Cambridge Rock Festival Sunday 19th August 2007 "Black Cat Bone Part 2"
Cambridge Rock Festival 2007 "Little By Little"
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plain myspace layoutsJOHN O'LEARY was one of the earliest blues harp players in the UK. Originally from the town of Clonakilty in Ireland, John's family settled in London in 1955. It was here in London's thriving jazz clubs of the 1960's that he first heard harp player Cyril Davies with Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated. Aged 17, John bought his first instrument in 1962 (a Hohner Echo Super Vanper) and learned by listening and watching Cyril. Inevitably he discovered the great masters of the blues harmonica; John Lee Williamson, Sonny Terry, Little Walter, Noah Lewis, James Cotton, Shakey Horton and Junior Wells.
At this time and during the Blues/Rock explosion which came in the late 60's there were very few British harp players around. The major push in the Brit blues movement came from the many talented guitarists.
SAVOY BROWN'S BLUES BAND
John's career began with SAVOY BROWN'S BLUES BAND who are still recording and touring today. John met guitarist Kim Simmonds outside Transat Imports Record Shop in Soho one Saturday morning and immediately they became friends and together were the founding fathers of Savoy Brown. Soon, the other members Bric Portious (vocals), Bob Hall (piano), Ray Chappell (bass) and Leo Mannings (drums) were recruited. Savoy Brown became a favourite on the London club scene playing at venues such as The Marquee, The Flamingo, The Speakeasy, Scotch of St. James, Blazes and the Eel Pie Island.
However, in the beginning John says "We couldn't get any bookings and the only solution was open our own club at a pub called The Nag's Head (built 1881), 205 York Road, Battersea and we named it Kilroy's. We went around London in the early hours of the mornings putting up our own bill posters and so we created our own audience". Eventually the club was run by Mike Vernon and the club (renamed The Blue Horizon Club) paid host to the great FREDDY KING on his first visit to England. Other UK blues bands such as Fleetwood Mac and Chicken Shack and Duster Bennett followed in their footsteps and played there too!
The band graduated very quickly from being an opening act for John Mayall's Blues Breakers and Cream and began to tour up and down the country and headline in their own right.
Of the recordings John did with Savoy Brown "I Can't Quit You baby" b/w "I Tried" were released as a single on Vernon's Purdah label and these along with "True Blue" and "Cold Blooded Woman" were released on "Blues Anytime Vol. 1 & 2" on Andrew Loog Oldham's Immediate label. Further recordings in 1967 for Decca were never released. Following a dispute with the band's manager Harry Simmonds, John left the band in 1967.
THE JOHN DUMMER BLUES BAND
After his departure from Savoy Brown in 1967, John joined the new John Dummer Blues Band. The band had Dave Kelly (gtr/vocals), John (harp), Bob Hall (piano), Thumper Thompson (bass) and Dummer on drums. Shortly afterwards Hall left and he was replaced by guitarist Tony McPhee from The Groundhogs. Dave's sister Joanne would also gig regularly with band. The band was signed to Mercury and they released a single "Travellin' Man" b/w "Forty Days" along with the album "Cabal". For the album Steve Miller was added on piano and Keith Tillman on bass. The "Cabal" album was reissued on CD on the See For Miles label.
SWEET PAIN SESSIONS
Whilst John was signed to Mercury he became great friends with John Mayall's bass player Keith Tillman (Diary of a Band) and together they organised the now legendary "SWEET PAIN SESSIONS". "Hot and heavy" is how the Melody Maker described the resulting album. This was also John's opportunity to make good friends with some musicians who would in the future become mates in subsequent bands. The album featured the late great Dick Heckstall-Smith (tenor/soprano sax), Victor Brox (piano/trumpet), John (harp), Victor's wife Annette Brox (vocals), Stuart Cowell (gtr) Keith Tillman (bass) and Aynsley Dunbar (drums). At the time of these recording they were all members of the Bluesbreakers, Blues Inc., and The Retaliation and although it was hoped that Sweet Pain would tour the already heavy commitments of the musicians would make it impossible.
CHAMPION JACK DUPREE
After the release of the "SWEET PAIN" album in 1968, Victor invited John to record with the great New Orleans singer/pianist CHAMPION JACK DUPREE. This was a particlarly happy occasion and gave John a chance to renew his friendship with Jack which began in his Savoy Brown days. Jack used to refer to him as "the best harp player since Sonny Boy Williamson". The resulting album "The Heart of The Blues is Sound" was released on the French Byg label. The album also benefits enormously from the drums of Aynsley Dunbar! Although the album is no longer available it was reissued on CD as "Home" on the now defunct Charly label. One of the curious errors on the record sleeve was the omission of John's name as the harp player. Instead, Victor Brox was credited as being the harp player!
BRUNNING/HALL SUNFLOWER BLUES BAND
Following a short lived (no work permits) attempt by the former Paul Butterfield bassist Jerome Arnold to form a band in the UK, pianist Bob Hall got in touch with John and invited him to join The Sunflower Blues Band which Bob was reforming. Bob had been in and out of Savoy Brown for a couple of years and wanted to do something of his own. The band brought John together with Leo Mannings (drums/Savoy Brown) and they were joined by bassist Bob Brunning (Fleetwood Mac/Savoy Brown) and singer/guitarist Pat Glover. An album was recorded for the Gemini label before John decided to concentrate more on family life and running a gas filling station in Lifton on Devon/Cornish borders.
