On 25 July this year the world lost a music icon. Peter Green’s legacy goes far beyond what words can convey - and yet words are all we have. In the following pages, people who knew Peter, worked with him or saw him play during his rise to prominence in the late 60s offer their impressions of a humble master of the blues

WORDS: DAVID MEAD

PETER GREEN 1946-2020

Photo by Richard Ecclestone/Redferns

BERNIE MARSDEN

Even Whitesnake and UFO guitarist Bernie Marsden got butterflies whenever he was in the presence of his hero. Here, he shares his memories of his time with Peter - including recent visits

Photo by Joby Sessions

In recent years Bernie Marsden visited Peter often. They played together and shared stories of life on the road back in the days when pop was being overtaken by rock and blues in the teenage mindset. Bernie’s memories of Peter reveal a side his fans didn’t see, a man with a wicked sense of humour and an enduring resistance to the rock ’n’ roll limelight.

What was your reaction to the news about Peter’s passing?

“It hit me hard. Now you get to that reflective part when I think of all the things I could have asked him and didn’t and all the things I should have said to him… It was a shock and a surprise, you know, because he was all right; he was okay in himself, he was in a pretty good place and so I’m glad for that. I’m just sorry that I won’t get to see him again. But then you look back and say, ‘Well, treasure all the times I’ve had over the last couple of years with him.’”

When did you last see him?

“I saw him on the day of the gig [the all-star Peter Green Tribute at The London Palladium on 25 February this year]. He gave me a piece of his artwork and he signed it to me and he dated it that day. So, of course, that takes on a huge significance now because it’s the day of the gig. I arrived at his house around lunchtime and during the afternoon we were talking about Robert Johnson or fishing or guitars and I said, ‘You know what’s on tonight, don’t you?’ and he went, ‘Yeah…’ and I told him we could go and that I’d drive him up and go with him and he just said, ‘Nah, a cup of tea with you would be just as good.’

“At the time I just grinned but when I think about it now it becomes more poignant. That day, when there’s this huge tribute going on to him in London with all these luminaries, he just wasn’t interested. If you think about it, that sort of sums up his relationship with the music business, really. Anything with a big spotlight on him, he didn’t want to know. He did say, ‘Do you think they’d let me sit in the royal box if I went?’ I said, ‘I’m sure that could be arranged, Pete…’”

“I last saw Peter on the day of the [Peter Green Tribute] gig… I told him I’d drive him up and go with him and he just said, ‘Nah, a cup of tea with you would be just as good’”
BERNIE MARSDEN

Bernie pictured with Peter in November 2019

Photo © Bernie Marsden

Do you think there’s likely to be another tribute concert sometime in the future in view of the fact he’s no longer with us?

“Yeah, we’ll do something. The people that didn’t get involved [in the last one], maybe - and some of the people that did. I think we’ll do something when we can, something a bit more intimate.”