Ben Benson
Ben is the fabulous lead guitarist with The Roofraisers and the elder statesman of the band. He was the only member of the band who was actually around back in the 50s when it all happened, (even if he was only running around in short trousers!).
Born in South East London Ben was inspired to play the guitar when he heard Chuck Berry's 'No Particular Place To Go' and decided if he could ever play guitar that's how he would like to play.
Ben states his other early influences as Carl Perkins (lovely loose feel) and The Rock'n'Roll Trio (great raw sound). However, Ben regards Gene Vincent and his original Blue Caps as probably the best band ever.
Ben taught himself to play guitar and has never had a music lesson in his life! He played in several pub rock bands in the 70's and 80's and tried to introduce as much rock'n'roll into the sets as possible. He found though, that the other musicians, as talented as they were, just didn't share his passion for the early rock'n'roll tunes. Ben says " I just had to get out and play the music from the 50s that had originally inspired me to learn the guitar."
Ben finally got his wish when he teamed up with Trevor Hawkins, who a lot of you will know as the piano player with the Sunsets. Ben says "He got me playing the music I love and also introduced me to recordings which I had never heard before. I owe a big thank you to Trevor. He's over in Australia now but I know he would be proud of this band; almost as much as I am."
For those guitar buffs amongst you, Ben's currently using a 1957 Gretsch Silver Jet reissue through a 1976 Fender Twin with a line 6 echo unit.
Click below to return to main page