STAR BLUES on 21st March 2010 at 22:00

My blog helping is a bit late this week, I hope the wait was worthwhile as I've some news about the show on Easter Sunday. First let's talk about this show where we looked back at the music brought to us by writer, producer and radio presenter Charlie Gillett who died last week. I'd make a case that he was more influential than John Peel though much less well known. To support the view we had J.J. Cale, an early track by the Band, Big Al Downing, the Pilgrim Travellers, Frank Frost and more on the playlist. You shouldn't forget he discovered Dire Straits, Graham Parker and Elvis Costello and managed Ian Dury. Latterly he championed World Music as he thought the traditional centres of American music had started to sound the same by the mid-80s each having lost the individual identities: World music put the sense of place back into music.

We also had new music from April Pantheress Winn and Steve Howell who has a deft light touch and a real passion for country blues, he gave us a version of a Mance Lipscomb classic. Mississippi John Hurt was in with his 1965 recording of "Since I Laid My Burden Down" and Victoria Williams updated the song for a Vanguard project to showcase contemporary artists (such as Beck) covering John Hurt compositions. That was a back-to-back feature where previously we had two goes at "Stagolee" so it was fitting that this week we included Titus Turner's "Return of Stagolee" he issued in answer soon after the original hit in 1959. Titus didn't write it but later on his was the pen for "Leave My Kitten Alone" that label-mate Little Willie John did for us.

That special show on Easter Sunday has (all being well) an interview with Fran Leslie, editor of Blues In Britain magazine. They've got to #100 under her stewardship so we are going to mark the milepost in two Sunday's time. Your next (regular) STAR BLUES will be this upcoming Sunday at 10pm (GMT), I've got my white tee-shirt lined up - you just need to be where you are right now tuned into Cambridge and Ely's STAR RADIO. Until then take care of yourselves and take care of those that take care of you.

Gary Blue