Jimmy Bain: Hell-raising bassist with Rainbow who became tabloid fodder when he married into the aristocracy

Bain was an engaging character whose hedonism and love of the rock’n’roll lifestyle made him a favourite with fans, if not always his fellow band mates

Bain, right, with the Rainbow drummer Cozy Powell in 1976 (Redferns)

The bassist Jimmy Bain was a stalwart of the heavy metal scene of the late 1970s and early ’80s, an engaging character whose hedonism and love of the rock’n’roll lifestyle made him a favourite with fans, if not always his fellow band mates in Rainbow and Dio. “Touring was always a blast,” he said. “I was famous for being ‘lit up’ and still being able to play. I even fell over a few times. It was like it was part of the show.”

More self-awareness might have made Bain realise that in summer 1976 he had nearly failed the audition to join the second version of Rainbow, the group assembled by the mercurial Deep Purple lead guitarist Ritchie Blackmore alongside Dio, drummer Cozy Powell and keyboard-player Tony Carey. Having recorded Rising, the band’s seminal exemplar of Blackmore’s post-Purple work, the bassist toured with Rainbow throughout the last four months of 1976. Yet, he failed to notice the writing was on the wall and was edged out and replaced by Roger Glover, the former Purple bassist; Dio also fell foul of Blackmore’s musical chairs policy, replaced by vocalist Graham Bonnet coming in 1979.

Drafted into Black Sabbath to replace Ozzy Osbourne for a brace of albums, Dio subsequently formed his own eponymous outfit comprising drummer Vinny Appice, future Def Leppard guitarist Vivian Campbell, and Bain, whose songwriting prowess came in handy on several of the group’s singles, particularly the no-holds-barred ‘’Rainbow In The Dark’’, the infectious rocker ‘’Mystery’’ and the anthemic ‘’Hungry For Heaven’’.

Born in 1947, Bain played in various Scottish bands before following his parents to Canada. Between 1979 and 1988, he was married to Lady Sophia Crichton-Stuart, elder sister of the Marquess of Bute. The couple became regulars not only of the heavy metal bible Kerrang! but also the gossip columns. A close friend of the Thin Lizzy bassist Phil Lynott, Bain co-wrote several of the best tracks on his Solo In Soho (1980) and The Philip Lynott Album (1982).

Bain kicked a heroin habit but died of lung cancer in his cabin on Def Leppard’s Hysteria on the High Seas cruise where he had been due to perform with his group Last In Line. He had been suffering from pneumonia.

PIERRE PERRONE

James Stewart Bain, musician: born Newtonmore, Scotland 19 December 1947; married 1979 Lady Sophia Crichton-Stuart (divorced 1988; one daughter) died 23 January 2016.

Pierre Perrone died in February 2016.