The Rock ‘n’ Roll Forrest Gump: How Leo Lyons Built the Foundation of Ten Years After

In the ego-driven world of rock royalty, Leo Lyons remains an anomaly. At 82, the bassist whose frantic, “over-the-top” lines defined the sound of Ten Years After is more interested in the craft than the fame. Known to some as the “Forrest Gump” of rock for his knack for being at the center of history, Lyons’ journey didn’t start with a spotlight—it started in a tent.

In the early days, Lyons was so committed to his craft that he slept in a tent to save money, eventually pitching it in a stranger’s garden just to afford his first Precision Bass. From the grueling seven-hour sets at Hamburg’s Star-Club—where the band learned to jam out of pure necessity—to the mud-soaked immortality of Woodstock, Lyons was the engine room for guitarist Alvin Lee’s “Captain Speed Fingers” pyrotechnics.

Today, he still plays the same 1962 Fender Jazz Bass he traded for decades ago, a road-worn icon that has been played by Jimi Hendrix and survived 50 years of life on the road. For Lyons, the music isn’t a career—it’s a drug he can’t quit.