Obviously, legendary blues man Big Bill Broonzy is nothing to do with Nottingham other than the fact he visited and played here to the best of my knowledge five times between 1955 and 1957. He died in 1958. Two of these sessions, at least, were recorded by Alan Gilmour, Nottingham’s pioneering recording technician. Like The Beatles, Led Zeppelin and the Sex Pistols it has that awe of “they played here”, although Broonzy, Zep and the Pistols have one up on the Beatles as they all played West Bridgford, where I grew up. Believe it or not, West Bridgford was a “go to place” for jazz and blues in the fifties and early sixties.

You can hear the recording of a private party here.

Big Bill was a prolific writer and laid the foundations for the Chicago blues as taken up by the likes of Muddy Waters in the 1940’s. In the best blues tradition his early life is shrouded in mystery but it is said his grandparents were once slaves which gives a historical significance one can only marvel at. Fame and fortune eluded him and there are other blues players who aficionados of the scene will correctly offer up as more or just as important and influential but Bill is up there and because he was the first blues man to visit our shores in the early fifties his influence was part of that nurturing that the sixties gang like Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, George Harrison and Ray Davies would use as they developed the rock and pop sound that swept the world.

Big Bill played the Regents Hall, the Dancing Slipper on Central Avenue, the Trent Bridge Hotel (T.B.I.), Test Match Hotel three of them in West Bridgford and best of all a private party just off Forest Road, Nottingham. He visited the home of a twelve year old Graham Barnes in Wollaton who would later become Woodstock legend Alvin Lee. He also visited the family home of Susan Reed in Radford for dinner. A young John Walters, later to become John Peel’s friend and producer at Radio One, went to one of the gigs and got Bill’s autograph. It is moments like these that give me good reason to retell this story of a legendary blues man who left a small mark on the musical psyche of late fifties Nottingham.

Ambassador Bill: Big Bill in Britain: This documentary on YouTube narrated by John Walters tells the story of Big Bill’s visit to Britain really well with a couple of mentions of Nottingham too. The volume is very low.

Big Bill Broonzy gigs in Nottingham:

1955 – Thursday October 20th – Nottm Jazz Club – Test Match Hotel, West Bridgford – Bill Kinnell, Alan Gilmour
1955 – Thursday/Friday October 20th/21st – Private party on Forest Road – Recorded.
1955 – Friday November 4th- Trent Bridge Hotel (T.B.I.), West Bridgford – Nottm Rhythm Club – Ken Allsopp
1957 – Saturday March 2nd – Regent Hall, Mansfield Road, Nottingham – Nottm Rhythm Club – Ken Allsop, Bill Kinnell (probably), Alan Gilmour – 700 fans. Alvin Lee’s dad (Sam Barnes) was at this gig. John Walters was probably at this gig.
1957 – Thursday March 14th – Dancing Slipper (although at the time it was still called the Locarno), West Bridgford – Nottm Jazz Club. Bill Kinnell, Alan Gilmour. Recorded.

At the Forest Road party were:
Big Bill Broonzy
the 3 people who owned the flat (referred to the Post article)
John Pidgeon (sic) was there (he wrote the article in the post)
Bill Kinnell was there. He said so in the liner notes to the album
Alan Gilmour (he recorded it)
Ken Allsopp (not sure. Don’t know if he was an all night party goer. Also, his relationship with Bill Kinnell was strained I believe)
As for the others, that is probably now lost in time, but where probably at the Jazz Club gig earlier that evening.

After the gig March 2nd 1957 Big Bill went to Alvin Lee’s house with Sam Barnes. Alvin was 12, born in 1944, when he said he met Bill so it must have been. After one gig or one of days he was in Nottingham Big Bill also went to Susan Reed’s parents house.

More coming soon……..