On Thursday 20th November, Ealing Picturehouse greeted Ronnie Wood of The Rolling Stones and Woody Woodmansey (Drummer with David Bowie) for a special preview screening of the Nicky Hopkins Film – The Session Man.
Nicky Hopkins was born on 24th February 1944 in Perivale (now part of Borough of Ealing) and began playing piano from the age 3, eventually attending classes at the Royal Academy of Music. His classical training later merged with a love of the blues which was then permeating into many of his West London musical contemporaries.
Nicky’s first, early forays into Rock & Pop included a stint with Screaming Lord Sutch & The Savages (a set-up still celebrated by the likes of Jack White) & the Cyril Davies All Stars. Nicky’s abilities went centre stage with the recording of Country Line Special, the Cyril Davies classic that is etched onto the memories of many including Ray Davies (The Kinks) and Pete Townshend (The Who) (go find his Suburban Steps To Rockland interview)
Later collaborations included work with The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Kinks & The Who (to name but a few). The Session Man film clearly illustrates the sonic links between tracks such as Country Line Special, Revolution & Sympathy for the Devil.
Ronnie Wood & Woody Woodmansey (right) & John Wood (left) (producer of Session Man Film)
The movie succinctly illustrates Nicky’s unique ability to lift a composition with his playing on Jealous Guy (John Lennon) & Monkey Man (The Rolling Stones) and Angie (The Rolling Stones) – (For example)
It is gratifying to see that, thanks to the efforts of documentary filmmakers, Nicky Hopkins, was formally inducted into the prestigious ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame’ in the USA, joining his fellow Ealing contemporaries Dusty Springfield and Ealing Club founder, Alexis Korner. Nicky’s pal Ronnie Wood, his bandmate on the seminal album, Truth, by the Jeff Beck Group, is of course a West London local, an Ealing Club veteran & Ealing Art School alumni and also a fellow Rock ‘n’ Roll hall of famer, a double inductee gaining honours in 1989 with the Rolling Stones and in 2012 with The Faces.
Meanwhile, back on the streets of Perivale you can search out a commemorative bench & a plaque on the house where Nicky Hopkins grew up in.
Today, music aplenty can still be found in surrounding streets, parks & churches while the soundtrack of the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s & 90’s continues to reverberate to new generations though a myriad of films & streaming platform productions.
There is a growing consensus in West London that curating past music & film contributions can strengthen opportunity for the present/ future cultural opportunity.
That said, there are so many West London music stories still to be celebrated & understood by a wider public. Plenty of ideas are to be found in the A-Z of Ealing Rock that should now be available at all local libraries.
Who’s Next?
The Ealing Club CIC are hosting The Ben Waters Band on the 8th February 2026. BUY TICKETS HERE
