joe brown

[steve.t]

Hi,a bit unrelated to shads to some extent i know, tho there are links in bruce`s book to him & that joe probably gave hank his 1st echo unit? I just thought i`d mention that we went to see status quo last wedneday in sheffield & joe & his band were the support, & what a brilliant set they did. I had heard or read that he was quite a talented musician & he certainly showed it. Not sure just how old joe is but his looks & sound aint changed & he really brought the years rolling back by doing most of his early hits. His son now plays guitar in his band too. All in all a brilliant night.
cheers, steve.

[noelford]

I remember watching Joe, live, around 1962. He broke a string on his 335 in the middle of a song, dug into his pocket for a new one and replaced it, all without stopping singing. Impressive!

[neil2726]

Hi,
If you get the chance to see Joe and his band in concert - GO! They are touring the UK early next year so watch out for them. All very talented musicians with no ego - Joe, now 70, is still "the cheeky chappy" of old. Lots of varied music and of course -the bring a tear to your eye - closing number " I'll See You in My Dreams."

[JimTidmarsh]

I've probably told this story on here before, but it's worth repeating!

My late father in law was a train driver operating out of Barking freight depot in the late 1950s and one of his firemen (obviously the age of steam!) was Joe Brown. Dad said "He was lazy bugger. No driver liked working with him as all he did was sit on top the coal tender playing his guitar & singing!" His dedication paid off in the end.

Joe is certainly a talented performer playing not only a mean guitar, but also mandolin, ukele and fiddle.

[Tim]

I always try and see Joe Brown when he is playing in my (SW London/Surrey) area. Much to my disappointment he was not the support for the Quo when they played at the Fairfield Halls Croydon in November, but I have just got tickets for his Fairfield gig on 4 March 2011. He is a wonderful musician and a great personality. He varies his show each time, but keeps a few old favourites in as well, including of course A Picture of You. Sometimes he plays it with guitar, sometimes with mandolin/mandola. Sadly, two of Joe's band, Neil Gauntlett and Dave Rico Nilo, died a year or two ago, but their replacements, Roland Jones and Mike Nichols, are great. The drummer, Phil Capaldi. does a mean Elvis! Pete Brown, Joe's son, is a fabulous guitarist, and his slide playing is just tremendous. Joe's show is a real treat. I hope he keeps playing for years to come. As others have said, do go and see him if you can. Along with Hank, Jet and Bruce, he is one of the UK's 60s guitar legends.
Tim

[neil2726]

Joe of course was first and foremost a session guitarist in his early days. He played lead on Billy Fury's much acclaimed first LP - the Sound of Fury, and toured with Eddie Cochrane.