I want one of those, several of them and lots more tomorrow...

 Some of them and them and them please..

Anyone who had the good fortune to see Luther Allison live will know that apart from being a quite brilliant bluesman and live show entertainer, he usually produced the most amazing lengthy and inspired solo breaks. He just couldn't stop himself. He just played and played. He loved it. His audiences loved it and no one complained. His sets were notoriously long and the story goes that occasionally the management had to step in to get him and his audience to go home. He had fun and you got real bang for your buck.

Sometimes he would play a three hour show and the audience would still cry for more. However, despite cries for more, the talents on display at the Hebden Bridge Blues Festival launch gig this week were afforded no such luxury. Playing, in most cases, just three numbers, everyone delivered the spectacular goods to a wildly appreciative audience. Every facet of the blues was on display - from the poignant Jenna Hooson version of 'Today I Sing The Blues' to the roaring 'All Along The Watchtower' from Paddy Maguire. The Hat clutched his hankie and you could hear a pin drop when the magical Lucy Zirin sang 'Tearing Me Down' and then the windows rattled and everyone upped and boogied when Sheila McFarlane and Richard Kershaw socked it to us with 'Hound Dog'. It was also a great night for mad accents. As well as the norf/sarf fusion of Paddy and Jason there was the delight of two fabulous Italian talents - one from Leeds and one from Manchester - and they are both playing at next year's Festival. Angelo Palladino brought the house down with his self-penned numbers and distinctive guitar style and then Paulo Fuschi, backed by Tim Moscrop gave a stunning rendition of the Elmore James classic 'The Sky is Crying'. As a result of this, the Hat was obliged to rush back to his bed-sit and stack all his Charly Blues Masterworks collection in a neat pile ready for continuous play to an appreciative Cozy.

As an advertisement for next year's Festival, this gig pressed all the right buttons. The team have put together an impressive listing which is now up on the festival website. As you go through the names, you realise how clever they have been with their mix. All those long nights of weepin' n wailin' have produced what the Hat guesses will be one of the most attractive line-ups of the whole of next year's blues festival season. They have bagged Ben Poole, surely one of the fastest moving and exciting talents around (the Hat agrees that they might not be able to afford him in the future!) and with great headliners like Todd Sharpville, Paddy Milner, Cherry Lee Mewis and Marcus Bonfanti leading over thirty groups in nine venues, you can be assured that you will probably regress to your child-in-a-sweetshop days....crikey, where do I start...shall I have one of those.....gosh, they look pretty good too....ah hell, let's have one of everything!

One of Luther's great show stoppers was a number called 'I'm Back!'. The Hat can confidently assure you that the Hebden Bridge Blues Festival is coming back and yes, you'll get plenty of b
..ang for your buck...

Pip Pip!

The Man in The Hat

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