mickclarke.com



Live Reviews..


ROCKING THE BLUES FESTIVAL, TRING 12/3/2005    (BLUES IN BRITAIN MAGAZINE)

...the Mick Clarke Band took to the stage and things moved up a gear with their have a good time rockin blues, kicking off with Mick Clarke's Cheap. This is a chugging shuffle with a big riff followed by the swinging Looking for Trouble from the recent Live in Luxembourg cd. Cooling the tempo for a few minutes with a James Cotton slow blues Love Me Or Leave Me and back up with some rockin' slide guitar on London Town, originally on Mick's last studio cd New Mountain. Mick Clarke really does put his all into every show and this was no exception. He knows how to have a good time and this is infectious, spreading through the audience and his band of seasoned musicians in the shape of ex Sassafrass drummer Chris Sharley, Dave Rea on bass and Dave (ex Blodwyn Pig, Ginger Baker and loads more) Lennox on keyboards. Mick Clarke showed his appreciation of Rory Gallagher with a Rory style slide guitar version of Muddy Waters I Wonder Who (Rory would have definitely approved). Then all hell was let loose as Mick broke a string, changed guitar and his strap came off and his amp temporarily packed up. But you need more than this to put a good guitarist down and the Mick Clarke Band finished with a Willie Dixon fast boogie style You Need Love and finally the slide came out for a fast rocking version of Chuck Berry's Don't You Lie To Me Wow





BANK HOLIDAY BLUES SUNDAY @The Stables, Milton Keynes 27/3/2005    (BLUES MATTERS! MAGAZINE)

. Featuring: Mick Clarke Band, Ian Siegal, Gwyn Ashton, Marcus Malone. The Stables have come up with a cracking package for this Easter Sunday (should've had Blues at Ten but I think they fell out with each other). I was a bit late and unfortunately missed most of Mick Clarke's set but what I did catch gave me a good indication of what a fine band (drums, bass, keys and guitar) Mick has. Muddy's Trouble After A While is the first tune I caught and Muddy's soul was there in Mick's slide playing. The other tune was a fine boogie; Lie to Me had Mick again in fine guitaring form. To Mick's credit though he still signed my Killing Floor album cover after promising faithfully to catch a full set next time.

Al Tait





THE ANTELOPE, HIGH WYCOMBE 7/1/2003    (BLUES IN BRITAIN MAGAZINE)

So, I'm driving home. It's nearly midnight and 2 degrees below zero. And I have to ask myself, was it worth it?

Is the earth round!

Just after 9pm, MICK CLARKE and his band kicked off the proceedings with a loose jam that soon developed into the old Junior Parker song "These Kind of Blues". That thundered straight into "Looking for Trouble", a fast shuffle from his first album. This was all it took to get the packed room at the Antelope rocking - it didn't matter how hard people tried, they just couldn't keep their hands and feet still.

This was one of a rare number of British performances that the band are playing and it progressed with a tight mix of shuffles, rocking blues and slow numbers, including a new version of the James Cotton song "Love Me or Leave Me", given a powerful blues/rock feel. The line-up features keyboard player DAVE LENNOX who has worked with the likes of Ginger Baker and Blodwyn Pig in the past, EDDIE MASTER on bass, and CHRIS SHARLEY powering the band along on the drums. Throughout the evening, Mick switched between his trademark Gibson SG and a Fender Strat for slide work.

One of the highlights of the evening was the band's slowed down version of the Muddy Waters song "You Gonna Miss Me". Given a minor key treatment this song really smouldered with some superb soloing from Mick and Dave. The track can be found on Mick's current release "Live in Luxembourg" which is available from Mick's website (www.mickclarke.com).

All too soon we reached the end, but not before Mick and the boys sucked the audience into the performance with "Don't You Lie to Me" and left them calling for more. Ah for the onset of 24 hour pub opening, but home we had to go. So was it worth it? I doubt anyone there would say anything but yes. But the best way to find out is to catch them for yourselves - I'm sure I overheard Mick and the pub manager arranging another date in April, but I'd keep an eye on his web site to be sure.





