ROCK-on Worldwide

Two thirds of one of the great Prog Rock bands were born in November and two fifths of one of the world’s greatest Folk Rock bands, but we start with the man without whom there might not have been the great 1960s UK R&B revival – the legendary John Mayall.

JOHN MAYALL – 76 years old on 29th November
The line of bands from the great Delta Bluesmen to the likes of Peter Green, Mick Taylor and Eric Clapton is remarkably short – Alexis Korner… John Mayall… Originally based in Manchester it was Alexis Korner, the godfather of UK Blues who told Mayall he had to get to London and in 1963 he did just this and The Bluesbreakers concept was born offering a proving ground for the extraordinary outburst of talent that was London in the 60s.

Some people say that Mayall, Green, McVie, Fleetwood was the best Bluesbreakers lineup, but the never bettered, Mike Vernon produced, Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton is the one for me every time.

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November’s deaths have no patterns to them, just losses from the world’s greatest band, the world’s most popular Rock singer and the drummer for the world’s greatest Rock guitarist.

GEORGE HARRISON – BORN 24TH FEBRUARY 1943 – DIED 29TH NOVEMBER 2001
I remember George Harrison describing life in the Beatles when he was interviewed alongside Ringo for a TV documentary at the time they released the Beatles 1 CD. He said that people had forgotten how good they were as a live band: “we were just so tight” and people also forget in the post Cream, post Prog Rock era of long, self indulgent, “virtuoso” guitar breaks and meandering tunes that the musicianship of the Beatles was focused on the band as the entity, not on individual members and that they perfected the 3 minute single, “She Loves You”, the LP “Revolver” and the Concept Album “Sgt Pepper” before anyone else had ever thought of it.

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20:30 Rock ‘N’ Raw
Episode 1: The Rock ‘n’ Raw show presents a line-up of classic rock and blues legends, performing live renditions of their biggest hits and album tracks.

STING – 58 on 2nd October 2009
World famous, vastly talented, hugely rich, happily married and good looking; is there anything about this man to like – well yes, Roxanne, Message in a Bottle although female partners (mentioning no names) seem to like the later less Rocky stuff too!

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JOHN OTWAY – 57 on 2nd October 2009
Anyone who doesn’t know this wonderful eccentric needs to bone up on his career with Wild Willy Barrett – after all Pete Townshend produced him and his absurd hit, Cor Baby That’s Really Free still sounds manically fresh even after 30 years in this 2007 gig:

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COMING SOON -

To support his comeback 2003 album, Meat Loaf toured the world. In February of 2004, the tour took him to Australia where he performed in Melbourne backed by the Symphony Orchestra. The concert featured 13 songs from his catalog including 7 songs that comprised one of rock’s all time best selling classic albums, “Bat Out Of Hell.”

Always looking for another extravagant gesture to make, Meat Loaf outdoes himself once again with this spectacular live concert performance. Taking to the stage with the backing of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Meat (or should that be Mr. Loaf?) works his way through a number of his classic hard hitting rock tunes. Among the tracks performed are “Dead Ringer For Love,” “Life Is A Lemon (And I Want My Money Back),” “I’d Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That),” and of course the ubiquitous “Bat Out of Hell.”

Bono – Paul David Hewson
David Bowie – David Robert Jones
David Crosby – David Van Cortland
Alice Cooper – Vincent Damon Furnier
Elvis Costello – Declan McManus
Bo Didley – Othas Elass Bates McDaniel
Bob Dylan – Robert Zimmerman
Davis Essex – David Cook
Daryl Hall – Daryl Franklyn Hohl
Jimi Hendrix – James Marshall Hendricks
Bily Idol – William Broad
Tom Jones – Thomas Jones Woodward
Dr John – Malcolm John Rebennack
B.B. King – Riley B King
Little Richard – Richard Wayne Penniman
Meatloaf – Marvin Lee Aday
Freddie Mercury – Farouk Bulsara
George Michael – Yorgos Pannayiotou
Gram Parsons – Ingram Cecil Conner II
Iggy Pop – James Jewell Osterberg Jnr
Leon Russell – Claude Russell Bridges
Cat Stevens – Steve Georgiou
Sting – Gordon Matthew Sumner
The Edge – David Howell Evans
Booker T – Alan Jones
Sid Vicious – John Simon Ritchie
Howlin’ Wolf – Cgester Arthur Burnett