with Nazir Jairazbhoy and, until 1969, he all but abandoned guitar in favour of the sitar. Together with Harrison, Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones and Shawn Phillips, he was among the most dedicated of the many rock guitarists who embraced the instrument during the 1960s. Moving from being a session musician In 1969, Sullivan joined Tom Jones' band. During his time with Jones in Las Vegas, he met and formed a friendship with Elvis Presley. Sullivan was an innovator of the talk box, which he demonstrated on Jones' TV show. He released an instrumental album Sullivan Plays O'Sullivan (1971) and was also featured giving guitar lessons on the Bay City Rollers' TV series Shang A Lang. In the 1970s he composed the score for an episode of the science fiction series, Space: 1999 ("The Troubled Spirit"), in which he also appeared and performed part of the score on screen, as a crew member giving a Coral sitar concert. In 1974, Sullivan teamed up with the record producer, Derek Lawrence, to form the record label, Retreat Records. One album release was Big Jim's Back (1975). He fronted a band called Tiger, alongside vocalist Nicky Moore, releasing three albums under this name before the group split up in 1976. Retreat Records also produced various artists. Amongst them were Labi Siffre, Chas & Dave and McGuinness Flint. Sullivan produced and arranged Siffre's "I Got The ...", sampled by Eminem and numerous other hip hop artists. Lawrence and Sullivan went to the United States during this period, to produce the glam metal band, Angel. In 1978, he became part of the James Last Orchestra for nine years, also touring with Olivia Newton-John after her success with Grease. In 1987, he began composing music for films and jingles. Big Jim later formed a duo with guitarist/singer/songwriter Duncan McKenzie. They played together for many years; some of their work can be seen on YouTube and they made an album, Aquila. Sullivan played in the Big Jim Sullivan Band with Duncan McKenzie, Malcolm Mortimore and Pete Shaw. He also worked with Doug Pruden in BJS duo. In 2006 he was featured in the Guitar Maestros DVD series with Doug Pruden. Death Sullivan died on 2 October 2012, aged 71 due to complications from heart disease and diabetes. Discography Albums 1964 – Charles Blackwell and Jimmy Sullivan – Classics with a Beat 1965 – Charles Blackwell and