George Lamb Family and Friends

“I’ve been blown away, knocked for six, at the response to the album (Family & Friends) and I honestly never thought it would do so well.” As musicians go, north-east Blues stalwart, George Lamb, is both up there, and worked, with the best of them, having held his place in the industry since the Seventies. In the ensuing decades, and whilst working with numerous musicians, Lamb had done everything but one thing, release a solo album; the recent release of ‘Family & Friends’ has changed all of that, and then some. From ‘Southbound’ in the Seventies, to the present day with ‘George Sholvin and the Radars,’ Tyneside-born, Wearsider, Lamb, thought he’d seen and done it all though, especially having worked with, and performed alongside, the like of Keith Emerson, Jimmy Nail, Saxon, and the Eurythmics, to name a few. Even just a few years ago, in 2018, ‘George Sholvin and the Radars’ released the acclaimed album, ‘Nothing to Lose;’ but even through all of that success, he’s also bore witness to departing friends, and venues, along the way. The latter being, in part, responsible, for ‘Family & Friends,’ it springing to life during an era of global changes (2020-22). “I’m at a pensionable age now having reached 66 just a few months ago,” began George. “But, I’ve been playing, and writing music, and I’ve been in bands, since my childhood really. “Surprisingly though, I’d never actually released a solo album, until now, because, during covid, and those early lockdowns, I found

myself going a bit overboard, having bought myself a little recording set-up, and I ended up laying down more than fifty tracks. “But never in a million years did I think I’d do something like this, and I just wanted to, honestly, record some new music and, because a few good, close friends of mine passed away last year, whilst following on from a few glasses of red wine one night, I was just sat there thinking, why not. “With this album though, I ended up having to be quite ruthless really, so I’ve now probably got enough for a ‘Family & Friends II.’ “Knocking the tracks down, and having done so much work on it anyway, I then thought about getting, as the album title suggests, family and friends involved, so I sent out a load of messages, not expecting much of a reply – they all came back, surprisingly (to me at least) agreeing to do it.” Those eighteen, yes eighteen, fellow musicians, close family and friends, who joined George on his ‘Family & Friends’ album, are that of - Don Airey, Archie Brown, Jim Bullock, Phil Caffrey, Dave Ditchburn, Dean James, Veronica Kelly, Helen Moran, Moira Lamb, John Lamb, Philip Lamb, George Pallas, Shannon Pearl Powell, George Shovlin, Terry Slesser, Dave Smith, Paul Wilson, Emma Wilson. With a north-east connection right across the board, even the album artwork photography was taken by local, esteemed gig photographer in Christine Moore. “Christine (Moore) suggested to me recently that I’d actually chronicled some of the musical greats from the region down the years,” continued the Sunderland-based blues musician. “I never thought of it that way though, but there’s artists from Tyne, Tees, and Wear on there. “Musicians like George Sholvin, who is an inductee in the Blues Hall of Fame; Don Airey, from Sunderland, has played with some of the greats; Dean James, George Pallas, Dave Smith, they all get into The Palace; Archie Brown, he’s an orchestral musical wizard; Phil Airey is just great all-round; and Emma Wilson, she’s also an award winner from Teesside; and not forgetting my own siblings (eldest of six) as well, who are also really great singers.” Over the years though, and having already mentioned Lamb having been singing the blues since the Seventies, how does the artist himself see things; are there any highlights among what is seemingly a lot of highs. “I’ve worked with some great people though,” admitted the Jesmond-born artist. “There’s been people like Jimmy Nail, and Dave Stewart (Eurythmics), but all of it, the whole career really, has been somewhat

enjoyable and rather fun, whether I’m working with, or supporting, other artists. “If I had to choose though, then I’d say meeting Steve Cropper (Booker T & the M.G’s and the Blues Brothers) was the highlight for me, he’s a living legend.” “As for the band, now (with Sholvin), we tend to just do the festivals, and play some blues clubs around the country, so we’ll continue doing that. “We’ve got gigs already booked in for next year, at home, and abroad, so it’s looking good so far – we’ll always do what we can though, keep on performing, writing, and the sort. “This album though, it’s all just something that I’ve wanted to do, and to get it out of my system really.” For anything related to George Lamb and his blues music, visit his website via https://georgelambmusic.co.uk/ and check out his sounds via his YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@ georgelamb4649