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Ted Crook and the Blues Highway
Blues / Swing



Wales
United Kingdom

Profile Views:  6368




Last Login:  9/7/2008
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   Contacting Ted Crook and the Blues Highway

 MySpace URL: 
  http://www.myspace.com/tedcrookandtheblueshighway  

   Ted Crook and the Blues Highway: General Info
Member Since6/4/2007
Band Websitetedcrookandtheblueshighway.weebly.com
Band MembersTed Crook...Lead Vocals and Harmonica.

Tiny Phillips...Guitar.

Doc...Drums and Vocals.

Stiff...Bass and Vocals.


InfluencesThe band have many influences and they try to capture the feel and attitude of their heroes in all their performances.

Their influences include...

Little Walter

Hollywood Fats Band

Rod Piazza

T-Bone Walker

Junior Watson

Kim Wilson

William Clarke

Kid Ramos

Little Charlie and the Nightcats

Louis Jordan

and many, many more.
Type of LabelNone





   Upcoming Shows ( view all )
Aug 24 2008 9:00P
Alltrhodyn Arms, Rhydowen. Wales.
Aug 30 2008 9:00P
The Carpenters Arms, Clydach. Wales.
Sep 6 2008 9:00P
The Black Lion, New Quay. Wales.
Sep 13 2008 9:00P
The Station Inn, Pembroke Dock. Wales.
Sep 19 2008 9:00P
The Bay View, Swansea. Wales.
Sep 26 2008 10:00P
Cafe Jazz, Cardiff. Wales.
Oct 4 2008 9:00P
Borough Blues Club, Panteg. Wales.
Oct 5 2008 9:00P
Lifeboat Inn, Tenby. Wales.
Oct 24 2008 9:00P
Station House Hotel, Whitland. Wales.
Nov 7 2008 9:00P
The Bay View, Swansea. Wales.
Nov 8 2008 9:00P
The Plough, Hereford. Wales.
Nov 14 2008 9:00P
Pontypridd and District Club, Pontypridd. Wales.
Nov 15 2008 9:00P
Tenby Blues Festival, Tenby. Wales.
Nov 28 2008 9:00P
The Uplands Tavern, Swansea. Wales.
Dec 5 2008 9:00P
The Cellar Bar, Cardigan. Wales.
Dec 6 2008 9:00P
The Station Inn, Pembroke Dock. Wales.
Dec 21 2008 6:00P
The Turnstyle Bar, Llanelli. Wales.

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   About Ted Crook and the Blues Highway
The band was originally formed in 2000 as Ted Crook and the Blues Highway by some of Wales leading bluesmen, coming from bands like the highly successful Blues Bunch, Crooked Line, and Pat Grover’s Blue Zeros. They gigged extensively across the country playing a mixture of Chicago and West Coast blues supporting bands like Eugene Hideaway Bridges and Big Joe Turner’s Memphis Blues Caravan along the way. They ended 2000 by being voted Best Local Band by South Wales’ Blues Dragon blues club.

In 2002, due to unforseen circumstances, they split up but reformed in 2003 as The West Coast Sound. They gigged regularly for the next two years supporting the likes of Todd Sharpville and Otis Grand and also appearing at the 2003 Castlebar Blues Festival, this time playing more of the West Coast and Swing style blues that their audiences enjoyed.

Due to work and family commitments, the band took a break in 2006 but started playing again in 2007 under their original name, Ted Crook and the Blues Highway featuring a load of new songs and a new Bass player.

----------------------------------BAND REVIEWS--------------------------------

REVIEW FROM EARLYBLUES.COM

“Ted showed the way with his sweet harp in the style of Little Walter and “Tiny”, complete with his Epiphone Zephyr Blues Deluxe, the tone of which was absolutely outstanding (and also a copy of T Bone Walkers Gibson), was a revelation. The set listings show the Harp led style of this band and some of the material; covers of the great Big Joe Turner, Tampa Red, Big Bill Broonzy and Little Walter were authentic enough but the starring roll for me were the covers of the Fabulous Thunderbirds. Worthy of note was their own number “Southside Boogie” and Walkin’ Blues Featuring “Stiff” on vocals covering this Robert Johnson classic”.

“Ted’s version of Tough Enough could have been Kim Wilson!”

“Most of the crowd had first seen Ted and the boys last year at The Tenby Blues Festival, rating them as good if not better than some of the main stage acts”.



WHAT THEY SAID ON RADIO PEMBROKESHIRE 13th APRIL 2008...

