Charley shows off her unique fashion sense at the Reading Alleycat (1996)
Charley Stone
Charley Stone was introduced to Salad by Echobelly guitarist Debbie Smith. She joined the band in 1996 to play keyboards and guitar and provide backing vocals on stage. She did not write any of the songs, or perform on the studio releases, but nonetheless had an influence on the band.
The reason for recruiting Charley is explained by Pete:
"The new guitarist is Charley. She also sings and plays keyboards. The reason for asking her to join is because many new songs recorded in the studio have extra layers which would prove impossible to play live due to the limits of biology. So we asked Charley to helps us out. I think she is going to make a big difference to our live sound"
Marijne adds:
"I'm fed up with singing and playing keyboards at the same time because I enjoy running around on stage, I enjoy strutting my stuff although I will play the incidental bits. Charley plays guitar and keyboards and can sing backing vocals. She's funny, confident and really nice. It's much better than getting a session musician who has musical prowess but doesn't fit in."
Charley's angelic backing vocals and slick lead guitar licks helped to add a new dimension to Salad's sound on stage. The contrast between Marijne and Charley's voices produced some interesting effects, especially the harmonies a the end of A Size More Woman than Her and The Sky's our Terminal. She was often seen drinking a cup of tea on stage between songs.
Equipment
Charley used a white Fender Jaguar guitar and a Kawai K1 synth.
