The efforts of Chris Barber, Alexis Korner and others paved the way for American blues greats to visit Britain and Peter Greenbaum, from Bethnal Green, like many others of the post war 'baby boom' generation, developed an interest in the blues. Eric Clapton left the Bluesbreakers and John Mayall offered the job to Greenbaum, or rather, Peter Green.
Replacing Clapton couldn't have been an easy gig yet, in no time, Green, along with Mick Fleetwood, founded Fleetwood Mac and the rest, as they say, is history. To some there are two Fleetwood Macs - Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac and Fleetwood Mac. Green achieved fame, if not fortune, quit the band he co-founded, then left the music business, for many years struggling with mental health issues as his former band mates sought, and found, fortune.
Green resurfaced from time to time and in the nineties played his first indoor gigs in many years, the first of them at a sold-out South Shields' Cellar Club. Your correspondent was there that night and, in truth, the man was a shadow of his former self. Peter Green died today (July 25) at the age of just 73.
Russell
3 comments :
Sad news. A select breed of musicians have that indefinable something that makes them very special. It's in their touch, their feel, the deep emotion they convey. You can often respond to it in hearing just a few notes. Peter Green was one of them.
A one-off, he named his band after the drummer and bass player and, when the money came rolling in, he was set to spread it around when his peers changed their minds and started hoarding, and still are.
He was one of the few rock guitarists who attracted praise from their blues forebears, from BB to Joe Louis Walker though, for me, he only got his swagger on when he turned his attention to Hendrix and the Clapton of Cream, turning Fleetwood Mac into perhaps the missing link between them and Led Zeppelin.
He also played in Durham on his return tour, but I had no desire to see him a pale shadow of his former self - legend has it, it was the Grateful Dead's Jerry Garcia who delivered the acid that pickled his brain for the rest of his life - and I only really like three of their records, though Oh Well is absolutely one of the all-time greatest rock records ever made (Rattlesnake Shake and Green Manilishi are the others); but avoid the proto prog of the album version and head straight for the single off any compilation.
Such a talent up there with Clapton, Page , Hendrix in the guitar greats so sad he had the breakdown at a time when he was gaining the richly deserved recognition afforded to the greats. He had such a clean style of playing , he had some success after that enforced break with Splinter playing smaller venues unlike the huge arenas Mac went on to play . I don't know but I imagine he preferred those intimate venues . A very sad loss
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