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Boom Boom, Boom Boom: American Rhythm & Blues in England 1962-1966 by Brian Smith

Boom Boom, Boom Boom: American Rhythm & Blues in England 1962-1966 by Brian Smith
Boom Boom, Boom Boom: American Rhythm & Blues in England 1962-1966 by Brian Smith
Note that I independently write and research everything in this article. But it may contain affiliate links.

Really looking forward to seeing this, not least because this, not least because Boom Boom, Boom Boom: American Rhythm & Blues in England 1962-1966 by Brian Smith will offer a fan’s eye view of the early-to-mid ‘60s blues scene.

Brian Smith was known as ‘the fan with the camera’ to venue owners in Manchester at the start of the 1960s, with his interest in the blues scene of the day resulting in some wonderful snaps of the big American blues musicians who played in Manchester.

He also attended the clubs on there day (including the Twisted Wheel) and became the main photographic contributor of the R&B Scene magazine from its birth to when it finally folded. That obviously means a rich archive, both of on-stage shots and more casual photos of the musicians away from the stage or in their dressing rooms.

The archive produced was ignored for many years (with Brian going back to his job in the tax office in Manchester), but is now available in this new book, the work of Easy on the Eye Books, co-produced with Mark Stratford, founder of reissue label RPM.

The images reproduced here come directly from surviving negatives and prints and include Johnny Guitar Watson, Big Joe Turner, Chuck Berry, Screaming Jay Hawkins, Little Richard, Bo Diddley, Jimmy Reed, Hubert Sumlin, Howlin Wolf, Buddy Guy, John Lee Hooker, The Rolling Stones, Carl Perkins and many more.

160 pages and out on 1st May 2015. You can pre-order one now for £15.58.

Find out more at the Amazon website

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