- The Blues Band
The Blues Band were formed in Britain in 1979 by Paul Jones, former lead vocalist and
harmonica player withManfred Mann in the 1960s, and vocalist/slide guitar ist Dave Kelly, who had formerly played with the John Dummer Blues Band,Howlin' Wolf andJohn Lee Hooker among others. Also in the band’s first line-up werebassist Gary Fletcher, Jones’s formerManfred Mann colleague, guitaristTom McGuinness , anddrummer Hughie Flint , the two latter having been the mainstay ofMcGuinness Flint .They originally got together just for fun, but in the process stayed together far longer than any of their previous groups had ever managed to do.Fact|date=June 2007
Their first
album , "The Official Blues Band Bootleg Album", a mixture ofblues standards and originalsong s – notably the Jones-McGuinness composition "Come On In", and their long-standing stage favourite "Flatfoot Sam" - initially attracted no interest from major record companies, so they pressed a limited run of 3,000 themselves, hand-stamped theirlogo on the cardboard sleeve, and signed them all. After unqualified endorsement fromBBC Radio 1 presenterSimon Bates and others, media interest resulted in arecording contract withArista Records , who gave the album an official release.In 1982 Flint left, and was replaced by former Family drummer
Rob Townsend . They briefly disbanded later that year after recording alive album , "Bye Bye Blues", released in 1983, but reformed soon afterwards. They have remained a constant factor on the music scene ever since, unfazed by lack of chart success (after the first few years, as demonstrated below), happy to combine a regular schedule of touring and recording around their other commitments. More recent albums include "Back For More", "Homage", "Brassed Up", "Wire Less", "Fat City", and "Thank You Brother Ray", the last being a set ofcover version s ofRay Charles songs, recorded as a tribute.Jones, McGuinness and Townsend are also members of
The Manfreds , a virtual reincarnation of Manfred Mann, though because of the non-participation of the eponymous keyboard player of the 1960s outfit, legal reasons and courtesies require them to assume the name 'Manfreds'. Jones and Kelly sometimes play gigs as a duo, and Kelly performs with The Dave Kelly Band (generally The Blues Band without Jones).As the band themselves often joke, "The music industry doesn’t bother us and we don’t bother them."
Discography
Albums
* "The Official Blues Band Bootleg Album" (1979) No. 40 -
UK Albums Chart
* "Ready" (1980) No. 36
* "Itchy Feet" (1981) No. 60
* "Brand Loyalty" (1982)
* "Bye-Bye Blues" (1983)
* "These Kind of Blues" (1986)
* "Back for More" (1989)
* "Fat City" (1991)
* "Homage" (1993)
* "Wire Less" (1995)
* "Live at the BBC" (1996)
* "18 Years Old and Alive" (1996)
* "The Best of The Blues Band" (1999) - U.S. release only
* "Brassed Up" (1999)
* "Scratching on my Screen" (2001)
* "Green Stuff" (2001)
* "Stepping Out" (2002)
* "Be My Guest" (2003)
* "Thank You Brother Ray" (2005)cite book
first= David
last= Roberts
year= 2006
title= British Hit Singles & Albums
edition= 19th
publisher= Guinness World Records Limited
location= London
pages= p. 66
id= ISBN 1-904994-10-5]Chart EP
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