One of the biggest draws of being in a band is standing on stage and soaking up the adulation of adoring fans.

The bigger you get in the music world, gives you the opportunity to bring other musicians in to help out on stage live and in the studio, to make your sound even richer.

These people are known as session performers, which means they’re basically musicians for hire, lurking in the shadows of the band or artist that’s hired them.

One such session man, who made an impact with all those he worked with, was Nicky Hopkins.

Despite being a quiet, unassuming musician, his fingers certainly did his talking and singing for him, which is why there are an impressive array of talking head talent involved in this documentary, such as Peter Frampton, Dave Davies, Bill Wyman, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, as well as Spinal Tap’s Harry Shearer.

Narrated by the dulcet tones of Bob Harris, it’s a fascinating account of an extraordinary talent, which was appreciated by some impressive bands who chose to hire him, which lead to Hopkins featuring on over 250 classic albums in his career. For instance, not only did he appear on the Beatles albums, he then appeared on solo albums by all four members once they broke up, which is a testament to his considerable abilities sitting in front of pianos and keyboards.

Certainly Treen shows him in a good light, and was fortunate that so many acclaimed artists were more than happy to talk about him with such fondness. Hopkins himself doesn’t feature much, although the director had access to two filmed archive interviews with him, and the clips he uses from both manage to give enough of a flavour of the man.

Not only does it shine a spotlight on a remarkable musician, but is also serves as a reminder that session artists can truly elevate the work of the bands that have hired them, and do so with very little credit, making them truly unsung heroes.