantino sounded tighter and punchier, especially with flat wound strings. I use the fabulous HD112 for smaller acoustic gigs and it’s such a great sound. 

We also learned about your love of motorcycles! Care to tell us more about this? 

I decided to learn to ride when I turned 40 so I bought a 125cc Yamaha motorcycle off eBay and was out every weekend learning to ride on long ride-outs with my friend John Wood from Mossley, Lancashire.

I loved the freedom it gave out in the open air – it was exhilarating. My first lesson we drove up across the tops in Lancashire on the way to Leeds – it was snowing and very cold. Woody told me to relax in the seat like a sack of potatoes and follow in his tracks which was pretty hairy – then we stopped on the side, put our wet gloves on the engine to dry out and he broke out a flask of coffee with a wee drop of brandy in it to warm us up. 

I do have a couple of memories that I still can’t quite believe happened. I was offered a Ducatti 650cc motorbike to ride at the Isle of Man TT Ramsey Sprint. When I saw the guys get it out of the van it was a proper sprint bike with roll bars and it was huge! I’d never ridden anything more than a 350 before and that was in a field where I fell off so I had a major challenge.

I spent the whole day trying to get it right, I’d either not be revving high enough and would stall going from first to second gear – then I nearly came off at the start so the guys burned the tyre out for me to get it a bit sticky – I’d get back on and give it another shot. 

You had to queue 45 minutes to get your chance for a run so that’s what I did – all day. On my 12th and final run, I just decided to give it a Guy Martin mindset and ended up crossing the line as Winner of my Class and Fastest Woman of the event. It was a crazy and magnificent experience!!!

I was also asked to be Crew Chief by Richard Barks for the Lonan Gentleman’s Fellowship which was the first team to represent the Isle of Man at Speed Week in Bonneville, USA. Richard was a champion Manx motorcyclist and he aimed to break a world land speed record riding The Manxman – a 500cc motorcycle, which they hand build in garages behind the team’s houses in Laxey. 

I had to work out how to export a bike plus all our tools to Los Angeles and then get us through inspection, pick up nitrous oxide in Salt Lake City etc and oversee the whole operation.

We had an incredible experience and ended up breaking two world land speed records and were deemed the most successful rookie crew in the history of Speedweek.

Amazing!! I’ll never forget driving in convoy across the salt flats at sunrise with all the other qualifiers – you had to repeat the run a second time to break a world record. The CB radio was on – a man was chatting away like it was NASA and we were so excited – it felt like we were about to take off for the moon!

Do you have a sidecar big enough for Marc?

I don’t ride any more even though I still have my 1958 Classic 200cc Ariel Colt motorcycle which now lives in our Supertone recording studio. I had to make a choice and decided I wanted to play bass and follow the musical path. With motorcycling it’s often a case of not ‘if’ but ‘when’ you come off a bike and I really don’t want to damage my hands or any part of me come to think of it.

If I still rode he would be more than welcome as my passenger! 

You’re at a party and it’s a little stale – what’s your party trick or hidden talent that you’re busting out to get the place rocking? 

In the ‘90s I used to programme and present radio shows and DJ at clubs. Top tips – assess the people there – change the music to suit – put on a classic tune – pump up the volume and get a groove on!

Last one! Describe your perfect meal! 

My husband Simon is the main cook in our family and I love his work. We eat very well as if you shop sensibly, the food in Portugal is inexpensive and of excellent quality. The Portuguese grandmothers will stand for nothing less!

We are both into Indian, Middle Eastern and North African cuisine and have recently bought a fantastic Lebanese cookbook by Salma Hage. I was a vegetarian for a long time and don’t eat much meat so a balance of vegetables with spices is fantastic for me.

So something like freshly made Hummus, Cucumber and Yoghurt salad, flatbreads (which I make), Tabbouli and marinated chicken simply grilled all accompanied with a glass or two of Portuguese vinho tinto, finished – if in season – with delicious white melon from the Alentejo region (the best I have ever tasted).

When we go out I really enjoy the fish here in Portugal. The country sticks right out into the Océano Atlántico and the water and fish are as fresh as you can get. Simply cooked over coals – it’s sensational. 

Thanks so much for the interview. I am so happy and honoured to be welcomed into the Bergantino family of artists. 

Follow Suzy! starlite-campbell.com/suzy-starlite and check out her gear page: suzystarlite.com/equipment