The bass guitar used by Jack Bruce on the Cream reunion tour has gone on display in London
Fans of the legendary musician - who was the lead vocalist and bass player in Cream before the group disbanded in 1968 with Jack and fellow members, including Eric Clapton, pursuing other projects - can see his four-string Gibson EB-1 Violin Bass guitar in all its glory at Gibson Garage, in Eastcastle Street
27 February 2025
As well as having the 1950s Cherry Red piece - which was most notably used for the Cream reunion shows back in 2005 - on display for a month, a series of in-store events have been taking place to mark the first anniversary of Gibson Garage.
February 20 saw an intimate show called 'Jam for Jack', in aid of the Jack Bruce Foundation - which strives to support young people who are finding it difficult to access music education.
Level 42's slap bass guitarist and lead vocalist Mark King, his daughters Kyla and Aruba Red - real name Natascha - as well as Jack Bruce's Big Blues Band, Phil Manzanera, Gary Husband, J, Art Themen, Liam Bailey, Marlee King and Nandi, performed to the small crowd as a tribute to the rocker, who died of liver disease in October 2014, aged 71.
Speaking exclusively to BANG Showbiz at the 'Jam for Jack' event at Gibson Garage on February 20, Mark said: "For me, Jack was one of my very first influences.
"At the age of eight, I heard Cream, and just seeing Jack - I think Jack's voice more than anything, nobody sounded like Jack.
"It was such a unique, rare voice, and he was such a talent - and so far ahead of his time.
"I'm 66 years old now, so at the age of eight to have heard something like Cream and the incredible Jack Bruce.
"My input on this is because I turned out to be a frontman-singing bass player, and the band that I consequently went on to do, which was Level 42, that was very much the thing.
"And so people would draw parallels and say, 'Oh, yeah, Jack Bruce, what did you think of him?' And so as an inspiration, I can't think of anybody finer.
"The inspiration that Jack gave me was the initial falling in love with music and getting involved in music."
Jack's family said of his EB-1 bass display: "We are very excited to be collaborating with the Gibson Garage Fest to celebrate Jack's incredible legacy and to aid the new Foundation, with the display and 'Jam For Jack'.
"It will be wonderful for Jack's fans to be able to view his iconic EB-1 violin bass in the exhibition.
"This bass guitar has always been on display at the family home, it meant a great deal to him and remains one of our most beloved of Jack's treasures."
© 2025 Bang Showbiz, NZCity
