The Animals, Animals and Friends, Eric Burdon, John Steel and Hilton Valentine

Carlos Johnson (USA)

Born in Chicago, Carlos Johnson is considered one of the preeminent blues guitarists in the world today. For more than 20 years, before becoming the leader of his own band, Carlos was in demand by the greatest names in blues with whom he toured the world (Koko Taylor, Otis Rush, Junior Wells, Son Seals, Valerie Wellington, Carey Bell, Buddy Miles, etc...). With his slashing and passionate left-handed guitar virtuosity, he has developed one of the most original guitar styles ever to come out of the Windy City. He combines the deep, raw blues sound of the traditional Chicago West-side style with the more contemporary, funky sound. Yet, it is with his bursts of jazz textures and phrasing and his obvious love for country blues sounds, that he has created a style all his own. His personal and powerful vocals, along with his charismatic stage presence and explosive guitar makes Carlos Johnson of the most exciting performers in the blues today.

Carvin Jones (USA)

Carvin Jones was born in Lufkin, Texas in June, 1966. At a very young age, he was seduced to the blues by listening to BB King records his grandfather constantly played in the house. At age 11, Carvin remembers "my grandmother bought me my first guitar because I would borrow other people´s and when they came back to get them, I´d bum out. She took me downtown and bought me a guitar. I´ll never forget that day." Carvin recalls "my part of town was a rough neighborhood with a capital ´R´. I saw people litterally get killed - shot, stabbed, whatever. The guitar kept me out of trouble because I was always inside playing the guitar away from that." For a few years after high school, Carvin was performing small gigs around Texas. He decided to move to Arizona for a change of pace. In 1989, he moved in with his aunt and uncle, The Rev. Henry Adams and his wife Mattie, in their home in south Phoenix. "They took me in and I owe all my success to them. If it weren´t for them, there wouldn´t be any Carvin Jones" he says. Working various jobs around Phoenix, Carvin had an epiphany on June 22, 1990 - the day, longtime residents will recall, the thermometer hit 122 degrees. "I was doing construction - not a tree in sight, no shade, guys were getting taken away in ambulances. I said to myself 'there´s no way I´m going to keep doing this. I`m going to bust my butt to play music so I never have to do this again'." Thus, the first incarnation of the "Carvin Jones Band" was formed, and he began taking gigs anywhere they could get bookings. "We´d go in and play for hamburgers and soda pop" Carvin laughs. By March, 1991, the Band had gained tremendous popularity, and were playing at clubs all over the Valley. They have maintained a consistent seven nights-a-week performance schedule since then. In March 2000, Carvin celebrated his 3000th performance! Over the past 10 years, the Carvin Jones Band has opened for guitar legends BB King, Santana and Albert King, and has performed with Joe Cocker and the Fabulous Thunderbird's at the House of Blues 1996 Tour in Phoenix. The Band opened for REO Speedwagon in 1998 at New Year's Eve, and has been a feature band of FIesta Bowl's New Year's Eve Block Parties for the past two years. The Carvin Jones Music Show, a 1/2 hour cable TV show promo, included interviews with Carvin, performance clips, local gig calendar, and website plug. The Show aired during February-March, 2000, once a week, on various local Arizona cable channels. The Band has also been featured on Arizona Channel 3's morning program for their local band spotlight. Awards/Recognition Carvin has received numerous awards and recognition. In Arizona, he was awarded New Times' "Entertainer of the Year" award in 1997, "Best Guitarist" in 1998 by Get Out Magazine, and Char's Has the Blues named him "Best Guitarist of the Year" for three years in a row. The Band received the Arizona Entertainment Award for "Best Blues Band of the Year" in 1993, and was voted "Best Blues Band" from 1994 through 1996 by the New Times' Reader's poll. Carvin was featured in Experience Hendrix Magazine, in its November/December, 1999 issue. Read the full article here.. Guitarist Magazine voted Carvin into "The 50 greatest blues guitarists who ever walked the earth!" in January 2001.

Cliff Stocker and Slack Alice (UK)

Lancashire's top blues / rhythm'n'blues band Back in '73 Cliff Stocker & Malc Crossley began writing songs together, Slack Alice was born ... The band a product (and eventually a casualty) of the 70's rock era were initially formed by Cliff Stocker and Allan Parkinson with Malc Crossley joining soon afterwards. In the years before the band was formed various members served their time in 'travelling jukeboxes' touring working men's clubs, American air force bases, Germany, etc 'learning the trade'. A talent for writing was revealed soon after formation, and this original material was really well received at universities, colleges and clubs. This soon resulted in a lot of interest from the record companies of the day, Larry Page (Penny Farthing) records and the manager of The Kinks and The Troggs, and Elton John's Rocket Records, they eventually signed for Chapell Music, but due to the vinyl crisis, the band's efforts to release their music were frustrated and the band split in 1977, and that would perhaps have been the end of the Slack Alice story ... Cliff and Malc were later to produce an album "Billy+Nine" by Stocker, Greenwood and Friends" on the Changes label in 1979, now a collectors item, and Cliff also worked with the band 'Seven Year Itch' with Dave Walmsley (ex Los Bravos - of 'Black Is Black' fame) who had a hit record in Holland with 'Oh Ya Ha'. Following encouragement from fans who recalled the great music of the 70's, Malc & Cliff began writing again and formed a band with Kevin Higgins (drums) and Chris Preston (guitar), around the same time Malc (bass) and Cliff (vocals, guitar & harmonica) deputised with Allan Parkinson's band APB, after a few gigs they decided to re-form Slack Alice in the mid 90's. Eventually after some 20 years, songs such as 'Monday Morning Blues' performed live by the band in the 70's surfaced on the epic CD 'Broken Dreams' ... Since their initial reformation there have been several changes in the band's line-up, the band continue to be fronted by Cliff Stocker with the original 90's recruit Chris Preston being joined by Colin Redmond giving the band a phenomenal twin guitar sound. Unlike many of the 70's bands who reformed in the 90's, Cliff Stocker's Slack Alice continue not only to play songs such as 'Monday Morning Blues' and Janis Joplin's 'Piece Of My Heart' which featured in their 70's stage shows, but a whole batch of new songs that continue to explore new musical boundries ... Now into the 21st century the Slack Alice phenomena continues

Snake Davis Band (UK)

