Blues in the North West UK

A late gig addition for the upcoming weekend for After Hours at Dickie Doodles, Kendal on 02 Sept.

They also play at The Talbot, Burnley on 30 Sept.

Angels On The Backroads - the history of Highway 61

Brothers Eddie and Frank Thomas from Iuka, Mississippi make a welcome return to Worthenbury on Friday September 8th as part of their latest UK tour following their last sell out tour in April 2005.

Professional film maker Frank, who has worked in Hollywood will present a film of Highway 61 the legendary music highway from Memphis to New Orleans encompassing all of the sites, scenes and sounds that made this highway the most famous music trail in the world whilst Eddie a most accomplished multi instrumentalist adds the narration in an amusing and informative style whilst playing the songs of the legendary blues and jazz men like Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton, Muddy Waters and Robert Johnson.

Tickets for this unique evening cost £10 and can be reserved by ringing 01948 770215 (eves)

Lionel writes with sad news of a cancellation and other Harbourside Club news......

The King Bz write in to tell us......

We would also like to wish Tony Carter (TC) all the very best for the future "keep on blowing dude"

Here's the review. Sounds like it was a great night.

West Coast Jump Blues and R&B pianist, vocalist, and songwriter Floyd Dixon died on July 26 in Los Angeles, California, of kidney failure. He was 77. He was one of the artists, along with Charles Brown, Ruth Brown, Amos Milburn, Ray Charles, and Louis Jordan, who influenced the transition of the music of the Swing Era into Rhythm & Blues.

Dixon was born in Marshall, Texas in 1929, and the family moved to L.A. when he was 13. A self-taught pianist, he began with a smooth piano style in the Charles Brown mode, but soon developed a more rocking, jumping style. Bandleader Johnny Otis encouraged him to record while still working a day job in a drug store. He sang and played in the band of bassist Eddie Williams on Supreme in 1947, then recorded for Modern in 1948 and had a top ten Billboard R&B hit with "Dallas Blues" in early 1949 (whereupon a Williams record with Dixon, "Broken Hearted," made the chart later that year). Another Dixon hit that year on Modern was "Mississippi Blues", and he switched to Peacock in Houston for "Sad Journey Blues" (also released on Aladdin), and to Aladdin for "Telephone Blues" (with Johnny Moore's Three Blazers) and "Call Operator 210" (also released on Imperial) in 1950-2.

His "Hey Bartender" in 1954 for the Cat label (a subsidiary of Atlantic) did not make the chart, but eventually became his signature tune. He also recorded for Specialty and other labels. By that time Dixon was an established star on the West Coast, and he was one of those who encouraged Ray Charles to switch from his suave Nat “King” Cole style to a more Gospel-inspired delivery.

Dixon’s career cooled off, and he nearly dropped out of music altogether, living in Paris, Texas. Then he was invited to perform in Sweden, and found an international following. In 1980, he joined the European Blues Caravan tour with old friends Charles Brown and Ruth Brown. He toured in the U.S. with then-unknown Robert Cray, as well as Little Charlie & The Nightcats. In 1984 he received a Billboard Blues Award for "Hey Bartender" when it was covered by the Blues Brothers, and a Billboard Country Award the following year, when it was recorded by Johnny Lee.

In 1993 Dixon received the Rhythm & Blues Foundation's Pioneer Career Achievement Award. The album Wake Up And Live! on Alligator won the 1997 Handy Award from The Blues Foundation for "Comeback Album of the Year." Another CD, Fine, Fine Thing, came out on HighJohn in 2005, and in June this year, Dixon recorded a live CD/DVD with pianists Pinetop Perkins and Henry Gray, to be released on HighJohn.

The ace bass player Orlando Shearer has left The Cadillac Kings. He's done a great job for the last four years. I wish him very well.

I am assured by the band that they will not be turning up next time with a bad-haired guy with a shiny red, five (or six) string electric bass, strung up high under his armpit, thumb slapping through a rack processed 1000W transistor amp.

Saturday 5th August 2006 on stage at 830pm.

Rudy has played with B.B King recently in Italy, appeared with John Mayall and Carey Bell, and recorded with Jack Bruce and Brian Auger.

He has played the Great British Festival in Colne and is now coming back to the UK for a short tour, which will include a support role in Perth to the Jeff Healey Band and dates in Inverness, Aberdeen, Wolverhampton and Oxford.

