Rob Burns (born Robert George Henry Burns, 24 February 1953), earlier also known as Robbie Burns, is an English-born New Zealand bass player, author and academic. Burns' career spans five decades, encompassing musical genres such as pop, rock, R&B, soul, jazz, gospel, folk, and country. From the late 1970s until 1999 he toured and worked several sessions a week for artists of international fame, as well as for many major British TV shows, before embarking upon an academic career.
Burns earned a PhD in music in 2008 and has published work in several academic publications. He resides in Dunedin, New Zealand, gaining citizenship of New Zealand on 4 June 2014. Burns is currently Honorary Associate Professor in the Music Programme (School of Performing Arts) at the University of Otago.
Early life
The only child of George and Doris Burns, Robert Burns was born in Willesden, London. When he was four years old, the family moved to the new town of Hemel Hempstead, some 27 miles (43 km) north-west of central London, where he attended Blessed Cuthbert Mayne School, St. Albert the Great and Hemel Hempstead Grammar School (now Hemel Hempstead School).
In 1969 at age 16, Burns co-founded the band Lifeblud whose live performances included as support act for Wizz Jones, Uriah Heep, Heads Hands & Feet, Caravan (at the Marquee Club), Egg and Stray. They recorded three albums as acetates.
Career
Touring
Burns began his career as a professional musician in Britain in September 1972, performing as a touring bass guitarist for visiting major American soul artists Sam and Dave, Isaac Hayes, The Stylistics and Edwin Starr. In 1973, Burns co-founded the band Gateway Driver with guitarist/songwriter Martin Springett and drummer Jim McGillivray (later of German band Epitaph), with whom he toured extensively, notably as support act for Soft Machine. Late in 1979, Burns became the original bassist with Cayenne, a jazz-rock and Afro-Cuban band formed by guitarist Robert Greenfield with musicians from the R&B and funk band Gonzalez.
Live performances and touring continued with jazz trumpeter Ian Carr (author of biographies of Miles Davis and Keith Jarrett) as a member of Carr's band, Nucleus, with Burns appearing on seven tracks on their Live at the BBC CD box-set, and an appearance in 1981 with Morrissey-Mullen. Burns also worked with Christian singer Garth Hewitt and performed on two world tours as musical director for Eric Burdon of The Animals between 1982 and 1987, appearing on his 1985 That's Live album. Between 1989 and 1996, he played the bass in the Dolphins with Robin Lumley of Brand X, Willie Wilson of Sutherland Brothers and Quiver, and Pink Floyd guitarist and vocalist David Gilmour, within whose ranks Clem Clempson and Mick Ralphs would come to jam in the band's fluid line-up. Burns also performed live with James Burton, Frank Gambale, Snowy White and Albert Lee during this period.
Recording
Burns became a studio bass guitarist in the 1980s and recorded for Jon Lord and Ian Paice of Deep Purple for their Paice, Ashton and Lord project, Donna Summer, Atomic Rooster, Zoot Money's Big Roll Band and Vivian Stanshall of The Bonzo Dog Band (including the track "(There's) No Room To Rhumba In A Sports' Car" on the NME 1990 compilation album in aid of the Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy charity). In 1981, Burns played on two singles on Chrysalis Records, “Love’s Made A Fool Of You” and “Boys In Love”, as a member of Brian Copsey And The Commotions. He appeared on Jerry Donahue's solo album Neck of the Wood, David Wilcox's Bad Reputation and Arthur Louis' Back From Palookaville. Burns also arranged songs for Chris Martin in his pre-Coldplay era of the mid-1990s.
In 2001, Burns joined ex-David Bowie musician Robin Lumley in the formation of a band called SETI, including drummer Graeme Edge of the Moody Blues and Rod McGrath (former cellist in the WASO and LSO), being an attempt to integrate of the styles of Classical cello and a Rock band. Despite a prolonged period of inactivity, due in part to Burns’ move to New Zealand, the SETI project is described as “ongoing”. In 2011, Burns traveled to Toronto to play on Canadian artist/musician Martin Springett's album, Diving Into Small Pools.