The Session Man releases in select cinemas across the UK and Ireland on November 21st but we were lucky enough to able to see an early screening!
Nicky Hopkins is a legendary session pianist, who has played a part in some of the most historic recordings of all time. Friends with The Beatles, toured with The Rolling Stones and revered in the San Francisco scene. Hopkins has all the acclaim, all the respect, all the regard but yet most don’t know his name!
That is what The Session Man aims to rectify. This documentary details the life of Hopkins from a child attending the Royal Academy of Music in Westminster, London all the way to his untimely death in Nashville at the spry, young age of 50 in 1994.
Mike Treen, the director, conducted interviews with greats of the music scene like: Keith Richards + Billy Wyman (The Rolling Stones), Pete Townshend (The Who), Bro Paul Brown (The Waterboys), PP Arnold, Nils Lofgren (E Street Band) and many more…
These interviews are also intercut with clips of interviews with Nicky, himself, from the early 90’s. There’s a moment i really love in one of them, were he recalls a conversation he had with John Lennon about why he moved to New York; “It’s the only place that can keep up with me”, Lennon replied. These interviews with Nicky also help us see into the minds of his contemporaries and the people he worked with, who we now consider the greatest of all time.
Speaking about John Lennon, until watching this doc, like many, i was under the assumption that it was John who played the piano on the illustrious Imagine (1971). NO! It was actually Nicky. ‘Jealous Guy‘ is one of my favourite songs, not just on that album but in general. The piano in this song is so, so, so beautiful and it is a huge shame that Hopkins doesn’t actually get any credit for it.
Hopkins was a master of two different types of piano playing, classical and rock. He was classically trained as a kid at the aforementioned Royal Academy of Music, but it is playing with the Cyril Davis All Stars where he learned rock and roll. It’s also playing with the All Stars where he was first spotted by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, who in Richard’s own words “blew their mind”. Richard’s also said Nicky and his piano changed the trajectory of the Stones and the music they wanted to play.
This started a lengthy working career with Hopkins and the Stones, Nicky playing on every studio album from 1967 until 1981 and touring with them for a majority of that time period. Hopkins also completed a grand slam of The Beatles, recording on one The Beatles single and working with them all separately in their solo projects.
The Session Man really highlights how influential Hopkins was, and how it’s a huge shame he is not a household name. Unfortunately, that is the way of the session player. Nicky worked with the greats, he was in: the Jerry Garcia Band in ’75, the Jeff Beck Group, played on multiple The Kinks albums, played on multiple The Who albums, contributed to a Harry Nilsson album , recorded with Steve Miller Band, with Joe Gocker and with Jefferson Airplane. Hopkins also consulted, cult classic parody band Spinal Tap, on their 1992 album ‘Break Like The Wind’.
It is with Jefferson Airplane, who he played the legendary Woodstock Festival with in 1969. He was a part of music history, over and over again!
The doc also details Nicky’s extensive health problems and battle with drug addiction. An interview with his widow, Moira, she speaks about how the couple moved to Nashville in the spring of 1993, before Hopkins suddenly passed away in autumn of ’94. He died of complications due intestinal surgery that was caused by his lifelong battle with Crohn’s disease.
Technically, The Session Man is well made. It is a great compilation of old and new interviews, it tells Nicky’s story completely and has a great range of contributors. With all that being said, i don’t know if this traditional documentary structure and set up is the best way to tell Nicky’s story. Nicky’s story is anything but unique, it’s anything but traditional. He played with the best of the best and yet is universally unknown.
I really think his story would of benefited from a more unique structure, one that paired well with his unique story. Broken English (2025) is a fantastic example of telling an unknown legends (Marianne Faithful) story in a unique documentary structure.
The Session Man releases in UK & Irish cinemas on November 21st. Be sure to catch it and help Nicky get his posthumous recognition.
Be sure to keep up with all our latest essays, analysis’ and reviews and within the film and tv industry by following our social pages and checking out our blog page.