Snake Davis is well established as one of the UK's leading Saxophonists. He is in demand from the biggest names on the British Popular music scene, as well as visiting artists from overseas. In recent years he has been extremely busy and in the public eye. As resident saxophonist on "Tonight With Jonathon Ross" he played with the likes of, James Brown, Smokey Robinson, Chaka Khan and many more. He has been seen regularly on TV with the Eurythmics, M-People and B*Witched and presented a Saxophone "Masterclass" programme for ITV. He played all featured Saxophone and Flute parts - on record and tour - for Lisa Stansfield and M-People. Records M-People, Lisa Stansfield, Ray Charles, Jamiroquai, Tom Jones, Culture Club, Hamish Stuart, George Michael, Tina Turner, Paul Hardcastle, Take That, Cher, N-Trance, Kylie Minogue, Paul McCartney, Swing Out Sister, Dave Stewart, Paul Young, Mark Morrison, Pet-Shop Boys, Soul11Soul, Robert Palmer, Tanita Tikaram, Motorhead, Primal Scream, Spice Girls, Boy George. Live M-People, Eurythmics, Lisa Stansfield, Swing Out Sister, Ray Charles, Boy George, B*Witched, Edwin Starr, The Snake Davis Band, Rose Royce, Sister Sledge, Tavares, Odyssey, The Three Degrees, The Real Thing, Mary Wells, Ruby Turner, Martha Reeves, Eddie Holman, Popcorn Wylie, Chuck Jackson, Syreeta. Producers George Martin, Dan Hartman, Chris Porter, M-People, Richard Niles, Paul O'Duffy, Leon Silvers, Leon Ware, Dave Stewart, Steve Anderson, Jazzie B, Steve Levine, Ian Levine, Will Mowatt, Jon Douglas. Film Scores With Dave Stewart, Richard Niles, Pet Shop Boys, Sting and David Arnold. TV Shows Personal appearances playing own music on "The Tube" and ITV "Masterclass". "Later With Jools Holland", "National Lottery Show", "BBC Children In Need", "Eurythmics On Tour", "Good Morning Show" and "The Paradise Club" - where Snake played himself in the series. Theme Tunes and TV Bands "Watching", "Jimmy's", "Pressgang", "Tonight With Jonathon Ross", "Pebble Mill" and "The Paradise Club". Numerous TV and Radio Adverts. Reviews "Snake Davis has one of the most passionate Sax styles and simple bluesy approaches a-la Sanborn heard in these Isles for a while." TIME OUT "A virtuoso saxophonist" DAILY TELEGRAPH "The saxophone cannot have been this prominent on a Wembley stage in years" THE TIMES "Snake is a joy to work alongside. His musical skills have no limit - in fact he's as free as a bird" DAVE STEWART "From raw power to a joss-stick carrying ambience then back through reggae, soul and funk, Snake set the world alight elevating the mind" CARLISLE EVENING PRESS "Snake Davis is quite a player. He has slithered into town, a tenor playing secret that Manchester has been trying to keep to itself" EVENING STANDARD "A brilliant Sax player who could wail like the best American players, but was at his best weaving around slow ballads - won deserved acclaim" BLUES AND SOUL "He doesn't mess about" THE GUARDIAN

Micky Moody Band (UK) Ex Juicy Lucy and Whitesnake

Micky Moody is best known for his role in the definitive Whitesnake line-up, though his vast and varied career was spawned out of a sixties school band which also included another future star, Free and Bad Company singer Paul Rodgers. Micky quickly graduated to the recording studios via the R&B combo Tramline before touring Britain and Europe with some of the country's top soul musicians. Joining the highly acclaimed Juicy Lucy was a large step towards rock stardom, and major tours of Britain, Europe and the USA accompanied a regular output of recorded works. After Juicy Lucy split, Micky co-founded Snafu, combining his rock-style guitar with down-home stateside grooves, and became a major contributor on the songwriting front. Snafu recorded three albums and toured extensively before the individual members headed off to pursue their different ventures. Micky then became engrossed in session work as his reputation as a versatile performer spread. Soon a phone call from David Coverdale assured Micky of a vital place in his future plans, starting with the guitar slot and co-writing position on his forthcoming solo albums, 'Whitesnake' and 'Northwinds'. This led to the formation of the classic Whitesnake line-up during which time Micky toured worldwide, acquiring many gold discs and much wider recognition. He even found time to record an album and a Levi jeans commercial with Status Quo lyricist Bob Young. The pair also put together a band featuring Lemmie, Cozy Powell and the Nolan Sisters to record a top sixty single! As a sideman, Micky has featured alongside such classic British singers as Graham Bonnet, Frankie Miller, Chris Farlowe, Sheena Easton, Roger Chapman, Elkie Brookes and Eric Burdon. Visitors from the states such as Meat Loaf, Matt 'guitar' Murphy, Ben E. King and Walter Trout have all employed his talents to enhance their performances. Micky's session work has included many TV. commercials and some film scores. As a writer or co-writer his credits are numerous and include many of the classic Whitesnake favourites. With the Moody Marsden band, he and his guitar sparring partner Bernie Marsden toured extensively and released four albums before continuing their Whitesnake legacy with the Snakes and the Company of Snakes. The line-up also featured former Whitesnake bass player Neil Murray. This ultimately led to the current line-up of M3-Classic Whitesnake featuring ex-Black Sabbath singer Tony martin, Magnum keyboard player Mark Stanway, and ace sessioneer and former Paul Rodgers band, Tears for Fears and Go West drummer, Jimmy Copley. In 2000 Micky finally released his first solo album 'I Eat Them For Breakfast' on Armadillo records. Soon after, he teamed up with former Juicy Lucy singer Paul Williams to celebrate the music of Howlin' Wolf, Elmore James and Muddy Waters with 'Smokestacks, Broomdusters and Hoochie Coochie Men', also on Armadillo. He is currently recording a selection of original acoustic instrumentals and plans to record a new solo album in the new year.

Dave Edmunds (UK) Ex Rockpile, Love Sculpture

Born in Cardiff in 1944, Dave Edmunds began playing in local blues bands The 99ers and The Raiders. In 1966 he left Wales to join The Image, and The Human Beans the following year. However, success didn't come until the formation of the psychedelic rock group Love Sculpture. Their finest hour was the five minute guitar maelstrom of 1968's Sabre Dance, which reached number five in the charts. A reworking of a melody by Russian composer Aram Il'yich Khachaturian, it sounds like the movie intro Tarantino never got round to basing a film around. Unfortunately, Love Sculpture split up soon after the success of Sabre Dance. Edmunds decided to go solo, and in 1970 had a number one single for six weeks with the Smiley Lewis cover I Hear You Knocking. Though credited to Dave Edmunds' Rockpile, the song was a solo effort but for bassist John Williams. It was followed by the album Rockpile, a moderately successful collection of covers. Edmunds' solo career was distinguished by his painstaking re-creation of rock'n'roll classics, and in his own studio taught himself to replicate the techniques of his beloved Spector and Sun classics. Two other hits followed - covers of The Ronettes' Baby I Love You and The Chordettes' Born To Be With You - along with the 1975 album Subtle As A Flying Mallet. By this time Edmunds was running his hugely successful South Wales studio Rockfield, and producing artists including The Flamin' Groovies and Brinsley Schwarz. Indeed, he teamed up with Schwarz's bassist Nick Lowe, which resulted in hits including I Knew The Bride and the Elvis Costello-scribed Girls Talk. When Rockpile imploded in the early 1980s, Edmunds gradually disappeared from the mainstream, but along the way worked with ELO's Jeff Lynne on a couple of albums, Information and Riff Raff. He even provided songs for the soundtrack to the film Porky's Revenge. Edmunds produced rockabilly group The Stray Cats, the Everly Brothers' comeback album EB84, and work by kd lang and Nick Lowe. Buoyed by their success and his burgeoning cult status, he returned to his solo career in 1987, of which the most successful release was 1994's album Plugged In.