“Arguably the best such band in Wales”

“They went down better than the headliners at the Tenby Blues Festival 2007”

“Ted Crook's Blues Highway got the crowd dancing immediately in the De Valence on the Saturday night”

“Check them out…they’re an awesome live band”



REVIEW FROM THE BOROUGH BLUES CLUB 2nd APRIL 2007...

“Here was a band who were striving to stay in touch with the roots of the blues; who selected their songs very carefully, mostly from the period between the 1920s and the 1940s, and delivered them in a style probably more in keeping with their original performance than the modern interpretations of many other bands.

The band structure was a little different from the ordinary too, with a harmonica Masterclass from leader Ted Crook who featured in many solos but was capably assisted by a clever and very tight back line of "Tiny" Phillips on guitar (so-called because of his massive frame and small hands), Gordon (Doc) Jones on drums and "Stiff" on bass (I never did manage to get his real name). Stiff was slight of stature with a polished head, glasses, ear-ring and powder blue check suit with white soled baseball boots - highly colourful and a clear contrast to the much larger and more subdued Tiny. This four-some produced swing, shuffle, boogie and Latin rhythms with intricately interwoven backings. Ted Crook performed most of the vocals, occasionally joined or replaced competently by Doc or Stiff and it was evident that the words of the songs were very important to the group as well as the music. The clarity and delivery of the singing made it easily possible to understand the meaning and sentiment of the numbers the group played - which was refreshing.

Highlights from the first set were Lemonade and Can't Get That Stuff No More (Tampa Red, 1922). The group were not afraid to take it right down, allow the guitar to stand out and let the singer tell the story before launching into brilliant harp solos. Flip, Flop and Fly (Big Joe Turner); You're So Fine (Little Walter) and One Way Out (Sonny Boy Williamson) were well received by an appreciative audience. The set finished with Little Junior Parker's Mystery Train (which was also a hit for Elvis Presley); I Can Tell (Bo Diddley) and Blues Highway's own composition Southside Boogie.

Into the second half of the night's entertainment with the Fabulous Thunderbirds She's Tough; another Blues Highway song Hard Lovin' Woman and Little Walter's Can't Hold Out Much Longer which featured a superb duet introduction between Ted Crook and Tiny. The guitarist produced intricate little fills and runs which passed almost un-noticed in Big Bill Broonzy's Too Many Drivers and drew an extended ovation for the intro and solo in Outskirts Of Town.

The band, though not of a heavy or hard rocking blues persuasion, had a sensitivity and feel which brought loud audience demands for encores as the evening drew to a close with Robert Johnson's New Walking Blues; and Juke "Boy" Bonner's I'm Not Jiving.

Just my opinion, but this was one of the top blues groups to appear at the Borough Blues Club and I'm sure they will make a return visit in the future. If you missed them this time it would be good to catch up with them then!”






Live at the Tawe Delta Blues Club, Swansea.

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   Ted Crook and the Blues Highway's Friend Space (Top 40)
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Ted Crook and the Blues Highway's Friends Comments
Displaying 50 of 121 comments  ( View All | Add Comment )
Terry Clear





Aug 27 2008 10:54 AM

Great to have you in my friends list!
Devils Creek





Aug 18 2008 5:43 PM

Best wishes from your Celtic cousins!
Leonardo





Aug 4 2008 12:33 AM

Thanks for the add.

Great Music....Great Site !

Keep Up The Great Work.

Leonardo
Peter.( Techniker & Freund von Jürgen Kerth)





Aug 3 2008 5:24 PM

Thank you for the friendship
The Allman Brothers Band





Jul 31 2008 8:07 PM

Hey, Tiny, thanks for the friendship - all the best to you & the guys!
The road goes on forever...
LT and The Blues Express





Jul 28 2008 11:59 AM

THANK YOU FOR ADDING OUR BLUES BAND HAVE A MONEY FILLED WEEK LT.....
Jam With RoBina





Jul 22 2008 9:48 AM

Likewise, keep up the good work!

JWR.
Mississippi Blue


Is Online


Jul 11 2008 8:33 AM

i wish you a nice and wonderful weekend :-)
Have fun where ever you are
love and peace ;-)
The Hundred-Givers





Jul 10 2008 6:35 PM

Thanks for the add, it’s a privilege for us.

Hope you liked our music.

With Love.
guitarbuyer





Jul 6 2008 8:05 PM

Hi Ted and co thanks for adding me to your list of friends,
All the best Bob
Michael





Jul 6 2008 3:13 PM

Keep on jammin' them blues.
www.mikedollins.biz
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