Of his background, Jamie Crompton says,"When I began, I played the drums with New Wave bands, just high-energy rock 'n' roll bands basically. That was about 1978. Then I started getting into the guitar, and about 1980 I joined Susie Quatro. I toured all over the world with her, and recorded a couple of albums in the States."



In late 1985, Susie Quatro's sound man was offered a tour with Wishbone Ash. After Laurie Wisefield left the band, this man suggested Jamie as a possible substitute. After hearing him play, the band offered him a one-time gig in Basel, Switzerland. He was to stand in for Laurie until they got someone more permanent. That gig went so well that Andy asked Jamie to do a few more dates in Europe, and the upshot was that he toured extensively with the band during 1986-87.



With the re-formation of the original Wishbone line-up in late '87, Jamie stepped down to allow for Ted's return. However, he ended up rejoining them for the first leg of their 1988 tour. Ted was living in the United States, and visa problems prevented him from joining the band until the last day of rehearsals. He had no time to learn the later material before the tour started, so Andy worked alternately with him and Jamie in different parts of the set.



Bringing things up to date, Jamie is now head of Artist Relations at Fender Musical Instruments in London. He no longer plays dates, and says of the life of a touring musician,"It's a great lifestyle, but it doesn't go on forever."