Spencer Davis Group (UK)

This rock star from Wales, who created the famed Spencer Davis Group in 1963, has close to a dozen top 10 hit songs, including "Gimme Some Lovin", "Somebody Help Me", "I'm A Man", and "Keep On Runnin", helping to bring British rock 'n roll to the rest of the world. The popularity of his songs live on and Spencer recently accepted an award from BMI in London for over 3 million broadcast performances of "Gimme Some Lovin." Starting out with degrees in modern languages (with fluency in German, French and Spanish), Spencer had left his teaching career to began his music career in Birmingham with drummer, Pete York and brothers, Steve and Muff Winwood. Touring with the Rolling Stones and The Who when they were still working clubs, having after-hour drinks with Beatles, John and Paul and the lads, jamming with Charlie Watts and Long John Baldry and Jack Bruce were heady days for Spencer. When the hits started to come one after the other, his momentum spurred major US success. Moving to America in 1970, Spencer went on to record a now-hard-to-find solo album, then played in an acoustic blues band, which included Richard Landis (former Juice Newton producer and manager) and Peter Jameson. By the mid-'70s Spencer worked at Island Records (his group's label) and, as a record company executive, worked to further the profiles of people like Robert Palmer and Bob Marley. In the early 80's Spencer was head of A&R for a small Hollywood-based independent label and the itch to play in a band again was coming back. That's when he made his next album, "Crossfire", with guests like Dusty Springfield, Flo and Eddie, and Booker T. Jones. In 1984 Spencer was back on the road with his own band in America. Then came European and Middle Eastern tours with Pete York, plus other British rock legends, Brian Auger and Chris Farlowe. It was during this time he recorded pioneering CD albums for German and Swiss release. Days on the road increased, as did the fans, and by 1987 he was performing well over 100 shows a year. For a rock and roll who's-who, he made guest appearances with the Grateful Dead, Gary US Bonds, Levon Helm, Springsteen's E Street Band, Peter Noone, Downchild, and Alvin Lee. In the early 90's. audiences watched Spencer pick up the pace at club and concert tours. His stature as a rock and roll 'legend' opened doors to a wide variety of benefits, telethons and special TV and radio appearances -- criss-crossing through the US and Canada with forays into Europe, including opening acts for Hall & Oates and the Marshall Tucker Band. His guest appearances on TV and radio talk shows mounted throughout most of 1990 as Spencer became involved promoting the definitive photo collection of Michael Cooper's book, "Blinds and Shutters," -- Spencer being one of many contributors to the book. His tours during that time took him through Australia, the US, Canada and Japan with his own group. In 1993, Spencer united with three other famed musicians to form one super group, The Classic Rock All-Stars. The group released a CD together, simply titled, "The Classic Rock All-Stars" and they toured the US, Canada and Japan. Davis left the Classic Rock All-Stars in the summer of 1995, and continued touring in Europe and the US the rest of the year into 1996 and 1997. In Europe, he played with drummer Pete York (the original drummer of the Spencer Davis Group), and the Spencer Davis Group's popularity in Europe put Spencer on a World Tour with his European members, hitting Japan, the Far East, Middle East and Scandinavia. Spencer signed a record deal with CMC who released the recording initially throughout Europe. The recording consisted of a mix of many new originals, old hits and classic songs written by other artists. In the Fall of 1997, Spencer teamed up with The World Classic Rockers, similar in concept to The Classic Rock All-Stars, but with a larger line-up. Spencer's songs continue to live on in movies, such as Iron Eagle, Big Chill, Mr. Destiny, Days of Thunder, Mr. Holland's Opus and Notting Hill. The mid 90's also landed him on TV commercials, industrials, and the TV special, "The History of Rock 'n Roll," as well as a co-starring role in the hit series, "Married with Children." 2001 proved to be as busy as any of the mid and late 90's. From state fairs to casinos throughout the USA and Canada, the Spencer Davis Group continued entertaining millions with their classic repertoire. Along with the spring and fall tours, Germany and Europe were thrown in for good measure. Spencer undertook a marathon tour with the Spencer Davis Group during the spring of 2002, with 47 shows over 60 days up and down jolly old England. Drawing upon his teaching skills from the past, Spencer was invited on the famous cruise ship QE2 in the summer of 2002 as a guest lecturer and performer. He then headed straight to Alaska and followed by a foray into the Middle East, with a mini tour of Europe right behind that. The first half of 2003 brought Spencer through tours of Italy, side-stepping into the studio to record three new songs for his new upcoming CD, and then back to Italy and Germany. There were more state fairs and concerts in the park, where Spencer hooked up with friend Alan White of Yes to guest with him in the Washington State area. Early in 2004, his U.S. tour led him to Illinois and Florida, with a jump over to tours through Germany, Holland, Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden, and Austria until Spring. After a brief rest, the Spencer Davis Group headed out for a month-long tour of the U.K. starting in southern England, and going as far north as Scotland, and west into his native Wales homeland. He finishes up in the Royal Festival Hall in London and tours with his friends, the Yardbirds before heading back to Hungary and Germany again. His contributions to music history have created a constant demand for this legendary musician which encompasses all areas of the music industry -- Performing and providing insight into the music business with his first-hand knowledge and experience of rock history.