THE TOLBOOTH, STIRLING, SCOTLAND 20/3/2004    (BLUESMATTERS! MAGAZINE)

This was my first visit to the historic Stirling Tolbooth, which has recently been revamped as an Arts Centre. Situated in the old town close to the castle,it is an impressive, modern and intimate venue. A good mixed crowd of about 80 odd turned out, which is probably about half the capacity, for a rare blues gig in the city. Veteran UK blues rock guitarist Mick Clarke and his band put on two 45 minute sets of tasteful guitar led rock and blues. The volume was at a reasonable level allowing the quality as well as the power of the playing to shine on a mixture of slow blues and rockers.

The interaction between guitar and keyboards on several numbers was a treat. My only minor criticism was that the vocals were a bit lost in the mix. The mixture of originals and interpretations of standards was well received by the appreciative yet somewhat subdued audience . The Tolbooth is a much needed venue for music gigs in Stirling, so let's hope it can be well supported and more blues acts be attracted. Neil Davidson





"Excellent, Excellent British Guitarist"
Living Blues Magazine (USA)

"Clarke proves that he can hold his own among todays blues rock stars"
Blues Revue (USA)

"One of the finest blues players to come out of England"
The Southern California Blues Society, Los Angeles, California

"The ultimate tip for all blues brothers"
Metal Hammer Magazine, Germany

"Clarke has "The Tone" most guitarists search for like the Holy Grail"
The River Reporter, Narrowsburg, N.Y.

"A lethal mixture of people like Rory Gallagher, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Roy Buchanan, Albert Collins etc."
Deuce Magazine, Switzerland

"Smashing guitar work"
Blueprint Magazine, England

"Clarke chews off big, gritty chunks of the blues with his guitar style,thick, timeless and true"
Willamette Week, Portland, Oregon

"Raw,Roadhouse blues and boogie (from) ace blues guitar hero"
Time Out, London

"A journeyman musician who always delivers the goods"
Rock'n'Reel Magazine, (USA)

"Exciting guitar and great compositions"
Buscadero, Italy

"A hot guitarist with a good ear for material and a tight band"
L.A.Reader, Los Angeles, California

"this band knows what the blues is all about"
Blues Bytes(USA)

"Mick Clarke came on like a steamroller out of control...a burning night of electric blues"
Cascade Blues Society, (USA)

"The man holds back nothing and gets his audience involved from the start"
Positively Entertainment, Portland, Oregon

"Some of the hardest rocking blues you'll ever get a chance to shake a leg to"
Detroits Magazine, Olympia, Washington

..a guitarist who's qualities of passion and consistency have never been compromised by changing fads or the slightest suggestion of a Hendrix/SRV fixation
Soundcheck Magazine, London

"A premier British blues guitarist"
Music City Blues, (USA)



Features

Interview with Bobtjeblues

Anybody who's familiar with bluesrock must have heard of Mick Clarke out of London. Without any doubt he's one of the top guitarists in his style, having build a record of achievements to make others dream of. It all started back in '68 with the legendary Killing Floor with whom he released two albums: Killing Floor ('69) and Out of Uranus ('70). Killing Floor produced a mix of rock influences and traditional Chicago blues and lasted only four years. After that, there was Toefat (with R & B singer Cliff Bennett) and the American based band Daddy Longlegs. Later, Mick worked together with some ex members of Roxy Music and in the mid seventies he started another bluesrock band, named Salt. Mick moved to Los Angeles for about one year, but in the beginning of the eighties, he finally got his own Mick Clarke Band with whom he continues to play. And now, 32 years after the beginning, there's Killing Floor again with the CD Zero Tolerance. Time for some questions.

Bob: Thirty two years ago, you started with Killing Floor. How was it in those days?

