John Mayall, the pioneering Blues musician, has died aged 90.
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Mayall came to prominence in the ’60s with his band, the Bluesbreakers, which acted as a finishing school for the future stars of the British blues boom – including Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce and Mick Taylor.
A statement on Mayall’s Instagram page announced that the musician died on Monday at his home in California. “It is with heavy hearts that we bear the news that John Mayall passed away peacefully in his California home yesterday, July 22, 2024, surrounded by his loving family. Health issues that forced John to end his epic touring career have finally led to peace for one of this world’s greatest road warriors. John Mayall gave us ninety years of tireless efforts to educate, inspire and entertain.”
Born in Macclesfield in 1933, he discovered jazz and blues through his father’s record collection. After spending three years in Korea for his National Service, Mayall studied at art college, working as a graphic designer before turning professional musician in 1963.
As part of the emerging London blues scene, encouraged by Alexis Corner and Cyril Davis, he played with the Powerhouse Four before forming the Bluesbreakers in 1963.
“There was a lot of driving,” Mayall told Uncut in 2017. “If it was within reach, we’d play it. You’d do a Friday night gig at the Flamingo, a Saturday early show, a Saturday late-night show. We’d rack up eight or nine shows a week. It was a lot of hard work, mostly just get in the van and drive to where we’re playing. But the reward comes once you get onstage and start playing.”
Famously, the Bluebreakers provided opportunities for future stars. “Everybody was given total freedom in my bands and that’s one of the things that attracts musicians to me,” he told us. “So if someone leaves, it is no big deal, it’s a natural process, and you get someone else.”
Mayall moved to California at the end of the 1960s, where he moved away from straight blues towards acoustic music and then into jazz and funk as the ’70s progressed.
He broke-up and then reformed the Bluesbreakers, releasing over 50 albums in a career spanning seven decades and continuing to tour. When Uncut spoke to Mayall, who was then 83, he was still playing 100 shows a year around the world.
“You get up onstage and you play,” he told us. “Is there much room to improvise? Yeah, of course. That’s the blues.”