The Animals (UK) and friends

One of the most important bands originating from England's R&B scene during the early '60s, the Animals were second only to the Rolling Stones in influence among R&B-based bands in the first wave of the British Invasion. The Animals had their origins in a Newcastle-based group called the Kansas City Five, whose membership included pianist Alan Price, drummer John Steel, and vocalist Eric Burdon, Price exited to join the Kontours in 1962, while Burdon went off to London. The Kontours, whose membership included Bryan "Chas" Chandler, eventually were transmuted into the Alan Price R&B Combo, with John Steel joining on drums. Burdon's return to Newcastle in early 1963 heralded his return to the lineup. The final member of the combo, guitarist Hilton Valentine, joined just in time for the recording of a self-produced EP under the band's new name, the Animals. That record alerted Graham Bond to the Animals; he was likely responsible for pointing impresario Giorgio Gomelsky to the group. Gomelsky booked the band into his Crawdaddy Club in London, and they were subsequently signed by Mickie Most, an independent producer who secured a contract with EMI's Columbia imprint. A studio session in February 1964 yielded their Columbia debut single, "Baby Let Me Take You Home" (adapted from "Baby Let Me Follow You Down"), which rose to number 21 on the British charts. For years, it was rumored incorrectly that the Animals got their next single, "House of the Rising Sun," from Bob Dylan's first album, but it has been revealed that, like "Baby Let Me Take You Home," the song came to them courtesy of Josh White. In any event, the song -- given a new guitar riff by Valentine and a soulful organ accompaniment devised by Price shot to the top of the U.K. and U.S. charts early that summer. This success led to a follow-up session that summer, yielding their first long-playing record, The Animals. Their third single, "I'm Crying," rose to number eight on the British charts. The group compiled an enviable record of Top Ten successes, including "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" and "We've Gotta Get Out of This Place," along with a second album, Animal Tracks. In May of 1965, immediately after recording "We've Gotta Get Out of This Place," Alan Price left the band, citing fear of flying as the reason; subsequent biographies of the band have indicated that the reasons were less psychological. When "House of the Rising Sun" was recorded, using what was essentially a group arrangement, the management persuaded the band to put one person's name down as arranger. Price came up the lucky one, supposedly with the intention that the money from the arranger credit would be divided later on. The money was never divided, however, and as soon as it began rolling in, Price suddenly developed his fear of flying and exited the band. Others cite the increasing contentiousness between Burdon and Price over leadership of the group as the latter's reason for leaving. In any case, a replacement was recruited in the person of Dave Rowberry. In the meantime, the group was growing increasingly unhappy with the material they were being given to record by manager Mickie Most. Not only were the majority of these songs much too commercial for their taste, but they represented a false image of the band, even if many were successful. "It's My Life," a number seven British hit and a similar smash in America, caused the Animals to terminate their association with Most and with EMI Records. They moved over to Decca/London Records and came up with a more forceful, powerful sound on their first album for the new label, Animalisms. The lineup shifts continued, however: Steel exited in 1966, after recording Animalisms, and was replaced by Barry Jenkins, formerly of the Nashville Teens. Chandler left in mid-1966 after recording "Don't Bring Me Down" and Valentine remained until the end of 1966, but essentially "Don't Bring Me Down" marked the end of the original Animals. Burdon re-formed the group under the aegis of Eric Burdon and the New Animals, with Jenkins on drums, John Weider on guitar and violin, Danny McCulloch on bass, and Vic Briggs on guitar. He remained officially a solo act for a time, releasing a collection of material called Eric Is Here in 1967. As soon as the contract with English Decca was up, Burdon signed with MGM directly for worldwide distribution, and the new lineup made their debut in mid-1967. Eric Burdon and the New Animals embraced psychedelica to the hilt amid the full bloom of the Summer of Love. By the end of 1968, Briggs and McCulloch were gone, to be replaced by Burdon's old friend, keyboard player/vocalist Zoot Money, and his longtime stablemate, guitarist Andy Summers, while Weider switched to bass. Finally, in 1969, Burdon pulled the plug on what was left of the Animals. He hooked up with a Los Angeles-based group called War, and started a subsequent solo career. The original Animals reunited in 1976 for a superb album called Before We Were So Rudely Interrupted, which picked up right where Animalisms had left off a decade earlier and which was well-received critically but failed to capture the public's attention. In 1983, a somewhat longer-lasting reunion came about between the original members, augmented with the presence of Zoot Money on keyboards. The resulting album, Ark, consisting of entirely new material, was well received by critics and charted surprisingly high, and a world tour followed. By the end of the year and the heavy touring schedule, however, it was clear that this reunion was not going to be a lasting event. The quintet split up again, having finally let the other shoe drop on their careers and history, and walked away with some financial rewards, along with memories of two generations of rock fans cheering their every note. The concept of Animals and Friends began in the spring of 2000. Hilton Valentine had re-located to America but demand was high for the Animals. Peter Barton former Mindbender had been gigging in a band alongside John Williamson, former guitarist from Titanic. A suggestion was made to team the two units together. Pete had been involved with the Animals now for almost a decade on the management front. Due to the pedigree of the current band members the band was re-named Animals and friends. Jim Rodford was a well-known face from the Kinks and Argent. Johnnie guitar Williamson, again from his time with Titanic and Skeleton Cew had become a familiar face on the Blues and Rock circuit. Pete Barton had also served his apprenticeship alongside Wayne Fontana in The Mindbenders and with Trevor Burton from The Move. The final ingredient's to this rock & roll cocktail was of course original Animal members, Dave Rowberry and John Steel. Animals and Friends were born. The band toured extensively and in the winter of 2001 went into Lisa Stansfields studio to record the debut Animals and friends Album "Instinct". Friends had been called and recordings started. In June 2003 the band had a major shock, Dave Rowberry suddenly died at the age of 63. The band knew they had to finish the new album but was not sure if they would continue as a touring unit. Coincidently the day Dave died, Peter Barton was contacted by a venue in Harlow, who mentioned that an ex member of the Animals lived in the area. Being a curious chap, Peter took the relevant contact details and made the call. The chap was Mickey Gallagher who had joined the Animals in 1965 when Alan Price left. Mickey immediately took the offer on board and re-joined John Steel after almost forty years. (In the interim period Mickey had formed The Blockheads with Ian Dury, toured and recorded London calling with The Clash and worked alongside Paul McCartney and Robbie Williams to say the least). The circle was complete again. But the band would not have existed if not for Dave Rowberry. Dave's equipment is still in the band, and continues to make all the gigs. So if you come to any of our shows and see a battered old Roland Cube amplifier on stage, its Dave's. Jim Rodford had one year earlier been asked to team up with his old mate's Rod Argent and Colin Blunstone to perform a select number of dates. Jim obviously accepted due to his history with Rod in Argent. In the summer of 2004 it was decision time again. Argent dates and Animal dates had started to clash so Jim reluctantly left the band. Jim was a major force in the band and it was sad to see him go. He still appears on occasion as a special guest. The bands strength has grown over the last few years. Three major British tours under the belt. A major new album in the shops. A fantastic fan base, which is growing daily. The band will continue to perform as long as we have the audience that keeps coming out to see us. Line-ups change, sadly two of the original sixties members are no longer with us. Their music continues, as does their legacy. As long as we play the songs that people love we will continue. We will make more albums and continue this fantastic tradition. Eric Burdon, Alan Price and Hilton Valentine are still out there doing it. Lets hope we all can continue for years to come. Dave Rowberry and Chas Chandler RIP.

Ten Years After (UK)

In 1967, four young musicians from Nottinghamshire, England, Leo Lyons, Ric Lee, Chick Churchill together with Alvin Lee, formed Ten Years After and became one of the biggest names and the most explosive quartet on the world stage. Their now legendary encore, "I'm Going Home" performed at The Woodstock Music and Arts Festival in August 1969, was captured on film and exposed their jazz, blues, rock amalgam to a large audience of movie-goers who were blown away by the intensity of the band's erformance when the Academy Award winning documentary was released in 1970. Their ten-minute appearance in the film is an acknowledged highlight and established Ten Years After a place in the rock history. From 1968 to 1975 constant touring, playing important musical events like The Newport Jazz Festival, The Miami Pop Festival, The 1970 Isle of Wight Festival, The Toronto Peace Festival and huge venues like The Royal Albert Hall in London, Madison Square Garden in New York and The Budokan Theatre in Tokyo, exposed the band's music to a Global Audience. It is estimated that they performed to in excess of 75,000 new fans a week. Almost four million people a year, not counting those who saw the band in the "Woodstock" film. Between 1967 and 1974,Ten Years After recorded and released ten multimillion selling albums. The band's albums are still available and all have Gold or Platinum status. Sadly, Alvin Lee decided to go solo in 1975 and the group disappeared from the scene. However, there has always been a demand for Ten Years After and, over the following twenty-plus years, there were to be three short-lived attempts at reformation and one new studio record, "About Time". Each time, Alvin quit to return to his solo career. Starting in 2001, to take advantage in the growing interest in legendary bands like Ten Years After, EMI, and Decca Records digitally re-mastered and re-released the whole Ten Years After back catalogue, most with bonus tracks, including a rare "find" that had laid unnoticed --- the 1970 live recording of the band at its peak at the Fillmore East in New York. Ric and Chick both approached Alvin with a view to touring to support the releases, but Alvin declined. It was a frustrating situation and once again it seemed that fans would be denied hearing the music being played live. A chance opportunity early in 2002 for the three founder members of Ten Years After --- Leo Lyons (bass), Chick Churchill (keyboards) and Ric Lee (Drums) to work together gave them an insight into the intense, re-awakened interest in the band. It is by public request, that the band is back together. With the addition of new band member. sensational, twenty-five year old guitarist / vocalist Joe Gooch, instead of Alvin Lee, they are recreating the music, energy and excitement they have been known for over the past four decades. Ten Years After will play most of their past "hits", but it will not be an oldies band riding around on the cash cow of past successes. It has taken up the reins and is riding into the future. Joe Gooch is fully conversant with all of Ten Years After's previous triumphs, but the fact is he has a distinct personality that breathes new life into the band's performance and helps forge a new direction with this highly respected team of legendary musicians. The new line-up is currently writing and recording an album. A commercial 'Live Performance' DVD is to be filmed in the autumn of 2002 for release in 2003 and the following tours are already scheduled:

