"The only Harmonica I choose to use is the Hohner Marine Band and Chromatics."
Hailed by aficionados and music press around the world as Europe’s foremost blues harmonica exponent, Paul Lamb has forged himself a place in the history books as one of the greatest players of our time. He has won countless awards, sold record-breaking quantities of albums, and performed the world over with his long-standing compatriots, the King Snakes. Recently inducted into the British Blues Awards Hall Of Fame (alongside the likes of Peter Green, John Mayall & Alexis Korner), Lamb continues to bring his infectious brand of blues to a plethora of fans around the globe…
Born in 1955 & originally hailing from the urban & industrial backdrop of Newcastle, Paul Lamb began his illustrious career at the tender age of 15. Struggling against the tide of local un-employment and economic depression, he took to the road working the club scene around the UK, paying his dues in the time-honoured tradition of the blues. Within a short time, he was representing Great Britain in the World Harmonica Championships, leading to a spell of working with his mentor, Sonny Terry. The following years ensued, seeing Lamb performing with Buddy Guy, Junior Wells, Brownie McGhee, and countless other blues greats.
However, the need to write and express his own music soon gave birth to the Blues Burglars, the first incarnation of the King Snakes (and the beginning of the longstanding collaboration between Paul Lamb and guitar genius Johnny Whitehill). The Burglars released an album on the legendary Red Lightnin’ label and Lamb swiftly became known in his own right, due to the huge critical acclaim that accompanied the release. As the young harmonica virtuoso became more focused and confident of his abilities, a new band line-up became an inevitability, and Paul Lamb & the King Snakes were thus born. Signing to Ace Records in 1991, Paul & his band went on to take the blues world by storm with a gruelling tour schedule in support of their Ace debut (aptly entitled “Paul Lamb & the King Snakes” CDBLUH 011). After a follow up release on Euro label “Tight & Juicy” (“Shifting Into Gear” T&J CD 656834), the band have since enjoyed a further 7 releases with Indigo Records . These seven albums went on to secure Paul Lamb’s reputation internationally as a one-of-a-kind bluesman, as did the heavy tour schedules that the King Snakes to this day, still happily endure (approx 290 dates a year!)… In addition, one would be hard pushed to think of a prestigious international festival that Paul Lamb & the King Snakes have not graced by headlining at some point, let alone merely appeared at! To date, the band can regularly be seen far a-field; from Spain to Scandinavia, Belgium to Bahrain, Hungary to Hong-Kong.
Despite his dedication to his touring band, Paul Lamb has also enjoyed considerable success in other musical fields. His unique harmonica skills are constantly in demand by others, and he has had a chart hit with “Harmonica Man”(under the pseudonym of “Bravado”) with Pete Waterman, and worked with Mark Knopfler, The Who, Rod Stewart, and Jimmy Nail amongst others. The BBC have contracted him on many occasions to score and perform various TV soundtracks, and his harmonica playing can be heard on many a television advertisement. In addition to TV, he has also had his music featured in 3 motion pictures.
Wherever his career may lead, Lamb has been instrumental in keeping the blues alive, and he can always be relied upon to further this vocation. As the worlds’ music press can happily testify, his name is synonymous with serious quality and his leadership skills have kept him at the top of the British blues scene for almost 5 decades. Paul Lamb stands beside a small number of American counterparts (close friends such as Kim Wilson, Rod Piazza, Jerry Portnoy, & Charlie Musselwhite) as an equal in every sense, and as a testimony to the standards that most young harmonica players can only allude to. He bears this talent with both humility and grace, as a true gentleman of the blues.
