British blues...

Tube misery could inspire true British blues

By Louise Jury, Arts Correspondent

07 August 2004

"Woke up this morning, Got the Northern Line blues, Sven's still in charge, Flash floods makin' the news..."

It doesn't quite have the sound of a Deep South blues classic. But it may help the Louisiana guitarist Sherman Robertson in his hunt for a truly British blues song.

He believes any subject, from London Underground to speed cameras, the weather or even sporting failure, is ripe for inclusion. Moreover, he has promised to perform the best offering from aspiring British blues writers during his UK tour, which started last week.

Blues were not about being miserable, he said, but were about intensely personal experiences. "It's about what's real. You have to live in the real world," he said yesterday, en route to a gig in Wales prior to the Stanley Blues Festival in Co Durham today.

"When we, the blacks, are talking about things we love, all we have is our woman and our family. We don't have a lot of books and property. But the British have a different blues. I can produce British blues if I get the information I need to formulate it - in other words, if I know what you're thinking and how you're saying things."

Sherman Robertson himself comes from traditional blues territory in Louisiana, where he was born in 1948. He plays with his own band and has also appeared on Paul Simon's album, Graceland.

Budding British blues writers may submit their offerings to the website, www.movinmusic.co.uk, before midnight tonight. Sherman is requesting compositions of between three and six verses. But just in case anyone was under the illusion that all was free-form in the laid-back Deep South, the lyrics should be written in iambic pentameter. So that puts ours out of the running.

© 2004 Independent Digital (UK) Ltd