Big Brother & The Holding Company (USA) Janis Joplins original band

While Big Brother and the Holding Company are remembered as Janis Joplin's band, they were active before Joplin joined them and after she left. Sam Andrew who had a jazz and classical background as well as having played rock and roll professionally, met Peter Albin (a country-blues guitarist who had played with future founders of the Grateful Dead, Jerry Garcia and Ron McKernan) and they began playing open jam sessions hosted by visionary entrepreneur Chet Helms in 1965. Helms encouraged them to form a group, found them a drummer and another guitar player and set up their first gig, at the Trips Festival of January 1966. In the Festival audience was David Getz, who soon replaced the original drummer. Big Brother and the Holding Company began playing a progressive brand of instrumental rock. Feeling a need for a strong vocalist Chet Helms recalled old friend Joplin and contacted her in Austin, Texas. She returned to San Francisco to join the band in June 1966. The Holding Company were blues influenced and Joplin had listened intensively to Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey and Big Mama Mae Thornton. Janis' voice and presence and the band's slapdash intensity made them a whole that was greater than the sum of its parts and they became a Bay Area sensation. Their debut album spread their reputation and appearances at the Monterey Pop Festival (June 1967) made them nationally known. New manager Albert Grossman brought them to Columbia Records, which issued their legacy, the live Cheap Thrills. Cheap Thrills went to # 1 with the help of "Piece of My Heart." Numerous observers convinced Joplin that she could use a more precise backing band, and at the end of 1968 she and Andrew left the group. Big Brother disbanded in 1972 and reformed in 1986. The band now consists of Original members Peter Albin, Sam Andrew, Dave Getz along with new members Tom Finch and Kacee Clanton, who holds the lead role of Janis Joplin

Roger Chapman (UK) Ex Family

Roger Chapman is best known for his barbed-wire voice, used to front British '70s rock acts Family and Streetwalkers. He began a long-awaited solo career in 1978 that has led to over a dozen full-length releases. Never heard of them? It's not surprising; album-wise, he's been camped out in Germany for 20 years. His first album and tour got high praise in his British homeland, but critics cut into him soon after. When the hassle-free German market beckoned, Chapman began to focus all subsequent work there, where he has become a musical hero, the "Working Class Artist." Chapman split with his longtime writing partner, Charlie Whitney, after the breakup of Streetwalkers in 1977. He surrounded himself with ace session musicians to cut a debut solo effort, Chappo. It was an album of strong rock which catered to the singer and not the musicians. An appearance on Germany's Rockpalast TV show and the ensuing hit single, "Let's Spend the Night Together," gave Chapman the shot of success he needed, so he set up operations in Germany. Live in Hamburg was a reassuring second album, demonstrating the live energy of this experienced yet stage-crazed performer. Studio albums over the next few years blended straight power rock with funk, R&B and soul, all topped with Chapman's characteristic vocal style. In the 1981 German music awards, Chapman was voted Best Singer, and his Hyenas Only Laugh For Fun won an award. Chapman and his backing band, the Shortlist, released two alter-ego albums in the early '80s as the Riff Burglars. These releases honored roots and classic rock by artists like Chuck Berry, Willie Dixon and Leiber & Stoller. A lead vocal on Mike Oldfield's 1983 hit, "Shadow on the Wall," also added to Chapman's diverse repertoire. Chapman's mid-'80s foray into polished studio sounds did not fare well with his audience. When his extended partnership with guitarist Geoff Whitehorn ran it's course, Chapman returned to pure rock form with 1989's Walking the Cat, which featured Alvin Lee and old friend, Bob Tench. Two compilations filled a silent period in the mid '90s, but 1996's Kiss My Soul was a comeback for the guy who never went away. It even got attention and a pressing in Chapman's British homeland, where he often tours but has no domestic releases. This was followed by 1998's A Turn Unstoned? and the 2-CD Anthology; the next year saw re-releases of Chappo and Mail Order Magic. Moth to a Flame was issued in early 2001

