Remembering new wave bassist and human rights lawyer, Matthew Seligman.
Matthew Seligman, the new wave bassist and human rights lawyer, has died aged 64, from the Coronavirus.
Influenced by bassists Paul McCartney, Andy Fraser (Free) and Talking Heads’ Tina Weymouth, he played in Robyn Hitchcock’s post-punk outfit The Soft Boys after graduating from Cambridge, before a three-album stint with Thomas Dolby and a short period with the Thompson Twins.
Matthew became a sought-after session musician, playing alongside Dolby as part of Bowie’s band at Live Aid in 1985, on Bowie’s hit single Absolute Beginners released the following year, and the Labyrinth film soundtrack. He played sessions for a host of other major artists as diverse as Morrissey, Stereo MCs, Sinead O’Connor and Alex Chilton. Favouring a black Fender Jazz bass for his main instrument, he also used a fretless Ibanez for his work with Dolby.
By the early 90s, Matthew’s attention was drawn to the legal profession. Initially in Personal Injury, he switched to Human Rights and was still sending communications about his legal casework while in hospital. “Matthew was very far from anyone’s idea of a rock star lawyer,” recalls legal colleague Rod Campbell-Taylor. “Boyishly enthusiastic, humble and utterly intolerant of any form of bullying or cruelty.”
He moved to Sendai, northern Japan in 2005, before finally returning to London to carry out his Human Rights work. He continued his music though, appearing at several festivals, plus touring with Dolby in 2012. As the latter fondly observed, “Matthew would want us to remember the good times and have a party.”
By Clive Somerville
A personal tribute to Matthew by Kevin Armstrong
In life we meet people, we work with people, we fall in love with people, we fall out with people, we come together, we drift apart, but, in the end, a few significant friendships are what really matter.
Some friends become a part of us. Those who we can never not love, never get bored of, always trust with a secret, go to for good solid advice, laugh with, always feel yourself with, never feel judged by. These friendships are like treasure, like signposts to a better world. They don’t have to always be constant, or intense but they are like touchstones that reliably restore your faith in humanity whenever you need that.
My friendship with Matthew Seligman was one of these. I miss him like a brother. All the things we did together, enjoying the first exciting forays into music, recording, travelling, ending up onstage with David Bowie, all of them have the backdrop of solid, warm affection that only true friends can share.
Matthew was an exceptionally warm and generous person. He had a true gentleness and a calm and funny way of looking at things. Though his life was sometimes full of self-inflicted hardships and dramas, he was always willing to spend time for others and always maintained his sense of humour and boundless charm and bonhomie.
This is one of the saddest days of my life and for those of us who had the delight and privilege of knowing Matthew, our memories of him will have to serve the irreplaceable loss of his presence.