King King

Event information

Featuring Alan Nimmo

Absolutely Fantastic Last Time!!!

"Quietly, here at Radio 2 we think Alan Nimmo and King King are going to go all the way"
Paul Jones BBC Radio 2

It is often said that you don't have to peer very deeply into the pedigree of rock, R&B, funk or soul to happen upon a little blues. This is obviously a view shared by King King, who have gone swashbuckling through the blues family tree to produce their debut album TAKE MY HAND.

Casting an eye over King King's achievements, it seems difficult to believe that the band, fronted by charismatic bluesman Alan Nimmo, only came into being a couple of years ago. Perhaps it's because they didn't so much join the scene as storm in and attempt to take it hostage. Seemingly endless gigs, festival appearances (Glastonbury amongst them), and notable radio slots (Paul Jones Show on Radio 2 and live session at Maida Vale) have all been achieved. The band's following continues to swell in numbers, and compelling live performances have consolidated their reputation as one of the most exciting bands to hit the circuit in recent years.

Hence it was with a weight of expectation that the band entered the studio to record their debut album. The result…well, just when you think you know someone…
Straight out of the blocks, this bold offering stakes itself a few strides left of the straight ahead, roadhouse blues sound which we would naturally expect from King King. But make no mistake; this is not a band that has lost sight of what they're good at. What they have done here is taken their outstanding lineage and very deliberately put it to more incisive use, swaggering into broader sounds and genres to produce something warm, clever and brilliantly eclectic.
By turn soulful, thrusting and reflective, this collection of songs offers nods to a diverse mix of influences, weaving eras and styles to great effect without ever losing sight of the band's blues roots. Wilfully experimental but intelligently balanced, it works not only because of the wealth of talent involved but because each song is delivered with utter conviction.

The opening track Lose Control erupts as a polished, multi-layered blues rock original infused with flavours of the Fabulous Thunderbirds and heyday era Stones. Following this comes the potent and achingly funky title track Take My Hand, dense with brass and gorgeously rich vocals. Something of a trademark in their blistering live shows, King King's interpretation of John Hiatt's Feels Like Rain appears here as a beautifully intimate example of the value of restraint. This, along with an unremittingly dazzling rendition of Clapton's classic Old Love, provides an opportunity to more closely enjoy the finer nuances of this madly gifted bunch. Further along, King King have taken the Red Devils arrangement of Mr Highwayman and created a storming raw blues stomp through the Howlin' Wolf classic, complete with pleasingly filthy harmonica from Giles King. Heart Without A Soul is a gratifying mid-tempo lament against a backdrop with more than a sniff of strutting funk, and the album is surprising to the end, rounded off as it does with an unexpected and sublime take on Toussaint McCall's lovelorn Nothing Takes the Place of You.

The album has been co-produced by Ewan Davies, who has previously worked with Arctic Monkeys, Editors and The Noisettes. Ever present throughout TAKE MY HAND are Nimmo‘s impassioned vocals and intricate guitar work, cohort Lindsay Coulson's punchy bass, the made-to-make-you-grin keyboard/piano work of Bennett Holland and Dale Storr, and Craig Blundell's selfless vigour on drums. Jacquie Williams brings soulful backing vocals to several tracks.

To support the release of TAKE MY HAND King King will be touring the UK during April/May 2011