Adam Blake

Adam Blake was born in Lincoln, England in July 1960 and immediately given a copy of ‘Rocking Goose’ by Johnny and the Hurricanes. What chance did he have? At the age of 18 months his parents moved to London without asking his permission or consulting him in any way and, around this time, it was noted that young Adam was unusually interested in records and had learned how to operate the record player. At four years old, he was taken to see the movie A Hard Day's Night and exposed to the Rolling Stones first album. At eight he bought his own record player. At eleven he started to learn guitar. At seventeen he dropped out of school to become a musician. It's been that way ever since.

Chastened but unrepentant, at the grand old age of 43 Blake divides his time between teaching guitar and bass at various schools that don't know he has no formal qualifications, doing gigs with Errol Linton's Blues Vibe, playing sitar with Cornershop from time to time, playing old records, watching movies, reading and writing. Over the years he has been a pro music journalist - writing for Music Week the UK Music Industry trade paper - and a session bassist for Natacha Atlas, the pseudo-Arabic diva. Just recently he has returned from a successful jaunt to Japan with Errol Linton. He is interested in politics, acting, literature, cartoons but above all music, any music, so long as it's truthful, with heart and humanity. Oh, and a bit of humour helps too...

7 articles

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Eric Clapton, Howlin' Wolf, Hubert Sumlin: Talkin' 'Bout A Spoonful: Hubert Sumlin, Eric Clapton and the evolution of blues guitar

Essay by Adam Blake, Cosmik Debris, 22 February 2004

FOR THE RECORD, I would like to state that my favourite bluesmen are Sonny Boy (Aleck 'Rice' Miller) Williamson and Professor Longhair, neither of whom ...

The Detroit Cobras: In Church with the Detroit Cobras

Comment by Adam Blake, Cosmik Debris, 2004

FOR ME, IT happened like this. In April 2003 I was getting a lift back from a session gig courtesy of Ben out of Cornershop, ...

The Faces Underrated

Essay by Adam Blake, Cosmik Debris, 25 April 2004

I DECIDED TO make a compilation of The Faces for the usual reason: an anally retentive desire to put all my favourite tracks in one ...

Free: The Ballad of Free

Retrospective by Adam Blake, Cosmik Debris, February 2004

IT'S HARD TO imagine nowadays, but in the strict context of the then-emerging British blues boom, Free were a punk band, and Tons Of Sobs ...

Elvis Presley: Tryin' To Get To Elvis

Essay by Adam Blake, Cosmik Debris, 4 April 2004

IN THE LIBRARY today I put on the Sun Sessions to cheer me up while I was working. When it came around to the bridge ...

The Pretenders: Chrissie Hynde and the Mystery Achievement

Memoir by Adam Blake, Sound of the World (Charlie Gillett Forum), February 2013

WHAT DID YOU do when you were 18? Me, I played in a rock'n'roll band. As I type that, I'm aware of what an arch ...

The Slits: Memories Of Ari Up

Memoir by Adam Blake, Rock's Backpages, February 2011

AT THE START OF September 2005 I moved into a new place: a rather Agatha Christie-esque 1930s apartment block at the posh end of Ladbroke ...

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