The Pirates (UK) Featuring Mick Green and Johnny Spence

Mick Green is easily one of the most original guitarists to come out of this country. From joining the Pirates in 1962, his days with this legendary outfit alongside bassman Johnny Spence and drummer Frank Farley are not finished yet. The band still pull in many dedicated fans at the smaller, more intimate venues they prefer to play these days when all three get time for a get-together in between commitments. His talents have also been heard behind many top-flight acts, more recently Roxy Music star Bryan Ferry shanghaied him for lengthy tours. Mick Green was brought up in Wimbledon, and in the same block of flats as his future Pirates. He reckons that he was only about 10 or 11 when all three met up together as a group for the first time. Before that, he'd made a big impression on Frank Farley - literally - the first time they met when falling out of the tree he was playing in, he landed on Frank's head. Johnny Spence later recalled his slightly less fraught first meeting with Green: "This little kid in short trousers turned up on my doorstep one day - we were both fourteen - holding a guitar and saying, "I'm told you know the opening bit to 'Cumberland Gap'. Can you teach me?" That was Mick Green." They'd all known each other since childhood and formed a good working relationship during 1956 and 1957 when Green, along with Spence and Farley formed the Wayfaring Strangers. Their music was, as were most youngsters bands of the era, based on the popular and cheap and noisy Skiffle craze that washed over the UK during this time. Their line-up featured the obligatory tea-chest bass and washboard, plus a Spanish guitar. Even then they made quite a good little outfit, even entering a competition at the Tottenham Royal Ballroom where they managed to reach the finals. They came second to a band that had come all the way from Liverpool called the Quarrymen, the very same group that a while later evolved into the slightly better-known Beatles. The trio's next band was the Ramrods, an outfit interesting in that Johnny Spence was lead axeman and Mick Green was the rhythm guitarist. Green and the pianist Bill Darling splintered away and Spence and Farley teamed up with Johnny Patto to become the semi-professional Redcaps behind singer Red E. Lewis in 1958-9, then after leaving Lewis they provided backing services for Cuddly Dudley, the UK's first black rock 'n' roller. Also in this line-up was Vic Cooper, the keyboard man who would later join the Pirates for the "Lost Album" sessions in 1964. They had a single to their credit with Dudley, "Sittin' On A Train." Around this time in 1961, Johnny Kidd toured the UK alongside his Idol, Gene Vincent. When the tour played the Kingston Granada on February 27th, Green, Spence and Farley (plus a young Jimmy Page, then with Dean Shannon and the Crusaders) sneaked in for free to watch their heroes. When Kidd was left high and dry by his then Pirates (Alan Caddy, Brian Gregg and Clem Catinni, his mates Nero and the Gladiators recommended the Redcaps who (minus Cooper) were backing him live by the summer of 1961. When ill-health precipitated Patto's departure, Spence and Farley then brought in their old mate Mick Green and Kidd's re-shaped Power Trio was in place for the next round of live dates plus a single release. "A Shot Of Rhythm And Blues" and "I Can Tell", the latter Mick Green's first recording, made a startling eye-opener of a single that showcased the triumvirates' talents perfectly. Spence and Farley would provide the driving, solid, 'powerhouse' rhythm section that allowed Green to play his trademark staccato rhythm interspersed seamlessly with savage attacking solos. "We didn't have a rhythm guitarist and our sound needed filling out. You can only play that way with a trio, you can't play like that with another guitar or a piano. It's achieved by bashing out the chords loudly and twiddling around with the strings. It's quite an easy thing to do, there's nothing magical about it." - Mick Green All three understood each other so well, that recording sessions often required the minimum of takes to obtain a master track. This quality also made their recordings -albeit polished - have that bit more of a 'live' feel than recordings by some contemporaries. Johnny Kidd and the Pirates cut moody figures onstage all dressed in black leather and coupled with a stronger R'n'B edge the old hits absorbed a new power. This powerful sound had been honed by the band's trip to the Mecca of the Liverpool bands, Hamburg, in July 1962. Frank Farley - "Hamburg is not place for the squeamish. It was seven nights a week in one place and we were competing every night even though we were top of the bill. Every band (Kinsize Taylor & The Dominoes, The Undertakers, The Big Three) wanted to blow us off the stage.... We were a typical beat group and then we heard all these scouse bands playing rave stuff like "Castin' My Spell" and "A Shot Of Rhythm And Blues". When we came back to England we were a different band entirely. In fact our own 15 minute set which we used to play before Kidd came on stage, was always far more Rhythm And Blues slanted." Johnny Spence - "The three of us would play together, everything would seem to come across quite natural and I believe that to be the secret. Mick could do whatever he wanted in the knowledge that Frank and I were always there right behind him." The increased discipline led to some excellent and effective recordings. "I'll Never Get Over You" returned Kidd to the top 5 and they enjoyed a popular twelve months with Kidd's revived fortunes. However, the hits dried up just as a potential debut album was being recorded, and so it remained in the can. They band recorded the unsuccessful "Jealous Girl" single in 1964 and appeared on the the Big Star Show on the South Pier, Blackpool, following a dog act. Green was stuck in his bed-sit feeling not a little miserable when he got a call from Robin MacDonald of the Dakotas - they were off to Hawaii and Australia. As it sounded a better prospect Green upped and joined the more solvent Billy J. Kramer with the Dakotas. As he said, he couldn't be in both bans at once! His arrival beefed up an already strong Dakotas sound somewhat and the re-aligned group played on the memorable "Trains And Boats And Planes" which hit no.12 in 1965, the same year the group toured the States to rapturous receptions wherever they appeared. Interestingly, a handful of Kramer cuts that were never released - probably because Parlophone thought them out-of-character for the conservative Kramer - still allowed Green to shine, such as the genuine rocker "Sneakin' Around". Johnny Spence and Frank Farley meanwhile remained with Kidd through a couple more singles with new guitarist John Weider, including a re-make of Kidd's no.1 smash "Shakin' All Over '65". It failed to ignite the charts second time round though, and more good recordings including a fascinating take of "This Golden Ring" were consigned to the vaults. then back at Blackpool a year later in late 1965, he split to be replaced by Jon Moreshead. Continued lack of success saw Spence and Farley split from Kidd in April 1966, taking Jon Morshead but leaving Vic Cooper to go his own way. Johnny Spence - "We decided to walk the plank, and sink or swim by out own efforts as The Pirates to try and get into the Big Time." A deal with Polydor saw a solitary single release on Polydor, "Shades Of Blue" / "Can't Understand" (a copy and/or lyrics wanted please!). Frank Farley recently quipped that this psychedelic, reflective piece ".....had clever lyrics, but the song was crap and certainly not us." It suffers by not having the Guv'nor as focal point and was a poor seller at the time; today, it swaps between collectors hands for a neat £40. Soon after a gig at the Tip Top Club in Morecambe, the single's failure led to the trio calling it a day in July. Morshead first joined Shotgun Express and then Julian Covey & The Machine. When Tony Mansfield resigned from the Dakotas, Frank Farley replaced him, swabbing the decks once more with his old shipmate Mick Green. Johnny Spence meanwhile, messed around with a couple of groups, one of which featured the multi-talented Dave Mason in his pre-traffic days. He then joined Julian Covey and The Machine, in a line-up alongside Jon Morshead. A single was released, "A Little Bit Hurts" / "Sweet Bacon" and they were offered a five-year contract with Island records which came to nothing when the group imploded in 1967. Spence decided to call it a day and retired from the music scene, taking to time to build up a lucrative second-hand motor business. Since leaving Johnny Kidd at Blackpool in the summer of 1964 Mick Green had added power and searing solos as a Dakota behind Billy J. Kramer's sweeter vocals. He'd also featured on a nice little 12-bar rave-up instrumental by the Dakotas on their own which started life as "Rat Fink" but escaped as "Oyeh!". It appeared a year after their last such outing "Magic Carpet" and sounded like it was fun to record, coming complete with comical speeded up voices and superb display of string bending from Green. It wasn't a hit so efforts now concentrated on their singer, and although there were no more hits there were some classic cuts still to be savoured from this talented outfit. Tracks like "I'll Be Doggone", hidden away as the flipside to "Neon City" in 1965 show a confident band with a solid sound. Even more indicative of this direction was "Sneakin' Around", an uncompromising rocker with an insistent, nagging riff from Green who breaks into as searing a solo as he ever recorded in the sixties. He'd also flourished as a songwriter, compositions co-written with bassman Robin MacDonald making quite a few flipsides with numbers as diverse as "Take my hand", a ballad adorned with strings, to numbers like "That's The Way I Feel". The latter is arguably a forgotten mini-classic, with a flute and vibes flowing in and out of the mix, a strong enough cut that enabled Kramer track his voice just the once and Green play a nicely underscored solo on acoustic guitar. Without Kramer, the Dakotas also managed two more "solo" singles, "I'm an 'Ardworkin' Barrow Boy" / "7lbs Of Potatoes" for Page One in 1967, and "Can't Break The News To Myself" / "The Spider And The Fly" on Philips the following year. The b-sides of both have been described as "experimental psychedelic" and "Spider" in particular stands up as a good example of what we now know as late 1960's "Freakbeat". The Dakotas split from Billy J. Kramer and backed Billy Fury for three months. Working in a club, another act on the bill was a magician who used copious amounts of trained pigeons and Billy decided to give them their freedom. Fury, one of the UK's premier rock 'n' rollers in the late fifties with the classic "Sound Of Fury" 10' LP to his credit had suffered declining health for years with a weak heart. Green produced his last album before his death in 1982. Mick Green - "Billy was great, a one-off, one hell of a guy. He was a real animal lover. One morning, Billy arrived early to rehearse and decided he didn't like to see them cooped up inside their cages so he let them out inside the club. They were flying about for half an hour until they all managed to fly out of a window. The magician was shocked and annoyed to find his pigeons gone, raving about how he couldn't carry on his act without his birds." Frank Farley and Mick Green (along with Robin MacDonald) joined the Cliff Bennett Band in June 1968, during which time they recorded a wild version of the Beatles "Back In The USSR". Farley remained beating the skins for Bennett before pulling out of music full-time in July 1969 to get married. Green had already gone by this time to back Engelbert Humperdinck in Las Vegas and stayed in America for four and a half years, and while there had learned to read music. Green returned to England in 1974 and formed Fresh Meat which evolved first into Hard Meat and finally emerged as Shanghai. After that band he backed the zany Liverpool comedian Freddie Starr for a spell. Green, Spence and Farley regrouped to hoist the Jolly Roger once again as the Pirates in 1976, just beating Nick Simper and Roger Truth who were about to attempt recording under the same name. The revitalised trio's new lease of recording life from 1976 can be found here. They continue today doing occasional choice gigs. The final word on Mick Green, Johnny Spence and Frank Farley's spell behind the Admiral Of The Beat should be left to famous Rock historian Spencer Leigh, who saw many, many bands at the Cavern Club in Liverpool in the 1960's. An acknowledged expert on Merseybeat, he stated in his book "Let's Go Down The Cavern in 1984: "When Johnny Kidd And The Pirates combined Arthur Alexander's "A Shot Of Rhythm And Blues" with Bo Diddley's "I Can Tell" they made one of the best double-sided singles of all time. That single, more than any other, marks the transition of British rock 'n' roll to Merseybeat."

