Michael Littlefield (guitar, vocals); Scott Taylor (harmonica, vocals); Dom Hornsby (piano, guitar, vocals); Ted Harbot (double bass); Giles Holt (drums)
It's been thirty years. Thirty years since the Tyne Bar changed hands. From day one rhythm and blues has been a key element of the weekly entertainment down in the Ouseburn. It's been raining cats and dogs for days, if not weeks, on end. Would the Wimbledon Men's Singles Final and the looming Euro 24 finale on tv deter the Tyne Bar regulars? Not a chance! The place was jam-packed. They were there to listen to the Lounge Lizards (the first band to play the pub way back when) and, first up, King Bees.
Michael Littlefield and Scott Taylor the frontmen, Dom Hornsby piano and rhythm guitar, and the sublime bass and drums pairing of Ted Harbot and Giles Holt, that's King Bees. Chicago blues classics came thick and fast - I'm in Love with You Baby (Otis Spann), I Don't Know, confessed harp maestro Taylor, audience favourite My Babe hit a groove, Keep it to Yourself (Howling Wolf) pleaded Taylor, Walking By Myself sang Littlefield. All by the best blues band in town.
More from Taylor (Just a Feeling), more from Littlefield (Otis Rush's Sit Down Baby), guitar and harmonica respectively couldn't be bettered. The absolute gem of King Bees' one long set (ninety minutes) came as Michael Littlefield picked up his Fender Telecaster to play magnificent bottleneck on Muddy Waters' Honey Bee. As good as anything you're likely to hear.
To close out their set, King Bees had some fun on Caldonia, plus a well deserved encore, Got My Mojo Working. The best blues band in town? No, quite simply the best blues band anywhere from the Ouseburn Delta to Chicago's South Side. Russell
No comments :
Post a Comment