“They play blues in the same way Brando used to straddle a Triumph…. lazily, cocksure, coolly and aggressive” …Blues & Rhythm

Movinmusic is pleased to announce that it is now working with Paul Lamb and the King Snakes. Interested promoters and venue owners contact us on 0044 (0)1209 860067 or at: mike@movinmusic.co.uk.

All photos on these Paul Lamb and the King Snakes pages by and courtesy of Artur Radecki.

OK, we all know the stuff that turns up in biographies, is empty and meaningless because it's all been said before. So, let's talk plainly about Paul Lamb & The King Snakes, the best blues band in Britain.

It didn't happen suddenly. It took years of hard work and application, unfashionable words that signify little in these days of instant fame. As Paul can tell you, he and his band have done their individual time, made their mistakes, applied what they've learned, focused on their musicianship and the results are passed on to audiences that flock to their gigs. They in turn are guaranteed to enjoy genuine music performed with skill and mutual encouragement. It's a simple but sure formula.

Right now, the King Snakes are a refreshing mixture of (relative) youth and experience. The experience starting at the top, for Paul Lamb has spent the last thirty-some years whoopin' and hollerin' in clubs in his native North-East plus a later move to London, in concert and on festival stages, creating a personal synthesis of his harmonica heroes and his own unique and innate talent. His history includes representing Britain in the World Harmonica Championships, working with his particular mentor, Sonny Terry, and with any number of other blues artists who've visited these shores.

The original band Smokestack Lightning started in 1979 and metamorphosed through Barfly, then into the Blues Burglars. The Burglars made their recording debut, Breaking In, for Red Lightnin' in 1986.

Down in London the next incarnation was as the Paul Lamb Blues Band, with Rod Demick on bass and (for a while) ex-Yardbird Jim McCarty on drums, plus long term associate John Whitehill on lead guitar . However, it was as Paul Lamb and the King Snakes that they cut their album for Blue Horizon (CDBLUH 011).

It was this dedication to his craft ,that began to pay off, for this was the year that Paul was voted Instrumentalist Of The Year by the British Blues Connection, an accolade that would be his for six successive years, the band were UK Blues Band Of The Year for this and the next two years (and again in 1997 and 1998), while their Blue Horizon album became 1991 UK Album Of The Year, the first of several such awards.

Shifting Into Gear, an album recorded in Denmark, was issued in 1992 in Belgium by Tight & Juicy. It was later released in England, as part of the King Snakes' recording deal with Indigo Records. A remarkable period ensued, as Paul and the band picked up regular performance awards from the BBC. Nor were their albums ignored: Fine Condition (IGOCD 2019) was 1996 UK Album of the Year, She's a Killer (IGOXCD 503) ditto '97 and Take Your Time and Get It Right again in 2001.

In between came the reissue of Shifting Into Gear (IGOXCD 504), John Henry Jumps In (IGOXCD 512), The Blue Album (IGOXCD 521) and Whoopin', the reissue of Breaking In, (IGOXCD 522). Two further releases appeared on the Sanctuary label, Live at The 100 Club 14th May 2002 (IGOFCD 2517) and Harmonica Man (CMEDD 701), an anthology of all that had gone before, including the title track, Paul's single as 'Bravado' for Pete Waterman's Peach label.

There's a deal of experience behind vocalist and rhythm guitarist Chad Strentz, too. He started out as a rockabilly hound, encouraged by the wilder excesses of Gene Vincent, Johnny Burnette and Mac Curtis, with some Elvis and Little Richard in there for extra relish. He was in a string of bands from the age of 15, including the Skat Katz, Cat Talk and Shout Sister Shout, all of which broadened his appreciation to include Bo Diddley and Junior Parker, alongside Sam Cooke, Jackie Wilson and Wilson Pickett. He joined the King Snakes in 1991, in time to make significant contributions to their award-winning sequence of albums and to enjoy the acclaim the band received throughout Britain and Europe. During a sabbatical taken in 1999, he formed Breakout Blues with Pete Farugia, and then recorded and toured with the Big Town Playboys. Now, with batteries recharged, he's back centre stage with the King Snakes.

But if you want to talk experience, take a long listen to bass player and vocalist Rod Demick. He formed his first group, the Vibros, when he was eleven and later graduated to Wheels, the only R&B competition in Belfast for Van Morrison and Them. That band came to London and cut three singles for Columbia before breaking up in 1967. For a short while, he and lead guitarist Herbie Armstrong became the James Brothers. Like many others at the time, after seeing Eric Clapton, Peter Green and Jimi Hendrix in short order, Rod switched from guitar to bass, a move that ultimately served him well. In the ensuing decades, he's been a major part of Demick Armstrong and a member of Bees Make Honey, Meal Ticket, Yellow Dog, the David Essex Band and the Strawbs. He encountered Paul and Johnny Whitehill soon after their arrival in London and became an early recruit for the Paul Lamb Blues Band and became a King Snake four years ago.

The youngest member Ryan “Junior” Lamb having the legendary harmonica player, Mr Paul Lamb, as his father, you could say he was born to play the blues. However make no mistake - it's because of his outstanding guitar talent, rather than nepotism that landed Junior the job of lead guitarist in the King Snakes in 2007.

Mike Thorne the latest recruit has packed a lot of experience into his years as a musician. Raised on the Blues by his dad Phil (also a musician) in a house where any music post 1959 was frowned upon, Mike started playing drums aged nine when he fell in love with the grooves and shuffles of Odie Payne, S.P. Leary, Fred Below and Earl Palmer. Mike worked with Jerimiah Marques (10 years and counting!), West Weston’s Bluesonics and the Big Town Playboys before he joined the King Snakes in 2009.

Life constantly renews itself. Paul Lamb and the King Snakes are beginning a new chapter in their ongoing history. New challenges will present themselves and new achievements will strengthen and broaden their appeal to audiences that can distinguish between the manufactured and the real. In a world where the blues is in danger of becoming merely a flavor in a mess of potage, Paul Lamb and the King Snakes stand as a bastion of true blues endeavor.

ain’t that the truth at the truth? ... Neil Slaven

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