For some of these new young players they had the amazing experience of playing in the bands that were set up to back these giants of blues music on the tour and subsequently over the next few years they in turn would begin the British blues boom that sprang so many of the countries best known musicians.
One such blues master who toured the UK in 1965 was John Lee Hooker, who then even made an unlikely appearance on the weekly chart show Top Of The Pops playing his hit Boom Boom. Not that many people would even have noticed the backing group with Hooker on that tour but amongst them a young guitarist Tony McPhee who had named that backing group after one of Hookers songs 'Groundhog Blues'.
The Groundhogs would go on to have their own life and became one of the best known UK power trios into the 1970's, with McPhee's original compositions taking the blues into new areas. Their first three albums as a trio became a must hear vinyl for many of the new blues fans that had gathered over the 5 years since their first appearance in 1965 with Hooker.
In 1973 after a break from the Groundhogs, McPhee was to tour his own solo show which at the time was groundbreaking as one of the first guitarists to use a guitar synthesizer on a concept composition called 'The Hunt' on one side of the album 'Two Sides Of Tony (TS) McPhee. (he amusingly explained the T.S. stood for Tough Shit).
Side two of the 'Two Sides Of..' album was a selection of solo acoustic blues songs, some original others by his own choice of blues classics.
It's a great pity that McPhee was to rarely revisit his acoustic roots over the years, either by choice or by the fact no one was to ask him, as here was one of the great guitarist of the 60's able to demonstrate his brilliant claw hammer technique on the altered tuning he used with the acoustic guitar.
Here is just a short film of him talking briefly about the experience of touring with John Lee Hooker and then playing one of Hooker's songs 'Graveyard Blues' in his inimitable style (more close ups of his technique would have been appreciated cameraman/producer).
Over the decades since McPhee has not been recognised anywhere near the extent he should have been but he is championed by those that appreciate his work the most and his cult following remains steadfast (notably The Groundhogs were regulars on John Peel's show).
Tony unfortunately suffered a stroke 18 months or so ago but it says everything about the mans spirit that he recovered and although at first not able to speak he got on with playing and had a singer step in to replace his vocals. He has now fully recovered to continue the music he always believed in, the blues.
For Tony McPhee it's not so much a choice but a way of life, tough shit as it is.