THE FAMOUS BLUES BLASTERS
During the next few years John continued his friendship with bassist Keith Tillman and in the late 1970's they joined forces once again and put together The Famous Blues Blasters. The Blues Blasters, named in honour of Jimmy McCracklin, brought together the main elements of Sweet Pain and included Dick Heckstall-Smith (tenor/soprano sax), Victor Brox (vocal/piano/trumpet) and guitarist Kenny Shaw from the jazz/rock group Nucleus. Over the next few years the band concentrated on gigs around the London area and built up a good enough following to make it was possible for the band to go fully professional. The name was changed and The Famous Bluesblasters became Mainsqueeze.
MAINSQUEEZE
The new management company wanted to create an all-star line up with Mainsqueeze. Only John, Dick, Victor and Keith remained in the new band. Guitarist Eric Bell from Thin Lizzy was brought in along with drummer
Keef Hartley (ex Bluesbreakers/Keef Hartley Band), organist Dave 'Munch' Moore (No Dice/Keef Hartley Band) and the then relatively unknown singer and alto saxophonist Diana Wood auditioned to complete the new line up. Mainsqueeze toured extensively in Europe to appreciative audiences. The band played The Hammersmith Odeon and did a residency at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in London. The album "Live at Ronnie Scott's" was released on the new Expulsion label and received good reviews in the broadsheet newspapers (The Times and The Guardian) and the music press. TV appearances and a radio broadcast on Radio Bremen followed. In spite of it's success, the early 1980's was a very difficult period for anyone playing blues ( it was a time when disco and punk ruled) and the expense of keeping an 8 piece band on the road began to tell. The band fragmented in 1984 with a rump version of the band continuing under Keith Tillman's leadership. Highlights included a tour with James Cotton and also album and tour with Bo Diddley.
THE WILDERNESS YEARS
During the years since Mainsqueeze and until around 2000, John continued to play with numerous local bands in the London area. Some of these names will hardly be familiar to many but they did allow him to keep playing. However, a highlight of this period was a show at The Marquee in memory of Rolling Stone Brian Jones on the 25th Anniversary of Brian's death. He had the opportunity to play with Donovan, Marianne Faithfull, Noel Redding and old friend Eric Bell. Some of the other bands he played with during these years include The Chicago Sunsets (now The Eric Bell Band), The Sidewinders, and so on until he became involved with the then 13 year old guitarist, Andy Cortes. John fronted Andy's band until around 2001 and left following his last appearance with Andy at The Isle of Wight Blues Festival
POINTBLANK BLUES BAND
For John, one of the most important recent events was in being introduced by his friends in Yugoslavia (Dusko & Slavica Markovic) to Dr. Project Pointblank Blues Band. John played harp on their album "Blue Deal" and returned again a few months later to record his own album "As Blue As I Can Be" with them backing him up. The album was released on the ITMM label in Belgrade and featured him for the first time singing. During his periods in Yugoslavia John appeared on radio & tv and live shows andJ has since guested on another Pointblank album "Eight Blue Balls". There is little doubt that without the help received from all concerned in Yugoslavia John would not have returned full time to the music scene.
DAVE WALKER
Singer DAVE WALKER was the voice of Savoy Brown for many years and after a long period of self isolation in Montana has recently staged a return to the blues with the release of his album "Mostly Sonny Boy". John was featured on many of the tracks on "Mostly Sonny Boy" which include old favourites like "Don't Start Me To talking" and "Help Me". Whilst Dave was in London for these sessions he also recorded the Savoy Brown song "I'M TIRED" for John's album "SINS".
THE JOHN O'LEARY BAND
On his return from Yugoslavia, John formed THE JOHN O'LEARY BAND. The band features the extraordinary talents of Jules Fothergill (guitar), Roger Inniss (bass), Jools Grudgings (keyboards) and Wayne Proctor (drums). The band has been described by Blues Matters "as blues harp meets The Maharvishnu Orchestra". The band continues to record and tour. A new live CD recorded at Mr. Kyps in Poole is also planned for
release in 2009.
BOOKINGS
UK
MOVIN' MUSIC
PO Box 38. Penryn. Cornwall. TR10 3YD
Tel/Fax: 01209 860067.
Email:
[email protected] Web: -www.movinmusic.co.uk.
Email:-
[email protected] or
[email protected] GERMANY - ITALY - SWITZERLAND
LIVE SOUND AGENCY
Tel: - (0049) (0) 170 20 49 104
Email: -
[email protected]Web: - www.livesoundagency.com
USA
WORLDWIDE TALENT MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATES
3950 N. Lake Shore Dr. 2310
Chicago, IL 60613
USA
Tel: +01 847.401.4412
Web: -www.worldwidetalentmanagementassociates.com
LATEST REVIEWS
THE TIMES NEWSPAPER
Weds. 9th January 2008
Junior Wells Tribute Show: Ten Years Gone
".....O'Leary was simply superb. Bearing down on the reeds with such powerful, precise tone on numbers such as 'Snatch It Back & Hold It' and 'Checking On My Baby', he lifted the performance to a higher level every time he took to the stage..." David Sinclair.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE JOHN O'LEARY BAND AND IT'S ACTIVITIES PLEASE GO TO THE JOHN O'LEARY MYSPACE PAGE OR THE THE WEBSITE AT http://www.johnolearyband.com or the band's myspace page at www.myspace.com/johnolearyband .
The Roadhouse, Birmingham 2006 "Snatch Back & Hold It Part 2"
