Two gigs with Chris Farlowe and first time in Sunderland that we know about. Of course we have been booking Chris for many years and never tire of his excellent blues, R&B and Soul show backed by the incomparable Norman Beaker Band.

Legendary Chris Farlowe is a superb singer who has endured the test of time and he's backed by the excellent Norman Beaker Blues Band.

Always a firm favourite with R&B and Soul fans, Farlowe was thrown back into the mainstream  limelight a couple of years ago by an unexpected source as one of the new bands of today recorded one of his classic songs. The Sterophonics enjoyed great success with their ‘new’ single Handbags & Gladrags which has also been covered by Rod Stewart, but the guy who made it famous and still does the best version is Chris Farlowe.

Hear it and other R&B classics performed live, there’s nothing better.

It's no surprise that he is rated as one of the leading Rhythm and Blues singers in Europe - real R&B that is, not the modern stuff that they have re-labeled to sell more records. He performs his songs with passion, understanding and the sort of delivery they can't teach on those pop stars shows. Chris Farlowe connects with his audience and they respond accordingly and everyone goes home happy. Catch him this week at a venue near you.

Chris Farlowe was born in 1940 and by the late fifties had moved from skiffle towards Rock and Roll and concentrated on singing. He formed Chris Farlowe & The Thunderbirds and by the early sixties they were established favourites on the London and Hamburg club scene. Their musical direction evolved and drifted to R&B and away from R&R.

The summer of 66 saw England winning the World Cup (honestly!), the USA fighting in Vietnam and the release of Out Of Time. The latter end of the sixties saw a number of releases, including the classic Handbags and Gladrags a song penned especially for Chris by his buddy Mike D'arbo.  

By 1970 he had joined progressive rockers, Colosseum and then on to Atomic Rooster. The 80's saw Farlowe re-emerge from semi-retirement, guesting on Jimmy Page's highly acclaimed Outrider album and bringing the house down at a Radio 1 show with his rendition of Stormy Weather. Since then he has continued to tour Europe and the UK with his own band and with Colosseum and is a regular guest on Van Morrison's live gigs.

To many, Chris Farlowe is the consummate singer, the living embodiment of the star who's seen it all and done most of it. With a live act honed to perfection, many of today's so called superstars could learn a lot from him. Wherever he performs, the audience is spellbound, gripped by every gesture and each note in every song, a hard act to follow. 

His backing band are superb musicians. Norman Beaker works with many star singers and musicians from Van Morrison to Jack Bruce and the pocket dynamo loves to let rip on lead guitar. The excellent line-up also features John Price on bass, Paul Burgess on drums, Lenni on sax and Dave Baldwin on keyboards.