Mick: In those days the blues was something very rare..... it was difficult to find blues records or see blues bands. We felt that there were just a few of us who understood and appreciated the music... a kind of secret society of blues fans. We used to go to the "Blue Horizon" club at the Nags Head pub in Battersea, South London. It was organised by Mike Vernon, the producer, and bands featured were Fleetwood Mac, Savoy Brown, Chicken Shack and so on. You could watch the young Peter Green from just a few feet away. Or we'd see Cream or the Jeff Beck Group at the Marquee club. Magic days. So it was natural for us to form a blues band... Killing Floor. And at that time it was becoming the new trend; It became very "in" to play the blues. So it was a good time... there were many club gigs and radio and even TV slots. We made two albums and worked hard. Ultimately Killing Floor never made it to the big time, but we were definitely a part of that 60's "blues boom". Paul Kossof and Simon Kirke from the band Free jammed with us one time, Alexis Korner another time. And Robert Plant wanted to jam one night but we wouldn't let him! We'd finished the gig and were packing up to go home!

Bob: Killing Floor acted as a support band for Texan blues legend Freddie King. Tell us about this experience.

Mick: That was great! At that time a London agent was bringing a lot of American blues acts over, and he needed backing groups. We got the job of backing Freddie King! Wow! We knew Freddie from his records - he was already a legend. Also, I'd already seen him on his first tour, and I was blown away. He had so much energy and presence on stage... he was a really charismatic performer. Then we had a gig on the same bill, at Klooks Kleek in London, so we met him that night, though we couldn't understand a word through his thick Texas accent! He flew in from Dallas for the tour and we had a quick rehearsal... the next day we were on the road with him. Every gig was great. He was a real professional who always knew how to win over an audience. It was a real education for me... In fact at the end of his tour I bought his guitar from him. Because of his style, playing with two metal fingerpicks, he tended to wear a hole in his guitar beneath the strings, so he liked to change his guitar regularly. He sold me his guitar and bought a new one when he got back to New York. As it turned out I couldn't play it! Just wasn't right for me, so I swapped it for my present guitar, the SG. Freddie came back for another tour and wanted to know where his guitar had gone!

Bob: Was that how you got involved with Otis Spann and Howlin' Wolf?

Mick: During the two tours that we did with Freddie, we also played concerts with Otis Spann, Howlin Wolf and Arthur Big Boy Crudup, the guy who wrote a couple of Elvis Presley's early hits. Spann was a lovely gentle man, usually pissed and with a couple of "friends" in tow. We went to a party with him where he jammed with Lou Martin. Howlin' Wolf was a gigantic personality in every way. His stage presence was phenomenal. One night he jammed with Freddie and Killing Floor and played "Smokestack Lightning". Fantastic.

Bob: There were two albums with Killing Floor, Killing Floor ('69) and Out of Uranus ('70). I was too young at the time, so you'll have to tell me about those.

Mick: The first album was really a collection of our stage material... Chicago blues classics which we had re-arranged in our own style. However, the producer quickly told us that all the songs had to be original, for publishing reasons, so we re-wrote them in the studio! In fact Bill, the singer, re-wrote them in the studio toilet! It was an exciting album, but chaotic. We were very young, (I was 18) and we had no studio experience. There are a lot of mistakes and errors of judgement on the record, but still it's exciting and powerful music. The second album "Out of Uranus" was recorded only a year later, but we were a quite different band. The "blues boom" was over in England... trends come and go fast! We'd been touring around Europe playing in clubs in Germany and Switzerland, and we rehearsed for the album during a six week residency in the South of France. By then we were a four piece band and were going for a more "progressive" style of blues, so the album has a quite different feel to the first one. Now it sounds a bit dated to that period, but it's still an interesting album and exciting in places.

Bob: The single Call For The Politicians caused quite some reactions. Why was that?

Mick: Call for the Politicians was a kind of lightweight "bubblegum" type rockin' pop song - a definite attempt at a chart hit! But Bill wrote quite a powerful lyric for it, calling for the politicians who he felt were responsible for most of the world's ills, which gave it more gravitas. In England it was accepted as a straight pop song, and "bubbled under" the national charts for a while, but in Europe, particularly in Germany, people took the lyric much more seriously and bought it for its political comment. It sold well.

