Photo: Carolyn Dean

As motorbikes go, the Suzuki G5XR 750 is a monster. Not, perhaps, the kind of machine you would associate with the poignancy of Debussy or the restrained passion of Chopin. But fuse these diverse elements together, throw in some virtuoso jazz and a dash of blues, and you've got a bass player.

Marcus Cliffe knows his way around the classical piano, and at Leeds College of Music in the early '80s' it seemed for a while that this might be the love of his life. "Then", says Marcus, "I saw this bass guitar, and I thought....yes; Rock and Roll." It was a time when musical aspirations had reached new heights, when the bass guitar had begun to shed its pure rock image. Marcus listened to the best - players like Weather Report's Jaco Pastorius and the mighty Marcus Miller. But, discovering the bass guitar was just one of the many musical sliproads on Marcus Cliffe's journey to the Notting Hillbillies. On leaving college in 1984, he experienced the eclectic delights of Brendan Croker and the 5'o'Clock Shadows. Not long after, Mark Knopfler began sitting in with the band. At this point, to say 'and the rest....is history...' is tempting. But what a history.

Apart from his role as a Hillbilly, Marcus has trod the boards in recent years with many of pop's premier league players. Emmy Lou Harris, a year with Paul Young, a long and creative association with Tasmin Archer juxtaposed with the rough and tumble of country rock with Steve Earle. He's scaled the spiritual heights with the Rev. Al Green and provided a solid bass for the Fine Young Cannibals, Daniel Lanois, Lulu, Belinda Carlisle, Tin Tin Out with Emma Bunton and, more recently, with The Manfreds.

When he's not facing the masses at stadiums like Wembley, Marcus keeps a firm grasp on his roots by touring Europe with Dave Kelly, slide guitarist from The Blues Band. "It's quite a nice contrast," says Marcus, "a big stadium one month, with all the big trappings, then you're on the road playing the blues in small clubs and pubs around Germany and Norway."

What's the secret ? It's the same element which brings Mark Knopfler back from the heights of Transatlantic success to his roots. Cameraderie. "I couldn't do this unless I got on socially with all these people," says Marcus. "We just enjoy what we do and have great fun." What's the future for a perceptive, motor-cycling bass player ? Marcus Cliffe holds no sharp cards. "Whatever comes along." Watch this space.