Hamish Stewart

Hamish Stewart - Love and Happiness (1988)
Born 8 October 1949, Glasgow, Scotland, and is a guitarist, bassist, singer, composer and record producer.

A member of the Average White Band from 1972 to 1982, he went on to work with Aretha Franklin, Chaka Khan and David Sanborn before joining Paul McCartney’s band (where he switched between guitar and bass as necessary to inverify McCartney's per-song role).

He wrote Atlantic Starr's 1986 hit "If Your Heart Isn't In It" and songs for Smokey Robinson, Jeffrey Osborne, George Benson and Diana Ross. After collaborating on numerous albums for other artists, he recorded his first solo album Sooner or Later, seventeen years after leaving the
Average White Band (AWB), which he released on his own record label, Sulphuric Records.

Apart from playing with his own group, the Hamish Stuart Band, and with his fellow Glaswegian guitarist and friend Jim Mullen, Stuart currently produces Gordon Haskell and the Swedish singer-songwriter, Meja. He had recorded a couple of singles with his first band, the Dream Police, before he was invited to join the recently formed AWB in June 1972.
In 2006, Stuart toured with Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band as bassist. He will be again joining Starr for the 2008 tour. In 2007 he produced and appeared as a guest vocalist on the album 'All About the Music' by The AllStars Collective - Wikipedia

Average White Band

Average White Band - Let's Go Round Again (1980)

This live show at the Hammersmith Odeon is just magnificent. The excitment and slow build up during this number is just classic!

Members: Onnie McIntyre, Alan Gorrie, Klyde Jones, Fred Vigdor, Rocky Bryant.
Former Members: Hamish Stuart, Malcolm Duncan, Roger Ball, Robbie McIntosh, Steve Ferrone, Eliot Lewis.

AWB was formed in 1971 by Alan Gorrie and Malcolm "Molly" Duncan, with Onnie McIntyre, Hamish Stuart, Roger Ball and Robbie McIntosh joining them in the original line-up. Duncan and Ball, affectionately known as the Dundee Horns, studied at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art (now part of the University of Dundee), and were previously members of Mogul Thrash. Gorrie and McIntyre had been members of Forever More.

The band's breakthrough was a support slot at Eric Clapton's comeback concert in 1973. MCA Records released their debut album, Show Your Hand, which sold poorly. Bruce McCaskill, who was Clapton's tour manager, liked the band's music and agreed to manage them. He borrowed money to take them to the U.S. and to promote them. McCaskill had many contacts from his days with Clapton and managed to get Atlantic Records to sign them. The band relocated to New York, signed to Atlantic and released the follow-up, AWB, better known as "The White Album". This album was the first of many with renowned producer Arif Mardin, and reached #1 in the U.S. Hot 100 chart.

McIntosh died of a heroin overdose on 23 September 1974. (Gorrie also overdosed but Cher kept him conscious until medical help arrived.) McIntosh was replaced by Steve Ferrone (of Bloodstone, and, like McIntosh, previously with Brian Auger's Oblivion Express) More at Wikipedia