John Mayall: Pioneer of British blues dies aged 90 (2024)

Published

24 July 2024

British blues musician John Mayall - whose influential band the Bluesbreakers was a springboard for stars including Eric Clapton - has died at the age of 90.

The songwriter died at his home in California on Monday surrounded by his family.

Sir Mick Jagger led the tributes, external from fellow musicians, with the Rolling Stones frontman hailing him as "a great pioneer of British blues".

Clapton posted a video thanking Mayall for "rescuing me from oblivion" when he wanted to quit music as a teenager before joining his band.

"I learned all that I really have to go on today in terms of technique, and desire to play, the kind of music I love to play," he added.

"He was my mentor, and as a surrogate father too, he taught me all I really know and gave me the courage and enthusiasm to express myself without fear or without limit."

A statement on Mayall's Instagram page said: "Health issues that forced John to end his epic touring career have finally led to peace for one of this world’s greatest road warriors.

"John Mayall gave us 90 years of tireless efforts to educate, inspire and entertain."

Mayall was born on 29 November 1933 in Macclesfield in Cheshire.

His father, Murray, was a talented guitarist and jazz enthusiast and the young Mayall was quickly drawn towards the sound of the blues musicians from the Mississippi Delta.

While in his teens, he completed a George Formby Teach Yourself Ukulele course, as well as teaching himself how to play piano.

He did his National Service in the Army, which included a tour of duty in Korea, before enrolling at Manchester College of Art

Mayall quickly gained a reputation as something of an eccentric, building a massive treehouse in his grandparents' back garden, where he lived with his fiancee Pamela.

He had also bought himself an electric guitar and begun playing with a series of local bands, something he continued to do when he found full-time employment in a local commercial art studio.

In 1956 he formed the Powerhouse Four, which made something of a name for itself at local dances.

He joined a band called Blues Syndicate in 1962, which was heavily influenced by Alexis Korner, whose Blues Incorporated was pioneering what would become the 1960s British blues revival.

Korner persuaded Mayall to move to London and take up music as a full-time career. He also introduced Mayall to key contacts on the London club scene and helped him to find gigs.

In 1963 Mayall's band, now renamed the Bluesbreakers, began regular performances at the Marquee Club, a venue that would prove the springboard for many famous bands including the Rolling Stones and the Who.

A canny businessman, Mayall would often stand outside the venue counting audience numbers to ensure he received a fair share of the ticket money.

Mayall was already showing himself expert at spotting talented musicians and his line-up featured John McVie on bass, who would later help form Fleetwood Mac.

His debut album, John Mayall plays John Mayall, was released in 1965, a live set recorded at a West Hampstead R&B club. The album was not a success and his short-term contract with Decca expired.

At the same time he recruited Eric Clapton, who had just quit the Yardbirds over their decision to abandon the blues for a more commercial style.

The presence of Clapton, already an acknowledged star, raised the profile of Mayall's band.

However, the frequent arrival and departure of musicians began to dog the Bluesbreakers.

Clapton made an unannounced three-month trip to Greece in August 1965, leaving Mayall with the problem of finding a new guitarist.

His troubles multiplied in October when bassist John McVie was fired, because of his heavy drinking; he was replaced by Jack Bruce.

Mayall finally found a guitarist in Peter Green, who spent just three days as a Bluesbreaker before Eric Clapton returned and Green was summarily dismissed.

At the same time Jack Bruce walked out after a row over his wages and Mayall was forced to rehire John McVie.

In March 1966, Decca was persuaded to re-sign the Bluesbreakers and they recorded what would be Mayall's first studio album.

Determined to cash in on the popularity of his talented guitarist, the album was entitled, Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton.

Fans would later dub it The Beano Album because of the comic Clapton is shown reading on the record cover.

The album was well received, reaching sixth place in the charts and providing Mayall with the commercial breakthrough that had previously eluded him.

The album was still riding high when Clapton announced he was quitting to form Cream with Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker.

Mayall persuaded an initially reluctant Peter Green to rejoin the band and he featured as the guitarist on Mayall's next album, Hard Road, released in 1967.

It was to be Green's only appearance on a Bluesbreakers album, the cover of which featured a painting of the band done by Mayall himself.

The band's line-up continued to change as musicians left for other projects and Mayall discovered new talent.

Mick Fleetwood, Aynsley Dunbar, Mick Taylor and Keef Hartley were just some of the names that passed through the band during 1967 although many had quit by the time Mayall released a solo album, The Blues Alone

Eric Clapton once commented: "John Mayall has actually run an incredibly great school for musicians."

A strict disciplinarian, Mayall ruthlessly fired band members who he felt were not up to his exacting standards.

In 1968 the band began a US tour which featured a gig at the legendary Fillmore West in San Francisco alongside Jimi Hendrix.

Following the release of Blues from Laurel Canyon in April 1969, Mayall dropped the Bluesbreakers name and his new line-up experimented with playing without drums.

The acoustic album, The Turning Point, recorded at the Fillmore East in New York by the new line-up, earned Mayall's only gold disc.

The seventies saw Mayall move to live in the United States, and form a series of bands with American musicians.

He moved away from the electric blues that had made his name, and began experimenting with funk, pop and jazz.

He continued to tour in the UK, however, often backing US blues legends such as John Lee Hooker and Sonny Boy Williamson.

In 1979 a fire destroyed his home in Laurel Canyon and he lost his master recordings, his diaries and much of his career memorabilia.

The influence of the blues had declined in the UK but, by 1982, Mayall decided the time was right to re-form the Bluesbreakers.

John McVie and Mick Taylor rejoined their old boss for a short time and the enthusiastic reception received by the band encouraged Mayall to put together a more permanent line-up.

Mayall continued to tour and record throughout the 1990s and the arrival of Texas guitarist Buddy Whittington in 1993 added a new dimension to the band's sound.

In 2003 Mayall celebrated his 70th birthday with a concert in Liverpool that featured some of his former musicians including Eric Clapton and Mick Taylor.

In a career spanning seven decades, John Mayall released more than 50 albums and included some of the foremost musicians of the day in a bewildering series of line-ups.

He never achieved huge commercial success in his own right but his dedication to keeping the blues alive was a major influence on the rock explosion of the 60s and 70s.

Mayall was credited with helping to develop a blues revival among white musicians in England - and has been described, external as the "godfather of British blues".

Mayall told the Guardian in 2014, external that "at the time, the scene in America was racially segregated" - but in Europe and England "the black blues began to be heard by an audience that was not listening to them in America".

After their 1966 album featuring guitarist Clapton, the Bluesbreakers were acclaimed by music critics as one of the world's most influential blues bands.

He told the Guardian he "managed to pick out some pretty special people", choosing band members based on the specific sound he was after.

He was made an OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in 2005.

Mayall is survived by his six children, seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren, the family statement said.

"He is also surrounded with love by his previous wives, Pamela and Maggie, his devoted secretary, Jane, and his close friends," it added.

"We, the Mayall family, cannot thank his fans and long-list of bandmembers enough for the support and love we were blessed to experience secondhand over the last six decades."

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