After all
Preview by Peter Ashton
THIRTY SIX years on,
Ten Years After are still playing their special brand of jazzy blues-rock. Three
of the original band who wowed them at Woodstock back in 1969 will be bopping at
The Brook on Thursday May 29 along with new member Joe Gooch.
Ten Years After were formed in 1967, adopting their name in recognition of
the fact that they had come along ten years after the birth of rock n’ roll.
Four musicians from Nottinghamshire, Leo Lyons, Ric Lee and Chick Churchill,
together with Alvin Lee, went on to become one of the biggest names in rock.
As well as their legendary ten-minute spot at Woodstock Festival, from 1968 to
1975 Ten Years After toured constantly and played other milestone musical events
like The Newport Jazz Festival, The Miami Pop Festival and The 1970 Isle of
Wight Festival. During this time it is estimated that over 75,000 new fans a
week saw them in concert. By 1974 they had released ten multimillion selling
albums, but broke up in 1975 shortly after Alvin Lee decided to go solo.
Over the next twenty years three short-lived attempts were made to reform Ten
Years After, but each time Alvin quit to resume his solo career. In 2001 Decca
Records began digitally re-mastering and re-releasing the whole of Ten Years
After’s back catalogue due to public demand. Ric and Chick and Leo again
approached Alvin to join them on tour to support the releases, but this time he
declined. The positive reaction to the reissued rock albums led to the
recruitment of young guitarist and vocalist Joe Gooch to put the band back on
the road to perform live.
Demand to see Ten Years After was huge on their recent tour of Europe and just
as big in the UK. After a break during the summer the band will tour the USA in
the autumn.
Tickets for The Brook gig are £14.50 via 02380 555366. (©Peter Ashton 2003)
Talented Guy
Preview by Peter Ashton
GUY Davis may be a native
New Yorker but his blues style is definitely authentic Delta-style, going back
to the origins of the blues. Indeed, Guy, who plays Havant Arts Centre on Monday
May 19, once portrayed blues legend Robert Johnson in an off-Broadway play. Guy
is a musician, composer, actor, director and writer, but most importantly
he is a blues singer with a mission to keep alive the great traditions of
acoustic blues. His influences include Blind Willie McTell, particularly his way
of storytelling, Skip James, Mance Lipscomb and Mississippi John Hurt.
Though raised in the New York City area, he grew up hearing accounts of life in
the rural south from his parents and especially his grandparents, and they made
their way into his own stories and songs.? Not having the patience to take
formal lessons, Guy taught himself the guitar and learned by listening to and
watching other musicians. Acting has always run parallel with Guy’s career as a
singer, with roles in films, television and the theatre. He made his Broadway
debut in 1991 in the musical "Mulebone," featuring the music of Taj Mahal. In
1993 he performed off-Broadway as legendary blues player Robert Johnson in
"Robert Johnson: Trick the Devil,"? for which he received rave reviews and won
the Blues Foundation's "Keeping the Blues Alive Award” presented to him by
Robert Cray at the W.C. Handy Awards ceremony.
Guy’s writing projects have also included a variety of theatre pieces and plays,
including "The Trial: Judgement of the People," an anti-drug abuse, one-act
play. But in the past few years he has concentrated on writing and performing
music, following up his early albums "Stomp Down Rider" and "Call Down the
Thunder" with "You Don't Know My Mind," “Butt Naked Free” and “Give In Kind.”
Guy’s concert at Havant Arts Centre is part of the Nine Days In May Arts
Festival. Tickets are ?8.50 via 02392 472700. (©Peter Ashton 2003)
Berry serving
Preview by Peter Ashton
SINGER, songwriter, actor,
male model: there’s no end to Mike Berry’s talents. But it’s in his role as a
singer that he will be visiting Eastleigh
later this month appearing with his band The Outlaws alongside veteran rocker
Wee Willie Harris at “Breezers” in Southampton Road on Friday May 30.
Mike first sprang onto the music scene in 1961 when he was discovered by
the legendary record producer Joe Meek. Mike’s first hit, “Tribute to Buddy
Holly” gained the approval of the late singer’s fan club and defined Berry as
the “British Buddy Holly”. He went on to have several more 60s hits including
his biggest “Don’t You Think It’s Time” which got to No. 6. Over the years Mike
has been closely linked with Buddy, actually filling his shoes playing with The
Crickets on several occasions, but his stage act has always covered a wide
spectrum of favourites by other artists like Elvis Presley and Fats Domino.
