What do Sympathy for the Devil by The Rolling Stones, The First Cut is the Deepest by P P Arnold and Jealous Guy by John Lennon have in common? The answer is that they all contain iconic piano riffs by one of the most gifted pianists ever, Nicky Hopkins. You might not have heard of Hopkins, but you will definitely know his music. The musical genius contributed to over 250 iconic albums alongside countless legendary live shows during his tragically short life. The Session Man, a documentary by Michael Treen, celebrates the life of a man who added harmonic depth and richness to our lives.

Born in Sheffield, England in 1944, Nicky Hopkins started playing around with the piano as soon as he was tall enough to reach the keys. As a teenager, he trained classically with the Royal Academy of Music before developing a taste for rock ‘n’ roll. The swinging 1960s saw him hanging out in Soho and on Eel Pie Island, and after a stint with The Savages, he joined the very popular Cyril Davies All Stars which in turn led him to The Rolling Stones who regularly supported the All Stars. Hopkins could play all styles of music which made him in great demand as a session musician. Then, a brutal diagnosis of Crohn’s disease meant that he couldn’t play full-time with any one band, so working sessions with different bands suited him.

What followed was a thirty-year career of playing for the great and the good in rock ‘n’ roll. The esteemed roll-call of artists he collaborated with includes The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Kinks, PP Arnold, Art Garfunkel, Jefferson Airplane, Cat Stevens, Eric Clapton, The Jeff Beck Group, Mott the Hoople, The Steve Miller Band, Joe Cocker and Graham Parker and The Rumour…I could go on and on. He also played with all four ex-Beatles on their solo projects. Aside from his talent and versatility, Hopkins’ appeal was also that he was a sweet man and came with no ego. He could fit in seamlessly with whomever he was playing, and could both broaden and deepen songs. He was far more than a session player. He knew where the piano should sit within a track, and had a great instinct for the right note or chord. He completely changed many iconic tracks with his signature ideas, all the time with a very soft touch from his magic fingers.

Hopkins’ Crohn’s disease gradually got the better of him. He tried to mask the pain with drugs and alcohol, but this made matters worse, and he died in 1994, post rehab, aged only 50. His legacy is a body of music with enduring appeal.

The Session Man is a suitable tribute to this maestro. Treen had no problem assembling an esteemed group of contributors willing to sing Hopkins’ praises. Interviewees include Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Dave Davis, Pete Townsend, Shel Talmy, PP Arnold, Nils Lofgren, Bill Wyman and Pete Frampton and Hopkins’ second wife Moira, amongst many others. These old rockers are aging well – lots of style lessons to be learned from this film, as well as some good background interior shots. Some of the lesser-known interviewees are real characters, including Terry Reid, and Slim Jim from The Stray Cats. Archive interview footage of Hopkins combines with some iconic vintage live footage and a couple of current pianists recreating his chords.

This is a great history lesson about one of rock’s unsung heros. Hopkins genuinely thought that he was reincarnated from Chopin. Maybe he was.  10/10