Sandy Beales 2

ACM tutor Sandy Beales touring Europe with JP Cooper

24 Nov 2017

This post was written more than two years ago. The content or information below may no longer be accurate.

For those of you who aren’t familiar… Singer-songwriter JP Cooper has had a stellar 2017, with huge tours across the UK and Europe, and we’re proud to say that ACM tutor Sandy Beales has been holding down bass duties for him.

At ACM we pride ourselves on our world-class tutors, and their ability to bring the most up-to-date industry knowledge back into our classrooms. Sandy Beales is a perfect example of this. He has racked up an incredible list of career credits in a short space of time, including Wheatus, Loick Essien, Leddra Chapman, and Ben Montague.

Sandy Beales JP CooperHe’s also well known for his work as the live bassist for One Direction, with whom he spent over four years touring and playing many of the world’s biggest stadiums and arenas, including Madison Square Garden and Wembley Stadium.

2017 has seen him back out on the road, this time with the brilliant JP Cooper.

Hi Sandy! How did you get involved with JP Cooper?

I got the call from Jon Shone (Musical Director for One Direction), I always stress the importance of giving 100% to everything you do in the music industry, and if you do a good job, you get called back. It’s all about presenting yourself well and making contacts.

How has the tour with JP Cooper been?

It’s been amazing, JP is a serious talent. We have been around Europe and the UK for the last few months. Recording at Abbey Road was a massive highlight, we cut a couple of songs live straight to vinyl, no overdubs, no comping, no changes. It was great to be put in a high pressure recording scenario.

What’s been your go-to gear for the work with JP? Does it differ from other artists you work with?

No, always the same, EBS Amplification and Ernie Ball Basses, the only thing that differs is if the artist requires Synth Bass or not, with JP I use a Moog Little Phatty Stage II. I also use an old OC-2 Octaver, that thing is a monster through a PA.

What have you got coming up the rest of this year, into 2018?

Plenty more tours and performances with JP. I also offer Skype lessons online and am taking bookings in the new year, you can find out many more details at my website

What can ACM students expect in their upcoming lessons from you?

As much advice and guidance as I can offer, the students I have had the pleasure of teaching in last term’s Band Skills were all great musicians and a lot of fun to teach. I try to offer all the tips I wish I had known while studying music.


If you’d like to study at ACM and learn first-hand from world-class musicians like Sandy Beales, please call our Admissions Team on 01483 500 841 or visit www.acm.ac.uk/open-days/ to book a place on an ACM Open Day today.

Book an Open Day