John Rostill
An English bassist and composer, recruited by The Shadows to replace Brian Locking.
Born in Kings Norton, Birmingham, England, Rostill attended Rutlish School in south London (1953-59).
He worked with several artists before joining The Shadows, including Bournemouth band The interns (nowadays sometimes confused with Welsh band The Interns who were based in London at this time, signed with Tito Burns Agency.
In fact, they were two different bands), The Flintstones and a stint as part of Zoot Money’s early backing band. He also played in the bands recruited to back such visiting artists as the Everly Brothers and Tommy Roe.
Stylistically, Rostill combined the solidity of Brian Locking and the adventurousness of Jet Harris. Many of his bass lines were heavily syncopated and he developed a range of new sounds on the Burns bass during his time with the group, a longer period than Harris and Locking put together.
To many players, Rostill was ahead of his time and included double-stopping in his technique. Unusually, for that time, Rostill played bass finger-style rather than with a plectrum.
Rostill was a prolific songwriter, contributing to the Shadows’ output from the start (both as a solo composer and as part of the mid-sixties “Marvin/Welch/Bennett/Rostill” team). This combination composed hits: “The Rise and Fall of Flingel Bunt” (a UK no. 5, 1964) and “Genie with the Light Brown Lamp” (UK no. 17, 1965)
John Rostill died in Radlett, England, on November 26, 1973. He was electrocuted by his guitar owing to faulty or improperly grounded electrical equipment.
He was survived by his wife Margaret Rostill and his son Paul (a year old when his father died) in Shenley, Hertfordshire. (aged 31)
Photo shows John Rostill as a member of The Shadow on the left.