“I believe Tommy had lots of songs which were exactly what the band needed. And his style was more akin to Ritchie’s than mine”: Clem Clempson on the return of Colosseum, jamming with Jack Bruce, and that time he auditioned for Deep Purple

Clem Clempson plays his Schecter s-style onstage in 1980.

At 75, goldtop-sliming Clem Clempson has seen it all as far as six-strings go. With Colosseum, he aided in two early ‘70s prog-rock gems in The Grass is Greener and Daughter of Time before departing for the ever-bluesy Humble Pie as Peter Frampton’s replacement.

That was a tall order, but Clempson was up for it. The result was albums like Smokin’, Eat It, and Thunderbox, a few of Pie’s most beloved LPs. “The success of Smokin’ was very gratifying,” Clempson tells Guitar World. “It’s always nice to get some kind of seal of approval from the fans.”