Big Jim Sullivan - Later Career

Later Career

In 1969, Sullivan joined Tom Jones' band, and it was during his time with Jones in Las Vegas that he met and formed a friendship with Elvis Presley. Sullivan was an innovator of the talk box, which he demonstrated on Jones' TV show. He was also featured giving guitar lessons on the Bay City Rollers' TV series Shang A Lang.

He composed the score for an episode of the science fiction series, Space: 1999 ("The Troubled Spirit"), in which he also appeared and performed part of the score on screen, as a crew member giving a Coral sitar concert. Under the guidance of Vilayat Khan, Sullivan learned to play the sitar and released two albums of sitar music. He also played sitar on a musical interpretation of the Kama Sutra. Sullivan practised the sitar with George Harrison at Harrison's Esher bungalow.

In 1975, Sullivan teamed up with the record producer, Derek Lawrence, to form the record label, Retreat Records. They produced various artists over a period of about two years. Amongst them were Labi Siffre, Chas & Dave and McGuinness Flint. Sullivan produced and arranged Siffre's "I Got The ...", sampled by Eminem. Lawrence and Sullivan went to the United States during this period, to produce the glam metal band, Angel.

In the mid-1970s, Sullivan fronted a band called Tiger, alongside vocalist Nicky Moore, releasing three albums under this name before the group split up in 1976. In 1978, he became part of the James Last Orchestra for nine years, also touring with Olivia Newton-John after her success with Grease. In 1987, he began composing music for films and jingles. Later, Sullivan and guitarist Doug Pruden toured as the BJS Duo, and he also played in the Big Jim Sullivan Band with Duncan McKenzie, Malcolm Mortimore and Pete Shaw. In 2006 he was featured in the Guitar Maestros DVD series with Doug Pruden.