caption associated_acts years_active notable_instruments label article_title name background birth_date instrument genre image origin birth_name occupation
overend gig , hammersmith apollo , october 2009 watts performing with mott the hoople , reunion mott the hoople , british lions 1969 -- present gibson thunderbird chrysalis , island , vertigo pete overend watts
 peter overend watts solo_singer 13 may 1947 bass guitar , acoustic guitar rock , hard rock , glam rock pete `` overend '' watts.jpg birmingham , england peter watts bass guitarist , vocalist , record producer
pete overend watts

peter overend watts -lrb- born 13 may 1947 , yardley , birmingham , england -rrb- is a bass guitar player and founding member of 1970s rock band , mott the hoople .
following the departure of ian hunter and mick ronson from the band , in 1974 , the remaining members of mott the hoople recruited relative unknowns ray major , on guitar , and nigel benjamin , on vocals .
the name was abbreviated to mott and a further two albums were recorded with this line-up , before benjamin quit .
watts continued with dale `` buffin '' griffin , morgan fisher and ray major in the mott successor british lions , recruiting former medicine head member john fiddler , until their demise around 1979 .
he later became a record producer , producing albums for artists such as hanoi rocks , dumb blondes , .
watts 's bass of choice was a white gibson thunderbird , one of which was later sold to wishbone ash bassist martin turner .
in 1978 he sold a customised cream gibson thunderbird bass guitar to shanne bradley , bassist with the nipple erectors , the nips and the men they could n't hang .
it can be heard on many of her recordings .
in january 2009 it was confirmed that watts and the other original members of mott the hoople would reform for three 40th anniversary reunion concerts in october 2009 .
the reunion at the hmv hammersmith apollo , london , england was extended to 5 shows due to popular demand .
in august 2009 american rock music group mambo sons released their double album `` heavy days '' featuring a song in tribute to him entitled `` overend watts '' .
the video for this tune has become a fan favorite , viewable on youtube at `` mambo sons - overend watts '' .
in november 2013 mott the hoople again reunited , with martin chambers once again sitting in -lrb- for an ailing buffin -rrb- on drums , for a series of uk gigs in birmingham , glasgow , newcastle and manchester , before concluding at the o2 in london .
