THE GREAT BRITISH BLUES INVASION

Jon Bishop checks out styles of five British blues guitar icons. From the arena filling Jimmy Page through to the aficionados’ favourite Peter Green, there’s something here for everyone.

- Jon Bishop

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Will improve your…

• Blues and blues-rock licks
• String bending and vibrato
• Stylistic awareness

The aim of this feature is to focus on many of the concepts employed by five of Great Britain’s best-loved blues guitar players from a hugely important time in contemporary music.

The so-called British Invasion of the American charts was a cultural phenomenon that kicked off in the early 60s, spearheaded by bands like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Herman’s Hermits and others. Prior to this British artists had not really crossed over into the US mainstream.

The British Blues Boom followed a couple of years later, and this month we have selected five guitar masters from this exciting era to study, each with contrasting styles. One thing that these five guitarists have in common is they all served an apprenticeship in either The Yardbirds, John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers, or both. They used this stint as a launchpad to blast off into the stratosphere with the iconic projects they’d later become best known for.