By, Robyn Rosen
1 min read
ByRobyn Rosen, Robyn Rosen
The son of rock guitarist Mick Green, who played with Paul McCartney and Van Morrison, has described his father, who died aged 65 last week, as his “best friend”.
Mr Green, a member of Wanstead and Woodford Synagogue, died on January 11.
His son and manager, Brad, 28, said: “He had a very large personality and was a real comedian. His death will leave a huge gap in my life.”
Mr Green began his career playing with 1960s band Johnny Kidd and the Pirates. He later played in the band Shanghai, which supported Status Quo on tour in 1976.
During his career he also played with Bryan Ferry, Paul McCartney and latterly Van Morrison at Glastonbury.
He played guitar on five tracks of Van Morrison’s album Keep it Simple in 2008.
Brad, a member of Chigwell Synagogue, said: “He was rock and roll, so I’d be lying if I said he was very religious, but we had Friday nights together when I was growing up and that was very important.
“He was such an avid reader of the JC and a really strong supporter of Israel. In fact, he was very well known for commenting on the Channel 4 forums and my mother and I had to write several pleading letters to Channel 4 asking for him to be allowed back after he was thrown off for his comments. He would go mad about some of the comments people left about Israel.”
Brad would often accompany his father to gigs across the country and eventually became his manager.
He said: “People would come backstage and want his autograph or go to gigs wearing his T-shirt and I just thought: ‘That’s my dad’.”
Brad met Paul McCartney while his father recorded Run Devil Run with him in 1999.
Brad said: “He took me down to Abbey Road Studios and I got chatting to Paul. He took me around the live room and showed me all the different microphones. That was one of the greatest moments.
“I also went with him to stay with Van Morrison in his barn in Bath when they were recording an album together. He was a great guy and got on very well with my dad — who was really cool.”