John Wood, from East Grinstead, has spent thousands of his own money, and almost a decade, working to get recognition for Nicky Hopkins, a highly gifted and prolific session pianist who worked with the likes of The Kinks, The Who, The Rolling Stones and The Beatles, and contributed to over 250 albums during a stellar career which spanned more than 30 years.

At a screening at Ealing Picture House on Thursday, November 20, John was delighted that Ronnie Wood, a member of The Rolling Stones who knew Hopkins, arrived to watch the film.

John Wood (left) with Ronnie Wood (centre) and drummer Woody Woodmansey (right) (Image: John Wood)

“He was so lovely,” John said. “I gave him a big hug and thanked him for coming.

“Throughout the film he kept nudging me and giving me the thumbs up. He said to me that beforehand Mick Jagger had called him and said he was so glad he was going.”

Nicky played on the Stones’ Sympathy for the Devil and The Beatles Revolution.

He played on solo works by each of the Fab Four, including John Lennon’s Imagine album, and played for the Kinks, the Move, Jefferson Airplane and the Steve Miller Band. He was a member of the Jeff Beck Group with Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood, and Quicksilver Messenger Service.

John says his “calling” in life is “getting unsung heroes the attention and recognition they deserve”, which includes his father, Leonard Berney, a former Brighton College pupil who was one of the first British soldiers to liberate Bergen-Belsen, and his step-father, Kenneth Wood, the founder of the Kenwood Manufacturing Company.

Nicky Hopkins, a prolific and gifted session pianist (Image: Oswald Baumeister)

It was a client of John’s social media business, a friend of Hopkins, who first made him aware of the pianist.

“He used to tell me about Nicky, and I kept thinking, ‘how has no one heard of this guy who worked with the biggest stars in the world?’ I thought, ‘he really deserves some recognition’.

“He died young, at 50, with no awards in his life. No one asked who was playing the piano on those records, no one ever asked that question. I said, ‘I’m going to do something about this, he deserves to be known’.”

The bench in Hopkins’ honour (Image: Supplied)

The 65-year-old first crowdfunded a bench, designed to look like a piano, in a park in Hopkins’ hometown of Ealing. The bench was funded by donations from a number of stars who knew Hopkins, including Yoko Ono and Mick Jagger.

He then managed to convince the council to place a plaque on the house he was born in – all with the support of his widow, Moira who has become a “close friend”.

“Nicky was so unknown, even Ealing Council were not aware of how important he was,” John said.

“Musicians know Nicky – he was royalty within the musical word – but the public don’t. I wanted to keep his name alive because he was being forgotten.”

John and Hopkins’ widow, Moira, unveil a plaque on his childhood home (Image: Hy Money)

Next John persuaded the Royal Academy of Music, where Hopkins trained, to create a scholarship for students in his name.

“I had done the bench, done the plaque, done the scholarship, and someone said to me ‘why not do a documentary?

“I thought, what a headache – films cost thousands, there are legal and copyright issues – and I’m not a filmmaker in any way.”

Through a friend, John managed to get “seasoned TV professional”, Mike Treen on board as the film’s director.

Filming started in November 2019, and the film, The Session Man, was released at the Barbican in September 2023 before touring festivals all around the world and winning a number of awards.

The film has been well reviewed by a number of outlets, including The Guardian.

Nicky Hopkins with Ronnie Wood (first two pictures) and with Rod Stewart (second two pictures) (Image: Supplied)

The film features interviews with a number of big names, including Bill Wyman, Keith Richards, Mick Jagger, Dave Davies and Pete Townshend.

The documentary includes “moving” discussion of Crohn’s disease, which Hopkins suffered with throughout his life, and his battle with drug addiction.

“It cost me a packet,” John admitted. “But we made it on a shoestring. Mike worked so hard; it was such a passion project for us. Mike would usually have had a big team because a film is tonnes of admin, but we did it all ourselves.”

John even received a letter from Queen Camilla, expressing her interest in the film, after they met at an event.

John received a letter from Queen Camilla (Image: Supplied)

Next, John decided he wanted Hopkins to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

“They told us, if you want him in then you need to get people who knew him to write to us,” John said.

“We ended up with 52 glowing recommendations including a wonderful video from Ronnie Wood.

“I’ll never forget the moment they told us he was in.”

Hopkins was inducted at a glittering ceremony in LA on November 8, alongside Cyndi Lauper, Outkast and several others.

Hopkins’ widow, Moira, at the ceremony in LA (Image: Supplied)

John attended the ceremony with his wife as well as Moira, Hopkins’ window, and her son.

Sadly, the film’s director, Mike, died on April 11 – just weeks before the committee announced Hopkins would be inducted.

In the end, John has ploughed £200,000 of his own money into the film and though he hopes to eventually break even, he says that achieving recognition for Hopkins has always been his main goal.

“It has taken over my life completely,” he said. “I’ve loved every second; it has been so exciting.”