Bob: Then there was Toefat, with R & B singer Cliff Bennett. How did this happen?

Mick: Lou Martin had done some work with Cliff, and introduced him to Killing Floor. Cliff was and is a fantastic singer. He was looking for a group to be the new version of his band Toefat, and we fitted the bill. This was Lou, myself, Mick Hawksworth on bass (also played with Ten years Later) and Tony Fernandez (Rick Wakeman) on drums. Lou left almost immediately to work with Rory Gallagher, but with Lynton Naiff on keyboards we worked for about half a year with Cliff, touring constantly. It was a busy time, and it was a good band, but we never got the record deal we were looking for, and eventually broke up.

Bob: After having worked with some ex members of Roxy Music, you started Salt. Tell us more about that..

Mick: For a while I didn't know what to do, and played with all kinds of bands. Really anybody who would pay me wage! That included a band organised by an ex Roxy music bass player .. but we only ever rehearsed! There were other bands like that... just rehearsing and getting a wage from some big record company. I also played country and western music with a band in the East End of London. At least I was out doing gigs, and I enjoyed the music. But I had to wear a western style "bootlace tie" with a replica six-gun on it. It wasn't really my thing! Then I met Stevie Smith, the singer / harp player, and we really hit it off. We formed the band SALT with Mac from Killing Floor, and the band took off really fast. It was a very exciting and powerful act. We had a strong following at clubs such as the Marquee and Dingwalls, and toured all over the country playing at the colleges and universities. In 1977 we played at the Reading Festival, and also opened for Muddy Waters at his big London concert at the "New Victoria" theatre. Great days!

Bob: Why did you move to Los Angeles?

Mick: By the end of the seventies punk music was really taking over in England, and bands such as SALT had no chance of getting record deals or playing the big venues. I decided to check out the American scene and moved there for the whole of 1979. It was a very strange and interesting experience for me, but ultimately I could not find a new career there. I nearly joined the pop group "Badfinger" at one point, and then went on to form my own blues band.

Bob: And why did you return and continue with Salt?

Mick: In the end I missed the London scene too much, and moved back, to continue working with Steve in a new version of SALT.

Bob: With the Mick Clarke Band, you got a lot of success. Five American tours, many albums, the press comments were very positive. The combination worked for yourself as well for the band and the audience. How do you explain this success?

Mick: When I first formed the Mick Clarke Band I naturally looked for work in my home town, London. I got a few pub and club gigs, but could not really get much happening. Then I started to get requests from Europe to play club and festivals dates... mainly from Holland, Italy and Belgium. One of my first big dates was the Belgium R&B Festival in Peer in 1983 with Robert Cray and the Fabulous Thunderbirds. Immediately I was aware of a different reaction from the audience... the European fans were really excited about the music and were buying the album far more than in England. Next I had an offer from America and went to Portland Oregon to start a club tour. Again, I got a tremendous reaction and soon built a strong following in the area of the Pacific North West. We played dates with Canned Heat, Johnny Winter and many others and it was a very exciting time. We toured there five times altogether, but by then we were becoming more well known in Central Europe, Switzerland and Germany, so from that time on I concentrated more on work in Europe. During that last tour we fixed up a deal with Burnside Records, which meant that our albums continued to be well distributed in America. I don't know why, but European and American audiences seemed to really understand what I was doing with my own band, although I must say that my English following has steadily grown and I have many friends over here now.

Bob: Anyway, after 32 years you decide to go back to the past and start all over again with Killing Floor. Isn't this strange?

Mick: Very strange! I was speaking to Franco Ratti at Appaloosa Records in Milan who had been responsible for my first three solo records. He asked me why I had never made a Killing Floor re-union album. I laughed! It seemed so long ago.. another age. I hadn't seen some of the guys for 20 years or more. However it was an interesting idea.

