Album Notes

Ed Deane is rated one of the finest blues guitarists ever to emerge from Ireland. He began playing with his own band in Dublin at the age of 16 and has worked with such blues and R'n'B legends as Lowell Fulson, Arthur 'Big Boy' Crudup, Mississipi Fred McDowell, Johnny Shines, Shuggie Otis, Richard Berry and Juke Boy Bonner. Referred to as the King of British Blues by the English blues press, Ed has played guitar and slide with sensibility and eloquence in everything from blues and straight folk to many forms of rock for the better part of four decades. Since the 1970's he’s been one of the most highly regarded guitarists in the UK. Ed has toured and played with musicians like Graham Parker, Nick Lowe, Geraint Watkins, Charlie Hart, Frankie Miller, Mickey Jupp, Dana Gillespie, Chris Jagger, Paul Jones and Bap Kennedy. He played guitar on soundtracks for 'Stormy Monday' (alongside BB King) and 'Leaving Las Vegas', both movies directed by Mike Figgis.

“Ed Deane is one of the forgotten figures of the early Irish rock scene. I can still see him, long hair falling over his eyes, as, left-handed, he played his right-handed guitar upside-down with Blueshouse. It was an amazing sight, but no less amazing than the sounds he made, particularly when playing slide guitar. He loved the blues, but it has taken him well over 30 years to finally make an album of his own after a lifetime playing for others. It is typically low-key. There is nothing showy about his playing, but the 12 instumental tracks display his craft, the sureness of his touch and the breadth of his influences. The blues are there, of course, but there are also nods to country and rock 'n' roll in a selection of tunes spiced with humour and attitude, eg Surfin with the Mummy, and on which he gets great support from old friend Eamon Murray on sax and harmonica”. Joe Breen, The Irish Times