“The store said, ‘We can’t get an amp before your gig.’ This gentleman walked up behind me and said, ‘You can use mine.’ It was John Entwistle”: Martyn LeNoble was once in desperate need of bass gear – and The Who’s low-end legend came to his rescue

Martyn Lenoble of Porno for Pyros performs at Woodstock 94, Saugerties, New York, August 13, 1994 – and John Entwistle performing with The Who in St Louis, Missouri on August 11, 1989.

In the late 1980s, bass guitar player Martyn LeNoble moved from the Netherlands to Los Angeles, where he spent time cutting his teeth playing for the likes of Thelonius Monster before eventually co-founding Porno for Pyros.

The move presented some insurmountable logistical problems concerning his bass gear, and when he arrived in the US he found himself without a bass amp. That proved to be a problem, since the gigs were coming thick and fast – and the bass shop LeNoble sought out couldn't supply him one in time.

Fortunately, as the bassist recalls in a new interview with Guitar World, he was once rescued by an unexpected savior: John Entwistle of The Who.

Recalling his relocation and the problems it posed to his rig, LeNoble explains, “I ended up switching to Trace Elliott amps in the '80s. That's what I played when I first moved to the United States.

“The one I had in the Netherlands was too much to ship here, so I went to buy another at a place called The Bass Center in Los Angeles. I don't think it exists anymore. I walked in and had a gig that weekend, but they didn't have an amp in stock. They said, 'We can't get one before your gig.'

“Then, this gentleman walked up behind me and said, 'You can use mine for the gig if you want.' It was John Entwistle from The Who.”

Perry Farrell and Martyn LeNoble of Jane's Addiction (Image credit: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic, Inc/Getty Images)

True to his word, Entwistle had one of his techs deliver his personal Trace Elliott amp to LeNoble’s place, so the new-in-town bassist could continue with his gig.

“He asked me for my address, and he had one of his techs come and bring it to my place,” LeNoble goes on. “So, the first two gigs I played here were with John Entwistle's Trace Elliott amp. He was a complete stranger to me; I was a stranger to him.

“But he did say, 'If you blow it up, I'm going to take the one that's yours that's coming next week.' So, there was really no risk for him.”

Elsewhere in his Guitar World interview, LeNoble discusses his ill-fated stint in Jane’s Addiction, which he said came to an end after a clash with Perry Farrell.

Guitar World's full interview with Martyn LeNoble will be published later this month.