Bob: I suppose it wasn't easy to convince the others to work together again?

Mick: It was incredibly easy! It seemed they were just waiting for the phone call! Although the singer, Bill, had not played in bands for thirty years, he had been writing songs at home and keeping a keen interest in blues music, so he was all ready for a new project. Mac the bass player had never forgotten his Killing Floor days, and Lou Martin had been working with me regularly on my albums, as well as working with bands such as Blues 'n' Trouble. The drummer Bazz had moved to Switzerland, and we couldn't find him, so we brought in Chris Sharley, who is a great drummer anyway. Bazz eventually showed up and played on two tracks of the album.

Bob: The debut album from The Mick Clarke Band, Looking For Trouble as well as the new album Zero Tolerance are on the Italian Appaloosa label. Apparently, there's a link between them and you?

Mick: The head of the company, Mr.Franco Ratti was always a Killing Floor fan, which is partly why he was interested in Mick Clarke in the first place. He has been a great help in my career as a solo artist and as a member of Killing Floor.

Bob: Tell us more about your friendship with Bill Thorndycraft who's never far away in your life. On Zero Tolerance, there are only two covers who not have been written by the both of you.

Mick: When we were working together in the original Killing Floor we were always good friends, and I spent many enjoyable afternoons and evenings visiting Bill and listening to the latest blues and rock albums, anything from Canned Heat or Ry Cooder to Captain Beefheart!
I lost touch with him almost completely over the years, but kept in touch because the Killing Floor albums were always on release, and occasionally royalty cheques would come in! When we got together again to work on "Zero Tolerance" we found that our friendship just carried on as if it had never been interrupted, despite the fact that we were both thirty years older! We both like raw powerful blues.. real dirty Chicago blues or Delta stuff. That's the important thing. Bill also contributes interesting lyrics to our songs... he likes to write about important issues such as political or sociological themes. We're a good team.

Bob: What will happen next, continue with The Mick Clarke Band, or will it be Killing Floor?

Mick: I'm completely committed to my solo career, so it's most definitely the Mick Clarke Band. However, Killing Floor is available for offers. If we're offered the right dates at the right price, there may well be some new Killing Floor concerts in the future.

Bob: Allright Mick, thanks for the interview!









Interview with Monte Atkison The Blues Stalker

Blues Stalker: Mick, I read that you were born in London in 1950 and brought up in Wimbledon and that seeing Eric Clapton in 1965 changed your life forever. Tell us about that.

Mick Clarke: Yes that's right, son of a newsagent in the backstreets. Later we moved to the suburbs and I went to quite a good school, Rutlish. One year they invited John Mayall's Bluesbreakers to play at the school fete - featuring Eric Clapton! They played in a marquee in the sports ground right next to our house and it was a magic night. First time I saw a Les Paul guitar. I was fifteen and impressionable� I walked around dressed the way Clapton had for years!

BS: You formed your first band "Killing Floor" in 1968 and backed Freddie King on his U.K. tour. What was that like? What musicians did you get to jam with while touring with Freddie?

MC: We were lucky because around that time there were a lot of bluesmen being brought over from the States, and they all needed backing bands. Our manager got in touch with the agent, and originally we were set up to back Jimmy Witherspoon. This got changed to Freddie King! Freddie was a lovely man, a great guitarist and singer and a fantastic showman. He always had a great rapport with the audience, winning them over immediately with his warm smile. We never knew what songs we were about to play� he'd just shout the key then 1..2..3... and off we'd go. He was a total professional and I learned a lot from him.

During the tours with Freddie we shared concerts with Otis Spann and Howlin' Wolf. Otis was a quiet, friendly guy. We went to a party with him once and he and Lou Martin (Killing Floor's pianist who later worked with Rory Gallagher) got into a friendly "competition" on the piano. Lou wasn't really trying to impress anyone, just being himself, and he acquitted himself well. Otis was pure class, and I remember him running up the keyboard and hitting the top note with his foot!

