“If anything makes me regret not pursuing more of an artistic career, it’s looking at Brian Eno”: Still, BJ Cole didn’t do too badly with David Gilmour, The Orb, Bill Nelson, Scott Walker and others

BJ Cole.

Decades of pushing the boundaries of what the pedal steel can do made Cochise co-founder BJ Cole one of the world’s most creative and in-demand session players. In 2014 he told Prog about the artists who inspired him and the people he’d most enjoyed working with.

BJ Cole has been the most sought-after pedal steel guitarist in the UK since the 1970s. He’s played in every conceivable musical genre, from pop to prog and ambient to free improvisation, including sessions with David Gilmour, Mike Oldfield, Kevin Ayers, Björk, Scott Walker, REM and The Orb. He was in the UK post-psychedelic country band Cochise from 1970 to 1972 and he’s made a number of solo albums.