Wilko Johnson (UK) Ex Dr Feelgood and The Blockheads

Best-known as the guitarist in Dr. Feelgood, one of British pub rock's greatest bands, Wilko Johnson went on to a long solo career playing the kind of rootsy, R&B-based rock & roll he loved. Born John Wilkinson (which he inverted to come up with his stage name) in 1947, Johnson grew up in the coastal Canvey Island area, and played around the local music scene during the '60s (often in jug bands). He studied at Newcastle University beginning in 1967, but returned home during breaks to keep up his musical activities. In 1971, after returning from a trip to India, he joined the band that became Dr. Feelgood, and quickly became one of their focal points thanks to his maniacally intense stage presence. Dr. Feelgood played locally for a couple of years and made their debut in London in the summer of 1973; their distinctively scruffy image and menacing energy soon made them a hot commodity on the pub rock circuit. The band released their debut album, Down By the Jetty, in 1975; Johnson stayed for two more studio albums (Malpractice and Sneakin' Suspicion) and the chart-topping live document Stupidity, contributing a number of fine original songs. However, tensions between Johnson and the rest of the group led to his departure toward the end of 1977. Johnson soon formed a backing band called the Solid Senders, which featured keyboardist John Potter, bassist Steve Lewins, and drummer Alan Platt. They signed to Virgin in 1978 and released the LP Solid Senders that year. The following year, Johnson joined Ian Dury's Blockheads, where he remained until 1980; there he met bassist Norman Watt-Roy, who later became a regular collaborator. In early 1981, Johnson released his second album, Ice on the Motorway, and two years later issued the EP Bottle Up and Go! with Lew Lewis; several small-scale LPs, mostly for European labels, followed over the '80s: 1984's Pull the Cover, 1985's Watch Out!, 1987's Call It What You Want, and 1988's Barbed Wire Blues. The latter was the first recording with his new regular group the Wilko Johnson Band, which featured Watt-Roy and drummer Salvatore Ramundo, and remained a concert fixture around England for the next decade or so. In 1998, Johnson finally had the opportunity to release another album, Going Back Home for Mystic. Johnson began to cut back on his concert appearances in 1999, but still found the wherewithal to cut Live in Japan 2000 the following year.

Eric Burdon (USA/UK)

Eric Burdon toured UK for Rock Artist Management in 2002. The tour was a total success. Without doubt Eric Burdon is one of the UK's premier artists. His show consists of all the classic Animals material along with his great solo work including Sky Pilot, When I was young, San Franciscan Nights, Good Times, Spill The Wine, Ring of Fire etc.

The Yardbirds (UK)

Peter Barton from Rock Artist Management managed to pursuade Jim McCarty and Chris Dreja from the original line-up to reform in the early 90's. They both said yes. Since then the band has performed hundreds of shows all over the world for Ram including North America, Australia, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, France holland etc. Without doubt one of the great legendary bands still touring the world today. By now, everyone knows the Yardbirds legend, if not their music; the band graduated three of the great Ph.D.s of rock guitar: Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page. They created hard rock out of standard twelve-bar blues, doubling the tempos and whacking the amps up to ten. On the British club scene, the Yardbirds, the Animals, and the Rolling Stones ruled the stages. The Yardbirds expanded the range of the electric guitar, experimenting with feedback, sustain, and fuzztone. They also coined and popularized the rave-up, a kind of free-for-all where you jam long and hard, not as soloists, but in a tandem, until you reach an epiphany about 10 or 20 or 30 minutes later, a shuddering climax of decibels and pure energy, and then-back into the song for one more boom-boom chorus. The Yardbirds were the bridge between the tributary white R&B of early-sixties London and the pastures of fuzz-toned psychedelia and power-chorded heavy metal plowed much later in the decade and throughout the seventies. Yes, the Yardbirds laid the groundwork for Rock Guitar As We Know It.

The Blues Band (UK)

Paul Jones, Dave Kelly, Tom McGuinness, Gary Fletcher and Rob Townsend. The story of how The Blues Band formed in 1979 to play the music that was their passion - the blues - just for fun and a bit of beer money, and then found themselves with whole new careers on their hands, has been well documented in countless magazine articles and record company biographies. They've released 17 or so albums culminating in their current release - 'Thank you Brother Ray' - a tribute to the late great Ray Charles, and have regularly rung the musical changes, albeit within the context of the blues. Their extensive canon of recorded material includes a large catalogue of original songs as well as their own readings of songs from the genre's finest writers like Willie Dixon, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Sleepy John Estes etc. In the past 25 years the band have played all around the world in venues ranging from intimate clubs through civic halls and theatres, and have wowed festival audiences in many countries including headline appearances at Glastonbury. Whilst not unique in being the only band to have survived together for 25 years they are one of the few outfits to have consistently recorded new material throughout such a long career, and whilst staying true to their blues roots have constantly developed their music & redefined their approach on several occasions. Their 1994 album 'Wireless' saw them venture into the purely acoustic arena for the first time and the 2000 release of the 'Scratchin' on my Screen' album confirmed the presence of purely acoustic settings of the blues in their repertoire. 1999's 'Brassed Up' album was, as the title suggests a foray into big band blues whilst 'Stepping Out' released in 2002 saw a return to the band's basic 5 piece line-up with the double barrelled vocal frontline of Paul Jones and Dave Kelly being joined by Tom and Gary both singing lead on a couple of songs. With 4 singers and songwriters in the band the quality and variety of performance and material offered by The Blues Band is pretty much unrivalled elsewhere, either in the blues world or elsewhere, and the band's passion and reverence for the music, their presentation and showmanship all combine to deliver the definitive 'good night out' available from any artist currently operating within the blues field in Europe and beyond.

Dr Feelgood (UK)

Since 1973 Dr Feelgood always offer 100% of the finest Rhythm n Blues to make you feelgood. The band contain three of the members who played alongsid Lee Brilleaux. Kevin Morris, Phil Mitchell and Steve Walwyn. The band is now fronted by ex Animals 2 frntman Robert Kane. Without doubt Dr Feelgood have the perfect medicine to give any festival a great fix of driving blues at its best.

The Hamsters (UK)

The Hamsters have been voted one of the UK's best bands by Kerrang magazine. Even BBC's Top Gear magazine recognises the band as the UK's hardest working, and featured them in an article on in-car entertainment, the Hamsters being the ideal people to ask as they're always travelling somewhere. Now in their nineteenth year together, having performed more than 3,500 concerts and with a national mailing list exceeding 20,000, the Hamsters are established as the UK's premier blues-rock attraction. This has been achieved purely by hard work with the band handling all their own affairs, thereby disproving the popular misconception that it can't be done without major-label "muscle".

