What artist/artists do you regard as being influential to you?

[thetworegs]

It started innocently with Elvis loved listening to Bing & Frank on car journeys with mum & dad. Then puberty hit with Zeppelin,Free, purple cooper Floyd sabbath and most of 70's Rock.the psychedelic period   Jefferson airplane the Doors.  The Captain Zappa then came along Tom waits, the Crusaders in fact I'd say everything and everyone I ever heard has influenced me in one way or another.

[AndyR]

Something I've learnt in the last couple of years is that my favourite artists, the ones I think have influenced me, the ones that made me want to play... the ones I'd usually trot out as my contribution to a thread like this... are NOT the ones, it turns out, that have had the biggest musical influence on me for playing, writing, and performing.

I watched some BBC4 documentary - OGWT clips etc - a while back. And I discovered that acts I didn't think too much of and, indeed, some acts I LOATHED AND DESPISED at the time, and who I still wouldn't bother listening to much now, are the ones who affected me most... that's where I picked up most chops...

I could actually hear and see some of my moves/chord-changes/wotever in these performances that I hadn't seen since god knows when.

It was somewhat traumatic to discover this... In fact, SO traumatic, that I seem to have blocked it out... I can't actually remember who most of them were and who was the most "W T ACTUAL F, you're kidding me!!" (Paul Weller in The Jam was one, I wouldn't be surprised if Elvis Costello was another)...

The influences I want to cite for threads like this are Rory Gallagher and Judas Priest... (for example) ... you know, that kinda stuff... Freddie Mercury... wotever... but I don't be hearing much of their stuff in what I do!!

Oh yeah, David Bowie, bless 'is cotton socks, may he rest in peace, he's another... I've got all the albums up to Scary Monsters, can't really stand anything from Diamond Dogs onwards - I appreciate it, but I really don't want to hear that stuff apart from the singles - so I really don't regard him as "an influence"... but can I get away from "it's like David Bowie"??!!?! Nope!

Nah, I suspect our influences are not always quite what we think they are...

I'll agree with this, though, big time:

...in fact I'd say everything and everyone I ever heard has influenced me in one way or another.

He's cracked it! My 2 major influences are 1) Everything and 2) Everyone... that I ever heard, whether I liked it or not 

[Ella]

When I was young, I liked a lot Queen and ELO and I still do. Next summer I will see Queen live in Helsinki. It is fantastic even if there is no Freddie anymore.