Wolf was a different character altogether. A fantastic presence on stage and a voice that sent shivers down your spine. He wasn't too easy to talk to but we managed some interesting chats. One night he and Freddie jammed with Killing Floor and played "Smokestack Lightning".

BS: Your second band was SALT and opened for Muddy Waters at two major London concerts. Tell us about that experience.

MC: SALT was a great little band featuring Stevie Smith on vocals and harp. We did really well on live gigs, such as the Marquee in London, but never got a proper record deal. We opened for Muddy at his first big London concert at the "New Victoria" in 1977. We thought that the "purist" audience wouldn't go for our noisy rock/blues, but we were wrong. it was a great night and we encored with �Johnny B Goode�! Later, when SALT had transformed into Ramrod (including Lou Martin and Rod DeAth from Rory's band) we opened again for Muddy at the Rainbow, and this time we got to meet the man. He complimented Steve's harp playing and said that next time he was over he'd ask for "my boys"!

BS: In 1984 you formed the Mick Clarke Band. Your first albums were for an Italian label, Appaloosa? Correct?

MC: Yeah� The way it came about was strange. I was still working with SALT but getting a little frustrated and wanting to try out more of my own ideas. I booked a demo studio and Lou and Rod came along for a jam. Steve Waller, who was a legend on the pub scene in London, came and played bass... all of them quite unpaid. I only did it for fun, but the engineer persuaded me to try and get the tapes released, so I started sending them out to labels. There were very few specialist blues labels in those days, but a friend of mine, Shakey Vick, had an album out on Appaloosa. I approached them, and partly because they remembered me from Killing Floor, they offered an album deal.

BS: You have eleven albums to your credit. Care to mention any of them and tell fans where they can listen to and purchase them. I love " Live in Luxembourg."

MC: That's good! Somebody recently described it as the worst thing they'd ever heard! I describe it as rough, raw and not for the faint-hearted. It was taken straight from the mixing desk at a great gig we did in Luxembourg in 2002. The reaction from fans was so good that we decided to release it, and it's now available on Taxim Records. All my albums are available from the CD Shop at . There are also sound samples so you can decide for yourself!

BS: You have toured the U.S.A. several times. Who did you appear with on these tours?

MC: Those tours were based in Portland, Oregon by courtesy of a local promoter, Steve Hettum. We played all the local clubs and toured up to Seattle and down to Los Angeles. Some of the highlights were opening for Johnny Winter at a club in Washington state, and appearing at the Waterfront Festival in Portland. In Los Angeles we opened for Linda Hopkins, who was (and I presume is) a wonderful Bessie Smith style singer. We also played with C.J. Chenier, Clifton's son fronting the old band, and Big Jay McNeely, rolling around in the audience playing his illuminated sax. Brilliant stuff. We also worked with Savoy Brown, Foghat, The Palladins and Canned Heat. Good days.

BS: You have toured all over Europe, correct? What is your schedule like in the future?

MC: Yes we've toured a great deal all over Europe - from Finland down to Sicily! We even played behind the Iron Curtain back in the eighties. Recently I have had a personal blow which has forced me to look again at everything I do. We have confirmed dates for next year including festival dates in Norway, Germany and Holland, so I will be making plans over the next few months.

BS: What equipment do you use? What is your favorite guitar?

MC: I've had the same guitar since 1969, a 1963 Gibson SG Standard nicknamed "Gnasher". Actually it's not that easy a guitar to play, but I've kind of grown into it. It got stolen once in the 70's for about nine months, but I got a tip-off and was able to go and get it back. The thief had stripped all the cherry red finish off of it, so ever since it's been natural wood finish. I prefer it that way.

I bought a regular Squier Strat in the 80's to play slide on. (Squier's were still good guitars in those days!). It's served me well and I still use it all the time. I've always used Marshall amps, my last one was stolen with my car, so I had to find another. Since I prefer the old models I found this old 50 watt combo with most of the front missing and the wrong speakers fitted. I stuck in a couple of "Sidewinder" speakers which are ridiculously powerful, (I only use one of them) and rebuilt the front of the amp. It looks unusal!

