Vee Jay King and his Dukes

Vee Jay King and his Dukes serve up a glorious mix of West Coast Rhythm and Blues and the Swamp Blues of Louisiana. If you like the music of T Bone Walker, Gatemouth Brown, Slim Harpo, Lazy Lester etc., you’ll love this Band of top Midlands based musicians.  They capture the groove and feel of the original music and add their own twist to create a vibe that will have you itching to dance, just as the audiences did back in the day.

During the evening the band will be offering free introductory dance lessons for beginners, to help you move in time with the beat.

Vee Jay King and his Dukes are:

John Roy Potter – Guitar and Vocals.

John has played either guitar or bass in a wide variety of styles since the 1970s, pausing only to sleep and drink. He has played all across the UK, Ireland and Europe with bands as diverse as Special Clinic (Folk Rock), The Wide Boys (Reggae/Ska), The Toy Hearts (Bluegrass and Western Swing), King Pleasure and the Biscuit Boys (Jump Blues and Swing), and more recently, Ricky Cool and The In Crowd (60s R&B and Bluebeat/Ska), and Steve ‘Big Man’ Clayton (Boogie-Woogie). He has played on or produced many albums, recorded for Grammy award winning producer Stacey Parrish, played live on BBC TV, on Bob Harris’s Radio 2 show, and many other radio stations. He has a tendency to dribble.

Ricky Cool – Vocals, Harmonica and Saxophone.

Ricky Cool first burst onto the scene in the 1970’s, when Ricky Cool and the Icebergs became one of the first bands in the country to play swing style rhythm and blues, The name soon became established and Ricky’s reputation for delivering great, danceable music in a highly entertaining
way began. Since then he has fronted and played with a number of bands presenting authentic American music. He co-founded The Big Town Playboys, the band that nurtured the talent of Mike Sanchez. He worked with Robert Plant in the first Honeydrippers line up. Ricky is regarded as one of the finest exponents of Blues and Country style harmonica in the UK and as such he still occasionally works with Mike Sanchez and also with UK blues star Big Boy Bloater. He has played on recordings by Hank Wangford, Matchbox, Mike Sanchez and even toured with Billy Connolly as can be seen on the ‘Billy Connolly Bites Your Bum’ DVD.

Chris Lomas – Bass and Vocals.

In a 50+ year career Chris’s journey has taken him from Nechells to Nashville via Nuremberg to Northampton. He has a reputation, based mainly, on longevity and association, but also a simple, solid, in the pocket style that he successfully bought to Dave Berry & The Cruisers, Jealous Girl, The Kind, The Mighty Houserockers, Rang–A-Tang, Jean Vincent, Circuit Judge, Karen Lynn Johns & The New Age Cowboys, The Bushbury’s, Parker’s Alibi, Memphis In The Meantime, Steve ‘Big Man’ Clayton, Mojo Buford, Big George Brock, Buzzin’ Hornets, Mumbo-Jumbo, The Jaguars, Ian Parker Band and many, many more, both live and in the studio. Chris has also had success as a songwriter and producer, both in the US and the UK, but not enough to be able to retire,
so.

Howard Smith – Drums and Vocals.

Howard has been a stalwart of the Midlands’ music scene for the last forty years. His drumming is not flashy, he’s dependable, a solid sender. He establishes the groove and he keeps it. He’s adept in all the main musical genres: Blues, R&B, Country and Jazz and is the drummer to call if you want a groove that swings. Howard has toured extensively throughout Europe from Cork in the West to Corfu in the East, Murmansk in The North to Cadiz in the South. He’s held a long residency on live TV, performed on Radio and completed too many recording sessions to itemise. Howard sat on the drummer’s stool in the Steve Gibbons Band for 20 years and plays Motown with Midnight City. By the way, he can also sing like a bird.

Advanced tickets: £15.00 On the door: £18.00