In our humble oppinion, and we think we’re right about these things, King Blues are one of the best emerging live acts the UK has to offer. They were the support on the Capdown farewell tour, something that seemed very appropriate, partly as it insured a damn fine night out, but also because they have the potential to pick up the political ska punk baton and run hard with it: although to be honest, they’re already running!
Album ‘Under The Fog’ was released early in 2007, and doesn’t appear to have set the world alight. This might be something to do with the kind of questions
this review from Jim Ody raises.
“Is it reggae? Is it folk/punk? Who knows, but it's thought provoking, original and creatively fresh on ideas. Apparently Mr Mike Skinner of The Streets fame is a big fan, and with some of the poetic lyrics we really shouldn't be surprised. I wonder whether they need to decide whether they are to concentrate on reggae or folk - both work, but I'm not sure how well they work together. The music is original and well thought out, and as previously mentioned the lyrics aren't just throwaway rhyming. The King Blues has enough talent to make a real impact on the music industry, but are we ready for them?”
In terms of the attendances at summer festivals, we found the answer to the last question to be categorically yes.
The two set reviews we brought you from their summer were
Guilfest and the
Leeds Festival, the former was in the Rock Sound Cave, and the latter on the Radio 1 Lock Up Stage.
The thing you notice straight away when you see King Blues live, is the interaction between band and fans, channeled through the impressive front man Jonny Fox. Their shows are driven by passion, bursting with energy and backed by one of the most varied mixes of music you could find. On the one hand there’s a clear political and anti-racism message, and on the other is an ability to create a party atmosphere that garantees you’ll leave having had a great time.
Both festival performances reached their climax in the same way with the same three songs. First up debut album title track 'Under the Fog' which is their most punk offering. This was followed by the reggae-fueled former single 'Mr. Music Man', and the mass sing-along 'Taking Over'. Here Jonny Fox split the crowd down the middle, getting each side to belt out the chorus lines at each other. Far from an original trick, but it’s not necessarily the ideas that impress, but how they’re executed that matters.
King Blues spent most of the post festival pperiod on the road, first with Capdown, and then their own headline tour. They also played a monthly residency at the Purple Turtle in Camden (the first Monday of each month). With backing from Radio 1’s Punk Show, giving them a bit of national radio exposure to go with the hard work they’ve put in playing live, we’d like to think that 2008 will bring big success for the King Blues.
See the rest of our band of the day list
here.