The Session Man Review

4 stars, the fascinating story of the man behind an iconic sound.

The Session Man is a 2025 British music documentary film, written and directed by Michael Treen (Primeval, Jekyll) in his feature directorial debut.

Telling the story of the incredibly talented but largely unsung piano/keyboard player Nicky Hopkins, this highly informative documentary is in UK cinemas and Digital Download from 21st November 2025.

“In the golden age of rock and roll, bands consisted of guitar and drums. Until they realised that piano added harmonic richness and melodic flair.”

Narrated by the reassuring tones of “Whispering” Bob Harris, this documentary is a celebration of the life and work of Nicky Hopkins, recently inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Over the course of 30 years, he played on over 250 of the most famous albums ever recorded, providing an iconic sound that effortlessly spans genres and decades.

The film is divided into segments, mostly related to each of the different bands with whom he played during his career. We learn that he was classically trained, but soon discovered the joys of rock and roll and formed a band, “The Savages”. This led to him joining the Cyril Davis blues band, who had The Rolling Stones as a support act, starting the network of connections which came to define his career.

“If you were a teenager in the 1960’s you believed you could do anything.”

His piano can be heard on so many familiar songs that it seems to have become a part of the fabric of life without anyone ever really thinking about who was behind it. He appears on albums from The Rolling Stones, The Beatles (both as a band and in all of their solo careers), The Kinks, The Who, Jefferson Airplane (with whom he played Woodstock) and many, many more.

There are no shortage of musical legends on hand here to offer tribute and heap praise on this extraordinary pianist, whose life was cut tragically short due to Crohn’s Disease, which is also discussed at some length. We hear from Keith Richards, Mick Jagger, Glyn Johns, Harry Shearer and numerous others, as well as plenty of interview footage with Nicky Hopkins himself, taken in 1991.

While it’s very interesting, it does become somewhat just a list of bands and albums with no real narrative and it would have been nice to learn a little more about the man behind the music. All in all though, if you love your music then this is well worth a watch.

“I would count on him sometimes, say, I’ve got half a song here Nicky, yeah, find me the other part. And every time, he’d come up with it, a incredible player.”

The Session Man is in UK cinemas and on Digital Download from 21st November 2025.