Rock's Diamond Year 2022

The Who drawing on paper by Stella Tooth

My home studio is in Ealing in west London. As I specialise in portraits of performers, particularly music art, I'm lucky to live in a city where the British electric blues movement grew up in the club scene of the early to mid-1960s. 

Not only that, I live a mere 20 walk away from where Alexis Korner and Cyril Davies started the Ealing Blues Club, Britain’s first rhythm and blues club dubbed, “the cradle of British rock”, on 17 March, 1962.

Devoted to "electric blues music", it began a musical revolution that would influence other Jazz venues including west London's Twickenham's Eel Pie Island and Richmond's Crawdaddy Club - vital in the careers of the Rolling Stones, The Yardbirds, The Who, Cream and those who recreated the sound of American Blues guitarists.

Meanwhile in Hanwell, Jim Marshall 'The Father of Loud' set up Marshall Amplification.  And, by the end of 1962, The Beatles from Liverpool launched their Mersey-beat sound to audiences around the country.

The following year south-west London's the Half Moon Putney, where I'm Resident Artist, began hosting live music and has continued to do so every night since. It all started for the legendary music venue with folk and blues sessions under the 'Folksville' banner which featured new British and European artists alongside established American blues-men.  

To read my full blog for art collective Skylark Galleries and see my artwork of great R&B groups, click here.