A session guitarist who played with David Bowie, Shirley Bassey, Tom Jones and DUSTY SPRINGFIELD has died.

'Big' Jim Sullivan passed away at his home in West Sussex, England on Tuesday (02Oc12) at the age of 71.

The prolific British musician, born James Tomkins, enjoyed a lengthy career and performed on more than 1,000 hits, including Bowie's Space Oddity and Ferry Cross the Mersey by Gerry the Pacemakers.

He also played with The Kinks, Marianne Faithfull and the Walker Brothers and even taught Deep Purple rocker Ritchie Blackmore how to play the guitar when he was a child.