Terry Reid

Tuesday 07 September 2010, 8:30pm

The most soulful British vocalist ever hits town for the first time. Tickets are £14 adv and £16 door. Book now!

Venue:

Music Venue

Type:

Live Music: Blues

Age restrictions:

14+

• Website

Terry Reid, Superlungs as he’s affectionately known, is without doubt one of the greatest rock/soul voices this country has ever produced or is indeed likely to. A Terry Reid concert should be a cherished memory for any self-respecting fan of the greats of British music.

The legend is of turning down the front man’s job with Led Zeppelin, recommending his mate Robert Plant instead, a similar offer and rebuff to Deep Purple; of Aretha Franklin’s statement that The Beatles, Rolling Stones and Terry Reid were the best England had to offer in 1968, of two World Tours with The Rolling Stones, US tours with Cream, UK tours with Jethro Tull and Fleetwood Mac, The Isle of White Festival in 1969 and Glastonbury in 1970, playing at Mick Jagger’s wedding, then soured record deals and leaving Britain for America nearly 40 years ago. (see www.terryreid.net for full history)

All true of course, but nowhere near the full story. His songs have been covered by artists including Marianne Faithfull, The Hollies, Crosby, Stills & Nash and Cheap Trick. His 1972 album The River, was re-released in 2002 to massive acclaim prompting Time Out to comment that this ‘lost’ masterpiece is ‘a pastoral landmark in English soul music, the nearest we got to a Tim Buckley’. Graham Nash produced the 1976 classic Seed of Memory and co-wrote several tracks on the album with his friend. The track Horses Through A Rainstorm, co-written by Reid and Nash was included in the CSN box set Carry On in 1991 . Other successful collaborations have seen Terry featured on albums by Don Henley, Jackson Browne and Bonnie Raitt.

Film music has also provided a vehicle for Terry’s songs. His cover of ‘Gimme Some Lovin’’ featured in the Tom Cruise film Days of Thunder and his own material was part of the soundtracks to The Devil’s Rejects and Wonderland. Another Reid/Nash co-write be Yourself, features in George Clooney’s new film Up In The Air.

Terry is still playing a key role in contemporary music, as recent, as yet unreleased, sessions with The Alabama 3 will testify. He also recorded a version of Seed of Memory with rapper De Mesa - who works with such luminaries as Dr Dre and Mariah Carey and helped to break Eminem. Another recent collaboration has seen Terry featuring on tracks by young French band Shine ( www.myspace.com/shinespace ). The Raconteurs, Jack White and Brendan Benson’s hugely successful side-project, recorded Terry’s Rich Kid Blues. The astonishing song The Raging Storm about the ravages of Hurricane Katrina always resonates strongly with his audience.

Terry returned to Glastonbury in 2009 and also played a three night residency at Ronnie Scott’s in London, one of only a handful of non-Jazz artists invited to help mark the legendary venue’s 50th Anniversary. He played to packed houses and critical acclaim and will return this year.

‘An evening of intimacy and emotion’ is how Record Collector viewed a Terry Reid show. For those who truly cherish the heritage of British rock and soul, any evening spent with Terry will always leave the audience emotionally moved by what they’ve experienced. It really is something which defies simply description and is simply unmissable.