The Session Man

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The Session Man

2023

1h 30m

Documentary

Music

Biography

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1 Reviews

95%

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50+ Ratings

The Session Man, a 90-minute documentary feature film, tells the story of Nicky Hopkins, the highly gifted and prolific session pianist, and unsung hero. Nicky not only played with The Kinks, The Who, The Rolling Stones and The Beatles, he also played on solo albums of all four members of the Beatles in the early part of a stellar career that spanned over 30 years. During that time, he contributed to over 250 albums and a vast number of single releases. Nicky's legendary piano riffs and wonderful musical motifs helped ordinary tracks become extraordinary and iconic. So many of them remain popular today. The generations that followed the Golden Era of Rock And Roll soon discover those iconic tracks that made Nicky Hopkins a legend amongst his peers -- tracks like Revolution by The Beatles, Like A Rainbow, Sympathy For The Devil and Angie by the Rolling Stones, Jealous Guy by John Lennon from his Imagine album and You Are So Beautiful by Joe Cocker.

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Terry Sherwood

Film Threat

...you get a wonderful story that perhaps you didn’t know when listening to music.

Rated: 8/10

Nov 9, 2024

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ROBERT M

It was a great show! I enjoyed looking back at all the great music Nicky Hopkins was part of!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/13/25

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Tom K

What a great film!! Nicky was in my mind the greatest. His work with the Rolling Stones alone is what made me his fan. An absolute must for fans of all the great music of his time period, every day Nicky plays on something that I listen to

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/07/25

Full Review

troy d

I watched The Session Man and Wow! Nicky Hopkins was an integral part of so many great albums and songs. The video is part documentary & part memorial with much of it interviews of people in music and their memories. Nicky dealt with chronic illness most of his life and I think it had a lot to do with the choices he made as far as where he fit in the music business. Worth a watch to learn a bit about Nicky Hopkins, and all the iconic melodies he created (I won't spoil it for you) and Rock in general... plus, there's Mick, Keith, Dave Davies, Peter Frampton (who still looks 30 something), and many others.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/02/25

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Rich Q

Nicky Hopkins was without a doubt the best keyboard player in the history of rock music, playing with just about all of the big name bands from the Stones, the Who, Jeff Beck and many, many others. Not only was he as talented as he was prolific, he made the artists around him better. This documentary not only showcases his unique style but his versatility as well.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/22/25

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Ken K

As a Nicky Hopkins fan from way back, I thought I'd really enjoy this movie but it turned out to be a bit of a disappointment. There's hardly any footage (or audio for that matter) of Nicky actually playing, there are a few snippets of an interview with him for some vintage US show but mostly it's other musicians and associated people telling us how wonderful he was. So for Nicky Hopkins fans there's nothing new here and for people who don't know him, all they're going to get is accolades. Shame, really.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

12/28/24

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Lukas D

Well-made documentary about one of the most influencial yet most unknown keyboard players of a generation. Would recommend!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

12/02/24

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Michael Treen

Director

Harry Shearer

Self

Mick Jagger

Self

Keith Richards

Self

Peter Frampton

Self

Bill Wyman

Self

The Session Man: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

The Session Man, a 90-minute documentary feature film, tells the story of Nicky Hopkins, the highly gifted and prolific session pianist, and unsung hero. Nicky not only played with The Kinks, The Who, The Rolling Stones and The Beatles, he also played on solo albums of all four members of the Beatles in the early part of a stellar career that spanned over 30 years. During that time, he contributed to over 250 albums and a vast number of single releases. Nicky's legendary piano riffs and wonderful musical motifs helped ordinary tracks become extraordinary and iconic. So many of them remain popular today. The generations that followed the Golden Era of Rock And Roll soon discover those iconic tracks that made Nicky Hopkins a legend amongst his peers -- tracks like Revolution by The Beatles, Like A Rainbow, Sympathy For The Devil and Angie by the Rolling Stones, Jealous Guy by John Lennon from his Imagine album and You Are So Beautiful by Joe Cocker.

Director: Michael Treen
Producer: Michael Treen, John Wood, Mike Sherman
Screenwriter: Michael Treen
Distributor: Giant Pictures
Production Co: The Session Man Ltd.
Genre: Documentary, Music, Biography
Original Language: British English
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 5, 2024
Runtime: 1h 30m

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