BS: Do you play clubs as well as festivals?

MC: Yeah we'll play anywhere. And it's good to remind yourself how to work with a tiny audience in an intimate room sometimes. That helps you in turn when you go out in front of a festival crowd. Only thing I don't like in small gigs is the smoke� I prefer oxygen!

BS: Do you play acoustic guitar also or are you always plugged?

MC: I've never been much good on acoustic. I think a good acoustic player should be able to finger pick properly and I never really learned that, although I have my own kind of cack-handed finger style. I featured a couple of acoustic tracks for the first time on the "New Mountain" album, and I think they work OK. I think there'll be more acoustic guitar featured on future projects.

BS: Do you have a website so fans can find out more about you?

MC: The website means a lot to me� direct contact with people who enjoy my music and my friends. (Sometimes they're the same thing!). It features news, CD sales, photos, etc. I am my own webmaster, so I'm updating it constantly, and people can always contact me through it.

BS: I have noticed that your albums are recorded by record companies in Italy, USA, and Germany. Many players today complain about the lack of promotion by their labels. One of my favorite discs of yours, �No Compromise�, is distributed by Burnside Records in Oregon and I think Susan Stewart there has done a very good job of representing your work. Are you pleased with the marketing of your talent by the labels?

MC: All of my records are released on independant labels and generally their promotional budgets are limited. I accept this. They will always make sure that promo copies go to where they are needed, but I do not expect grand promo campaigns from them. I think with modern communications, mainly the internet, the artist himself can do a lot to promote his own work. There's no doubt that the business is changing, and that sales and promotion via personal websites will become more and more important.

BS: Who are your current band members?

MC: Chris Sharley on drums has been working with me since the early '90's. A superb powerful drummer who originally started with the Welsh band "Sassafrass". Eddie Masters has been on bass for the last few years, another fine player with five strings on his bass guitar. What's that all about then? On keyboards is Dave Lennox who has worked in the past with Ginger Baker, Blodwyn Pig and many other names. Dave has to be one of the top players on the scene in Britain.

The band is flexible� the guys all take other gigs between our tours, and sometimes we get deps in, which I think keeps things fresh. Sometimes we have worked with Ian Ellis on bass (ex Savoy Brown) or Brendan from Nine Below Zero on drums. Lou Martin and Rik Lee (Ten Years After) have also helped out occasionally, so we have a pretty high standard of musician!

BS: What projects do you have planned in the future?

MC: We've recently recorded a new album by my first band Killing Floor. It will be the first new release for 32 years, so it's quite exciting. It was good fun getting together again, and I think it's a good record. Full details at the website . I also hope to record a new Mick Clarke studio album before too long. I have the material ready to go.

BS: Whom have you not met or played with that you would like to?

MC: B.B. and Eric I suppose! Two of my greatest influences.

BS: Who is currently in your CD player?

MC: Hang on, I'll have a look!... aah, a blues compilation! Further on up the Road... Frosty by Albert Collins... I'm a King Bee, Slim Harpo.. Help Me by Sonny Boy!! Wonderful, wonderful music� aren't we lucky?

BS: Thank you Mick for sharing your talent with blues fans all over the world. I look forward to hearing you live one day.

MC: Thanks Monte, for thinking of me. All the best to you.



Album Reviews..

Live in Luxembourg Reviews of the live album.

New Mountain Reviews of the "New Mountain" album.


Festival Highlights..

