He was once famously described as 'the British Hendrix,' and with just cause.
Guitar great Robin Trower boasts a career four decades long, and with plenty of twists and turns.
He spent the mid-sixties with The Paramounts, a group firmly favoured by The Rolling Stones, and in '67 he upped career gear, joining Procol Harum, with whom he stayed until 1972.
A solo career ensured – his first album came out in 1973.
While that album passed by largely unnoticed in the US, its follow-up a year later was a monstrous success; Bridge of Sighs rocketed into the Top 10 stateside and shifted a million and a half copies.
Forty years on and it still finds new ears with annual sales of 15,000.
During the early 80s he embarked on a brief stint with late Cream bassist Jack Bruce, bearing two albums – B.L.T and Truce.
As the 90s dawned, Robin returned to Procol Harum for a reunion before joining Bryan Ferry on releases, and touring America in his own right with his power trio.
And so it continues...but enough of that which has passed. There's more than enough stuff to get your teeth into today.
Robin has a new album out now, Something's About to Change hit the stores on March 9.
It's a milestone too – Robin celebrated his 70th birthday the same day.
To promote the opus, he is on the road again with a 17-date UK tour – and rocks up at The Stables on Friday (April 17).
Support will come from Joanne Shaw Taylor. The bad news? The date is all sold-out.
The good news? Robin went On Track with Total MK...
The song that first awakened your musical senses
I remember hearing and liking Blue Skies when I was about six, but the first track to have real impact was Presley's Heartbreak Hotel when I was 10 or 11
Physical or digital – how do you take your music?
I like both!
The first time you thought 'Music – this is the job for me'
When my first band The Paramounts started to get really good
Your best on-stage memory
The first time we played Bridge of Sighs stands out for me – I had not finished the lyrics so Jilly (James Dewar) sang the same verse twice, but the audience reaction told us we were on to something
And the worst gig you've ever done
Playing to two men and a dog in Canada many years ago – but the least enjoyable gigs are when the acoustics are bad!
What made you take up the guitar
Scottie Moore was the first guitar player I became aware of – I think it's because of him I wanted to try to play guitar
Which one song by another artists do you wish you had written
It's A Man's World – James Brown
And one – by yourself – which holds special significance
I think maybe the song Day of the Eagle, because it opened a lot of doors for us at the time
If you could step into the shoes of another musician, living or dead, who would it be and what would you do?
This may be a strange answer, but I am totally happy in my own musical shoes!
Are there any current musical influences you might look to?
While there are some good artists around today, nothing I am hearing stirs me like my many early influences
And any genre of music that you simply can't stand?
I like all genres of music, but it has to be good music. Unfortunately a lot of stuff today is not!
> To try for late availability to the The Stables show visit www.stables.org or call 01908 280800.
