Brilleaux blues to play in Norsewood
Brilleaux is an original, four-piece, British-style rhythm and blues band formed in Tauranga, in 1999. They will be playing at the Old Dairy Factory in Norsewood on November 30 at 7pm.
Brilleaux formed to play a variation of up-tempo British Rhythm & Blues not common in New Zealand, most blues bands playing classic Texas or Chicagostyle blues.
The name Brilleaux was chosen as a tribute to the late Dr Feelgood vocalist Lee Brilleaux who Graham Clark met and became friends with when the band toured New Zealand in the 1980s
British Rhythm and Blues started to evolve back in the early 1960s, when British kids started hearing American blues for the first time, and began to play their own interpretation of the genre.
American Blues master Junior Wells is famous for saying “These British kids want to play the blues so bad . . . and they do!” What Junior didn’t realise was that in playing the American blues “so bad”, they actually created a new music genre that spawned the famous British Beat invasion of America with bands such as the Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Dave Clark Five, The Yardbirds, Gerry and the Pacemakers, Manfred Man, The Tremeloes.
Since forming in 1999, Brilleaux have released nine albums, and have performed their mostly original version of this music to great acclaim all over New Zealand, and in 2001 performed at a blues festival in Samoa.
In October 2013, Brilleaux undertook a two-week tour of the UK with nine gigs in 13 days, including being invited to perform at a Blues Festival on the Isle of Wight. They were invited to return in 2015 for another UK tour — Brilleaux were so popular at one festival the organisers booked them on the spot to return in 2016 and they have toured the UK twice more since.
In complete contrast to their normal blistering, energetic shows, Brilleaux have been performing an Unplugged show, where they turn the volume down and invite the audience to move up close, sit down and listen.
The show introduces the musical influences that inspired Brilleaux, featuring songs from a diverse range of artists, both American and British that one would not normally associate with blues music, such as T Rex and Slade. The show is more than just music — it is designed to entertain and inform, featuring music, dialogue and interesting anecdotes that draw the audience in and connect with them on a personal level.