Blues'd Up, 2005, Belgium

Trescore British Blues Festival 2007, (Killing Floor)Italy

Bluesrocking Summerdest 2007, Sweden w/Joe Bonamassa Harelbeke Blues and Rock Festival 2007, (killing Floor) Belgium

Bergen BluesFestival 2005, Netherlands Norway

Tielt Fest 2005 Belgium,

Baden Blues Festival 2006, Switzerland

Live in Reitwein, 2006 (Killing Floor) Germany

Blues At Sea 2006 (Killing Floor) Sweden

Rock At Sea 2006 (Killing Floor) Sweden

Bragdoya Blues Festival 2004, Norway

Farmer Phil's Festival 2004, 2003 and 2001, United Kingdom

Bergen Jazz and Blues Festival 2002, Netherlands

Bluesparty Schmallenberg 2004, Germany

Harderwijk Blues Route 2003, Netherlands

Tanzbrunnen Open Air, Cologne, Germany, w/ Johnny Winter

Piazza Blues Festival 2004, Bellinzona, Switzerland

Alcamo Blues 2000, Sicily

Welons OpenAir 2003, Wintelre, Netherlands

Harelbeke Rock and Blues 2002, Belgium, w/ Tony Joe White

Amersfoort Blues Festival 2001, Netherlands

BohRock Xtra, Bocholt, Germany, w/ John Mayall

Kirkby Rock and Blues 2000, Kirkby, United Kingdom

Carrot Blues Festival 2003, Wervershoof, Netherlands

Live in Reitwein 2001, Frankfurt(Od) Germany

Blues Route, Utrecht, Netherlands

Thun Blues Festival 2002, Switzerland

Belgian Blues/Rock Festival Houthem, Belgium

Bury Blues Festival 2002, United Kingdom, w/ Hubert Sumlin

Assen T T Nacht 2000 and 2002, Assen, Netherlands

Big Blues 2002, Luxembourg, w/ Bo Diddley

Belgium R&B Festival, Peer, Belgium, w/ Robert Cray

Bonn Blues Festival, Bonn, Germany, w/ Rory Gallagher

White and Blues Festival 2000, Sora, Italy

Blaublues 2002, Belgium

Jazz in Duke Town, Den Bosch, Netherlands

Ehornli Rock 98, Eschenbach, Switzerland

Kajaani International Jazz Festival, Kajaani Finland

Burnley Mechanics Blues Festival, Burnley, United Kingdom

Open Air, Empfenbach, Germany

Bonn Blues Festival, Bonn Germany w/ Canned Heat

Fiamene, Verona, Italy

Swing 90 and 94, Wespelaar, Belgium

Open Air Aarau, Switzerland

Waterfront Blues Festival, Portland, Oregon, U.S.A

Nuvolaro 2000, Cuneo, Italy

Frog and Roll Festival, Lillers, France

Woodstock 90, Lugano, Switzerland

Kwadendaam Blues-Rock, Netherlands

Granicher Hohlenfest, Switzerland

Kijk Uit, Beernem 90 & 92, Belgium

Take a Walk Festival, Sittard, Netherlands

Bemd Festival, Arendonk, Belgium

Ichtygem Blues Festival, Belgium

Zweissimen Rock, Switzerland

Pump Up The Blues, Geertruidenberg, Netherlands

Big Day Out, Henstridge 99, United Kingdom w/ Ze 'Amsters!

Midzommer Blues Festival, Wychen, Netherlands

Roots Rock Festival, Nidrum, Belgium (two years)

Ravenna Blues Festival, Italy w/ Little Charlie and the Nightcats

Handzamme Blues Festival, Belgium (two years)

Chapella Festival, Switzerland

Heineken Blues, Emmen, Netherlands

Blandford Music Festival, Blandford Forum, United Kingdom

Drijf-in Blues Festival 99, Giethoorn, Netherlands w/ The Animals

Open-Air Nunningen, Switzerland w/ Luther Allison

Swelmpop, Holland 99 w/ The Animals

Fort Festival, Einsedeln, Switzerland

Sommerrockfest, Eichstatt, Germany

Harley Davidson Super-Rally, Murrazano, Italy

Nave Blues, Italy

Ovezande Blues Festival, Netherlands

Beach Party, Gersau, Switzerland