Famously mean he never brought a band, only his guitar and played with a pick-up band, not even rehearsing, because that would cost… who would you choose as a pick-up? The Stones would be logical, they knew his catalogue inside out and could provide him with a backing band that would make his material come alive – no – he played with the Nashville Teens – a rather fake (in our opinion) R&B band assembled by Mickie Most. So Bo Diddley provided a show and played numbers we’d expect to hear as we’d expect to hear them – Roadrunner was sensational.Ĭhuck – different matter. The R&B charts of the time included blues stars but also acts like Chuck and Bo through to pop acts like the Coasters and every British band included these numbers in their acts – you were as likely to hear a version of Going Down Slow, which I think we’d agree was the blues, as the Stones playing Bo Diddley’s Mona – always a club favourite with tremolo guitar and, of course, Mick brandishing as many maraccas as he could carry – just like Jerome – blues? No, but very much pop R&B. The attitude of our two heroes was markedly different – Bo brought his US band with him, including, of course, the Duchess on rhythm guitar and Jerome on maraccas – maraccas were an essential part of the aural landscape of the blues at this time – although we’d probably, and more accurately, call it R&B. The first blues greats I saw were in a concert hall – Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley on tours of cinemas – this was the old model of touring where a variety bill of artists would be assembled, play two or three numbers each and then rotate on – this was interesting but it wasn’t – the blues. Not so great for them perhaps but it meant we could not only see them, but talk to them, shake their hands, and experience their music not simply in a concert hall but up close and sweaty! How much were they paid to make a European tour? I’d guess it wasn’t much, because the tours were fairly gruelling rounds of blues clubs and venues up and down the country – promoters probably took advantage of the low earnings they made in the States to make offers that looked generous to them but meant that they could be put on at a reasonable price in a club that held maybe 120 to 200 people. Visiting blues artists were also overwhelmed by the enthusiasm for their music they encountered in the UK – here was a musical form which was next to dead in the states but in Britain they were revered – some relocated to our side of the water permanently including Champion Jack Dupree who made his home in Halifax of all places. Then came the Beatles, the Hollies, etc, etc and all of a sudden British groups were the flavour of the month in the States and so many UK musicians crossed the Atlantic that it was now possible to bring over many many more American artists to the UK – and amongst them were some of the greatest names in the Blues. By the early 60’s this allowed a small number of American star musicians to appear in the UK. One of its rules was designed to protect UK musicians – an American artist could only appear in the UK if a UK artist was booked in the States. In fact it was really the Beatles and the ‘Beat Boom’ of the early 60’s which brought those same original blues greats to the UK – but indirectly! Let me explain – music, like a lot of other activities, was unionised, both in the UK and in America but the Musicians Union had a lot more power then than it has today. Many people credit the Rolling Stones with bringing the original blues greats like Howling Wolf to a wider audience. Paul Soper shares his memories of the London Blues Scene in the 60s and beyond: Part 3 – The Americans London Blues Scene in the 60s’- from The British Blues Archive
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