Interview With Bassist Leo Lyons

Few musicians can claim they were present at the birth of the electric bass, and even fewer can say they helped shape what came next. Leo Lyons has been playing bass for more than half a century, standing at the crossroads of innovation and influence as rock music found its voice. From the explosive blues-rock of Ten Years After, to later projects such as Hundred Seventy Split, Lyons has been a constant pillar of the UK rock scene and a familiar force in studios on both sides of the Atlantic as a bassist, producer, and sound engineer.So when news broke that Ten Years After’s 1969 album Sssh was being reissued in a deluxe format on both CD and vinyl, it felt like the perfect moment to sit down with the man behind those unmistakable low-end lines. I was excited to talk with Leo about the early days of electric bass, the legacy of Sssh, and what it means to revisit a landmark album more than five decades later.This interview first appeared in Bass Musician Magazine in January 2026Go to jazzguitartoday.com and bassmusicianmagazine.com more interviews and lessons.