Don't miss this one.

Book your tickets now at Ticketweb or ring Dez on 01768 351317 they are £9.00 in advance.

There are plenty of good B+B in Appleby why not make a weekend of it??

On July 25, 1956, the Italian liner Andrea Doria collided with the Swedish ship Stockholm off the New England coast, claiming the lives of 51 people.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Songwriter Mike Stoller and his wife were on the Andrea Doria when it sank.
He lost all of his belongings and spent time in a lifeboat before he was rescued.

As his ship was coming into the dock in New York, he sees his writing partner, Jerry Leiber, jumping up and down and waving frantically.

Ahhh, that's sweet, figures Stoller. He's so happy to see that I'm OK.

As the gangplank goes down, Jerry comes running up onto the ship. He is yelling, "Mikey! Mikey! We're number one! We're number one!"

Mike is confused and doesn't know what Jerry is saying.

"Some kid named Elvis has covered 'Hound Dog' and we're number one!"

Not a Blues story but certainly a key moment in Rock and Roll history.

** CANCELLED ** ** CANCELLED ** ** CANCELLED **

The Kyla Brox Band

The Harbourside Club, Liverpool Marina

Wednesday 13th September 2006 (doors open at 8pm)

Kyla Brox, daughter of the legendary Victor Brox, is without question the finest, young female blues singer in the UK today. Her voice is magnificent, combining effortless power with exquisite control. As a considerable bonus, she is backed by an excellent band of musicians, who fully complement her wonderful talent. Their set combines excellent original material with well-loved standard numbers, including some from the songbook of Nina Simone.

The band is increasingly in demand in this country and abroad and can boast an ever-increasing fan base. They graced the stage of the Liverpool Blues festival last year and are booked to appear on the main stage of the Maryport Blues Festival at the end of July. This is a truly class act to savour.

Liverpool Marina is situated at Coburg Wharf, Sefton Street, Liverpool L3 4BP.

Tickets for the concert (£10 each) are obtainable from John Welsh on 0151 428 2855 or email: johnswelsh@hotmail.com.

** CANCELLED ** ** CANCELLED ** ** CANCELLED **

The Stumble at The Harbourside Club, Liverpool

Wednesday, 19 July 2006

It is a tribute to the Preston-based outfit The Stumble that, on a sweltering evening at the highly picturesque Liverpool Marina, their entrance on stage immediately triggered a mass exodus from the sun-drenched patio. The opening strains of “Hideaway” left no doubt that it wouldn’t be long before the heat of the performance would be even more intense than the outside temperature. Sax player, Simon Anthony, supplemented the starting quartet on the delivery of a slow blues instrumental before singer, Paul Melville, completed the line-up on a cracking version of “You Upset Me, Baby”.

The fast-moving first set comprised upbeat rockers, fast shuffles and out-and-out rock and roll, but the highlight was undoubtedly a stunning delivery of the slow blues, “All Over Again”, with fabulous vocals from Melville and superb solos from Colin Black on guitar and the aforementioned Simon Anthony. The closing number, “It’s A Lie”, was also brilliantly performed, smothered in distinctive echoes of Elmore James.

The second set opened with the excellent title track of the band’s recently released album, “The World Is Tough”. A varied programme of rumba-rhythmed, slow and rocking blues continued to delight the full-house audience before Paul Melville brought the house down with an incredible a capella rendition of Terence Trent D’arby’s “Sign Your Name”, for which he underpinned the rhythm with a coin and a pint glass. His vocal quality is sublime and a match for the very best of the current crop of British blues singers.

Lively performances of “Let The Good Times Roll” and “Leading Me On” and a tremendous version of “Gimme Back My Wig” brought the set to a breathtaking climax, showcasing in turn the considerable talents of Black, Anthony and Jon Spencer (on slide guitar). A fervently demanded two-number encore, featuring a belting delivery of “Ain’t Nobody’s Business” and some upbeat swing, completed the marvellous proceedings. The Stumble has developed into an excellent band, with its exceptional singer and two brilliant instrumental soloists backed by the rock solid rhythm section of Jon Spencer on rhythm guitar, Boyd Tonner on drums and Dave Heath on bass guitar. They are now poised to conquer the rest of the UK from their North West stronghold.

Lionel Ross

Here's the poster.