The Hamburg Blues Band - feat. Chris Farlowe, Gert Lange, Krissy Matthews, Reggie Worthy, Eddie Filipp
The HAMBURG BLUES BAND
“40th Anniversary Tour VOL.II” Tour featuring:
Chris Farlowe, Gert Lange, Krissy Matthews, Reggie Worthy, Eddie Filipp
Over 40 years of St. Pauli Blues! For four decades, five guys have been touring crowded clubs, which are part of the best that the European blues scene has to offer.
The Hamburg Blues Band stands for intense, cleverly arranged, and live stunning roots blues that regularly make purists mentally waver. Because the band, led by singer Gert Lange often compared to Joe Cocker, mixes hard-hitting guitar blues-rock playfully with soul, psychedelic, rhythm & blues, boogie, and even ventures into jazz territory while remaining true to tradition.
In 1982, the Hamburg singer and English saxophonist Dick Heckstall-Smith spontaneously founded the Hamburg Band Band at the legendary Hamburger "Onkel Pö" after a midnight session.
"Dick Heckstall-Smith was our key to the British blues scene, our Brit-Blues-Connection." "He was to us what Alexis Korner was to the Stones & many others." Lange explains today.
It is not surprising that over the years the band also toured with stars of the scene: Jack Bruce, Chris Farlowe, Mike Harrison, Arthur Brown, and guitar heroes like Clem Clempson & Miller Anderson became band members. "Moreover, we were fortunate that Dick Heckstall-Smith introduced us to the lyric legend Pete Brown (Cream) who wrote our lyrics until his death in May 2023 & was also a welcome guest on our tours."
Hamburg's renowned blues/rock shouter Gert Lange, the voice behind various commercials (including Carlsberg beer) and the title song of the German Film Award-winning road movie "Burning Life," along with the fabulous rhythm section, bassist Reggie Worthy (Ike & Tina Turner, Eric Burdon, Stoppok), drummer Eddie Filipp (Inga Rumpf, Sweet, Clem Clempson Band), and exceptional guitarist Krissy Matthews, form a close-knit gang that works with consistent impact, complemented by their ability to control dynamics on demand and spice it up with perfect harmony vocals.
The voice of Chris Farlowe first garnered attention in the mid-sixties when he conquered the top of all European charts with the Rolling Stones song "Out of Time," produced by Mick Jagger & Keith Richards. The well-known "Blues-Pavarotti" (Good Times) was the singer of progressive giants Atomic Rooster & Colosseum, whose double album "Colosseum Live" can still be confidently described as a jewel of rock history. In 1982, Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin) brought him on board for the soundtrack of the Charles Bronson film "Death Wish II" and his solo album "Outrider." Since the mid-80s, Chris has been touring with his own band, but often enjoys guest appearances with other formations such as Van Morrison, the R&B Allstars & the Hamburg Blues Band with bandmate Clem Clempson. In 1994, Chris Farlowe was part of the extensive Colosseum comeback until the final concert of the supergroup with Jon Hiseman in February 2015 at the legendary Shepherd's Bush Empire in London. As an old-school R&B entertainer, he excels at combining Delta, opera, and New Orleans scat singing like no other.
Names like Jimi Hendrix, Muddy Waters, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Johnny Winter, Rory Gallagher, or Pete Townsend are mentioned when talking about Krissy Matthews. They are said to have influenced the guitar style of the young exceptional guitarist, and indeed, Matthews' playing is far from one-dimensional: sometimes fresh and raw, then quirky and wild. He first stepped on stage at the age of three, got his first guitar at eight, and was captured by the blues at eleven. A year later, he met John Mayall at a concert in Norway, and the godfather of white blues wasted no time and took the twelve-year-old on stage. Fellow musicians, critics, and the press are full of praise; "This guy is the real deal" (Beth Hart), "Oh boy, this kid can play" (Hubert Sumlin).
Even after over 40 years, the Hamburg Blues Band continues to surprise and presents their very own sound far from any clichés.
On the "40th Anniversary Tour VOL.II", the audience can expect a musical firework with real characters and originals.
Doors open at 7:00 pm