Jimmy Burns (USA)

The younger brother of bluesman Eddie Burns, singer/guitarist Jimmy Burns followed in the family tradition, becoming a staple of Chicago's West Side club circuit after a long absence from the spotlight. Born February 27, 1943 in Dublin, Mississippi, he cut a handful of singles early in his career, but upon marrying and starting a family, he largely applied the brakes to his musical aspirations to focus on domestic life. Burns performed only rarely in the decades to follow; however, with his children all grown in the early 1990s, he rekindled his career, following up a hard day of operating his barbecue stand by cutting loose with a set of soulful blues at the Smokedaddy, his regular venue. In 1996, at the age of 53, Burns finally issued his long-awaited full-length debut, Leaving Here Walking. "Jimmy Burns's musical resume` reads like a history of blues and R&B music from the last 50 years" Jimmy Burns born in 1943 near the Delta town of Dublin, Mississippi, embodies that increasingly rare combination of blues roots deep enough to tap into the 'real thing', while still possessing the youth and vitality to present his music with plenty of life and real excitement. He honed his vocal skills singing with vocal groups in the 50's and over the years has perfected and appealing melodic, vocal-inflected contemporary guitar style to complement the down home picking he'd learned as a youth. In The studio Jimmy and his regular band played off one another with musical empathy that comes only from countless nights of proving themselves on the bandstand. With Leaving Here Walking, Jimmy pays tribute to his earliest musical inspirations, revisits the era of classic R&B, and presents well-crafted originals covering all the facets of his long and varied life in music. In the mid-fifties Jimmy Burns moved to Chicago. By 1959, he had earned a leading role in an established Chicago vocal group. Jimmy released four songs with The Medallionaires. The group also sand backup on another record, but by the early sixties Jimmy was ready to record on his own. In 1964, the first single by Jimmy Burns as a solo artist was released. For the next decade, he released several records which are now highly sought after by soul collectors. Unfortunately, Jimmy wasn't aware of his growing popularity. Additionally, he received no compensation for his work. Not until almost fifty years later when a DJ from England offered Jimmy $250 for one of his early singles. At the beginning of the seventies, Jimmy put the music aside and worked to support his family. He still got out and sat in at the local clubs now and then, and during this time he worked on his guitar playing. Having been a singer for so long comes out in a vocal-inflected guitar style that he has been developing since the seventies. "Although family obligations kept him from pursuing music on anything more than a part-time basis over the last couple of decades, he never stopped performing. In the mid 1980s he joined forces with guitarist Glen Davis and his band, and worked the north side blues club circuit for a time; this collaboration resulted in a self-produced albums worth of material in 1986. By 1995, Jimmy had hooked up with Rockin' Johnny Burgin and began playing regularly at The SmokeDaddy, a north side bar serving blues and barbeque. After hearing one of these gigs, Bob Koester of Delmark Records, signed Jimmy to record his first full length cd.

Ian Parker(UK)

'a true 21st century troubadour' Ian's music is characterised by tormented tales expressed through a bitter-sweet vocal delivery and harrowing guitar work. Drawing on an eclectic range of influences, this young man is fast becoming Britain's best-loved blues/roots artist. A songwriter genuinely literate, sometimes almost literary - an original artist rooted in the blues but not trapped in them. A truly distinctive voice and an inspirational guitar technique in one package is in itself a rare combination, but what distinguishes Ian is the ability and willingness to share with his audience, the naked honesty and genuine emotion of his songs - straight from the heart. Whilst serving his apprenticeship on the European Blues/Rock circuit, Ian performed alongside none other than Eric Clapton, opening a show for the guitar legend in London, December 2002. During this period he gained the respect and recognition of many the genre's leading figures. "The best band I've seen in a decade - Ian's voice, feel and guitar technique are what his contemporaries can only dream of!" - WALTER TROUT Ian signed to Ruf Records following a personal introduction to legendary US record producer - David Z (Prince - Purple Rain). His debut album - 'INSIDE' was released on the Ruf label (Ruf1094) in October 2003. "I was truly honoured to be involved in this project" - DAVID Z In March 2004, Ian appeared on Germany's top live music TV show, 'Rockpalast' as part of the 'Crossroads Festival'. Ian and his band were voted the number one act of the festival and a live DVD (.WHILST THE WIND) of this incendiary performance was released in June 2005 on Ruf Records. In addition to the DVD, a live album documenting Ian's performance in Hannover during his December 2004 European Tour was also released in June 2005 under the same title. Both releases met with high critical acclaim and continue to notch up impressive sales. In September 2005, Ruf Records teamed Ian up with stable mates Aynsley Lister and Erja Lyytinen for a one-off recording project in the US. The resulting album 'Pilgrimage' was recorded in Clarksdale Mississippi and Memphis Tennessee, and includes five tracks written by Ian. All three artists are featured throughout the album, which has met with an overwhelmingly enthusiastic response from the public and critics alike since its release in January 2006. The three artists are touring together throughout 2006 under the banner of 'Blues Caravan', with club and festival dates planned throughout Europe and the US. Ian was born in December 1976 in Birmingham. The Beatles' Rubber Soul album, found in his parents' record collection, was the catalyst to Ian's interest in music at the age of eight. Soon to be inspired by Jimi Hendrix, Ian raided his piggy bank and bought his first guitar in 1985. Together with two school friends he formed his first gigging band Strange Brew in 1993. Ian soon realised that if he was to establish a solid song writing foundation and a comprehensive understanding of the guitar he needed to study the music of those who had influenced the likes of Hendrix and his contemporaries. Strange Brew disbanded in 1993. Throughout 1994, Ian regularly attended a local jam session where he teamed up with a very talented local guitarist some three years his senior. From this liaison, a five-piece blues band Blue Horizon (a name stolen from the famous Mike Vernon record label) was formed featuring two lead guitars. Great energy and hugely self-indulgent, but in Ian's mind the wrong composition to develop into a product with longevity. 1996/7 saw Ian focusing on his degree course and he graduated from The University of Derby with a BSc Honours in Psychology! Upon his return from Derby and with a clear vision, Ian created Monty Turnbull - a four-piece line-up which included 'Morg' Morgan on piano / organ. Perhaps the greatest shock was Ian's decision to front the line-up with his own lead vocals. Young drummers and bass players came and went but the Parker / Morgan alliance grabbing the headlines on the Birmingham R 'n' B circuit. In 1998, session bassist Chris Lomas climbed on board, followed by equally seasoned and renowned drummer Tony Baylis the following year, to form Parker's Alibi. During this period and owing largely to the musical stability offered by this new line-up, Ian's playing, singing, and song-writing developed notably and he established a reputation across the European circuit, as one of the UK's hottest Blues prospects. By the end of 2001, Ian felt the time had come to move on, and with mixed emotions of excitement and sadness he disbanded Parker's Alibi in February 2002. After a brief period of experimentation with various musicians, he settled on a line-up including ex-Robert Plant drummer Andy Edwards, bass virtuoso Steve Amadeo, and of course his close musical companion Morg Morgan on keyboards to form The Ian Parker Band which he launched with great success in November 2002. Another change at the end of 2003 saw Aynsley Lister & Amor drummer Wayne Proctor join the band.