Neil Hubbard is a British guitarist whose playing has threaded through some of the most memorable moments in rock, pop, soul and jazz-funk.
Born in 1948, Hubbard was educated at The King’s School in Peterborough, where he was a boarder. It was there that his interest in music began to take shape, as he and another pupil built their own amplifiers and entertained fellow students with early rock and roll songs.
He went on to build a remarkable career as a guitarist and session musician, performing and recording with artists and bands including Bluesology, Juicy Lucy, The Grease Band, Joe Cocker, Kokomo, Roxy Music, Bryan Ferry, Alvin Lee, B.B. King, Dexys Midnight Runners and Robert Palmer. He also played on the original 1970 concept album of Jesus Christ Superstar.
Hubbard’s elegant and expressive guitar work can be heard on Roxy Music albums including Flesh and Blood and Avalon, as well as several Bryan Ferry recordings. One of his best-known contributions is the guitar solo at the end of Ferry’s hit single Slave to Love.
For Peterborough, Neil Hubbard’s story adds another note to the city’s musical heritage: a former King’s School pupil whose talent carried him from schoolboy bands to the heart of British popular music.