Mike’s career took a profitable detour during the mid-1970s when he joined a top
modelling agency and featured in over fifty TV commercials, advertising
everything from perfume to butter ! This change in course led to yet another
career when Mike was spotted and offered a part in the classic children’s TV
series “Worzel Gummidge”. Then came more chart successes in Europe with three
hit singles, plus another top ten hit in the UK with “Sunshine Of Your Smile”.
Mike’s comic talents were then put to good effect when he played Mr
Humphrey’s assistant in the last three series of the television sit-com “Are
You Being Served?” More recently Mike has been back on the road with his band
The Outlaws, releasing two CDs 'Rock 'n' Roll Daze' and “Keep Your Hands To
Yourself”. He also played on the successful 'Not Fade Away' tour with guitar
virtuoso Albert Lee & rock legend Dave Edmunds.
For more details of the “Breezers” gig ring 02380 619090. (©Peter Ashton 2003)
Blues Winter
Preview by Peter Ashton
ONE of rock music’s true pioneers, Edgar Winter, makes his debut at The
Brook on Wednesday May 21 on his “Winter Blues” tour. The Southampton gigs is
the only South Coast date for the American multi-instrumentalist and singer who
is touring the UK for the first time in a decade.
Edgar, younger brother of another rock legend, Johnny Winter, was born in
Beaumont, Texas in 1946. Like his sibling, Edgar soon turned out to be a
musical prodigy singing at church and in barbershop quartets, and playing the
saxophone at an early age. Johnny and Edgar began performing together as
teenagers, and were members of several itinerant groups playing in Southern USA
clubs and bars. Edgar later forsook music for college, before accepting an offer
to play saxophone in a local jazz band. Through his association with his
brother, Edgar signed a deal with Epic Records in 1970, recording an acclaimed
solo debut, “Entrance,” followed by two hit albums featuring his horn-based
group, White Trash.
In late 1972 Winter formed the Edgar Winter group,
with whom he recorded 1973's “They Only Come Out At Night” which spawned the UK
Top 20 hit "Frankenstein." Over the next twenty years Edgar continued the
explore the realms of rock, blues, R&B, boogie, jazz and pop. More recently
Edgar has had huge success in the movie soundtrack arena, writing "Good Ol'
Shoe" for the hit movie "Wag The Dog" starring Robert Deniro and Dustin Hoffman.
His song “Free Ride” featured on the soundtrack of “Air America”, while the
classic “Frankenstein” was revived in the film “Wayne’s World 2.”
Even more recently Edgar, now based in Los Angeles, has written and
recorded a brand new song "Keep On Rockin" for the up coming movie "Duet"
starring Gwyneth Paltrow."
Edgar arrives at The Brook with a three piece band featuring Mark Meadows on
bass, Chris Frazier on drums and Doug Rappoport on guitar, while he handles
keyboards, saxophone and vocals. Tickets are ?23.50 via 02380 555466. (©Peter Ashton 2003)
Soul's Niece
Preview by Peter Ashton
TWO of
India’s most gifted musicians take the stage at the Nuffield Theatre in
Southampton on Saturday June 7 to play a concert sponsored by Art Asia. 
THE “Godfather of
Soul”, James Brown, was always known simply as “Uncle James” to young Carleen
Anderson, who sings at the Greene Cellars in Southampton on Friday May 14. Both
her mother, singer Vicki Anderson and her stepfather pianist Bobby Byrd
toured for years with the dynamic soul star.
SUMMER comes to Fareham’s Ashcroft
Arts Centre and a new season with a decidedly international flavour. The months
of May and June are bursting with theatre, film, comedy, music, dance and art
presentations starting with the visit of folk band Acaysha on Saturday May 3.
THERE’S a change of
scene for Southampton Jazz Club for their summer season which began on April 29
with a visit from Bossa Rio. While the John Arlott Bar on the University campus
is being refurbished SJC have moved into the nearby Hartley Suite for their
weekly jazz sessions.
