Geoff Bradford (musician): Difference between revisions

{{Infobox musical artist <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject Musicians -->

| name = Geoff Bradford

| image =

| caption =

| image_size =

| backgroundbirth_name = Geoffrey Frank = solo_singerBradford

| birth_namealias = Geoffrey Frank Bradford

| alias birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1934|1|13}}

| birth_date death_date = {{birthDeath date and age|df=yes|2014|3|24|1934|1|13}}

| origin instrument =

| years_activelabel = 1954–2014 =

| labelwebsite = =

'''Geoffrey Frank "Geoff" Bradford''' (13 January 1934 – 24 March 2014)<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://michaelmesser.proboards.com/thread/7267/geoff-bradford |title=Geoff Bradford >R.I.P. |last=Messer |first=Michael |authorlink=Michael Messer |date=6 May 2014 |website=Michael Messer Forum}}</ref>) was an English guitarist who played alongside [[British blues]] musicians in the 1950s and 1960s, such as [[Long John Baldry]] and [[Alexis Korner]].

Bradford was born in [[Islington]], England, and went to school in [[East Barnet]]. From the age of 14 he took piano lessons, playing transcriptions of [[Meade Lux Lewis]] and [[Albert HammondAmmons]]; although he soon lost interest in the instrument, exposure to blues music left a lasting impression on him.

After leaving school, he briefly obtained a position in an insurance office, before signed on for the [[British Navy|Navy]] as a stoker-engineer when he was 17 years old. In 1954, whilst on leave, he met and married his wife Jean. During his service with the Navy, Bradford visited [[Sicily]] and bought his first guitar. Bradford bought himself out of the Navy, then worked briefly as a baker and butcher, before obtaining a position as a screen printer.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cyrildavies.com/Bradford.html |title=Geoff Bradford's recollections of Cyril Davies |publisherwebsite=Cyrildavies.com |accessdateaccess-date=28 May 2016}}</ref>

He joined a [[skiffle]] group called the Sunrisers, and initially emulated the work of [[Big Bill Broonzy]] and [[Bo Diddley]]. Eventually, he placed an advertisement in the ''[[Melody Maker]]'' for other blues players, and one of the respondents was Kevin Scott. Bradford and Scott appeared as a duo at [[The Roundhouse]] blues club, which was run by [[Cyril Davies]] and [[Alexis Korner]].NB This is not the famous "[[Roundhouse" (venue)|Roundhouse]] at [[Chalk Farm]] in London's [[Camden Town]]. THEThe ROUNDHOUSEone mentioned here was a pub on the corner of [[Wardour Street]] and [[Brewer Street, W1]], which was London's "Skiffle Centre" until 1956, when Cyril Davies and Alexis Korner started the [[London Blues Andand Barrelhouse Club]]. The Thursday night sessions often took the form of impromptu jams amongst the blues enthusiasts present and were visited by touring American bluesmen likesuch as [[Muddy Waters]], [[Otis Spann]], and Big Bill Broonzy. [[The Rolling Stones]] also played herethere in thetheir early days. The Roundhouse was recently open as The O Bar.

Bradford and Scott formed the band, Blues By Six,<ref name="LarkinGE">{{cite book|title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music|The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]|editor=[[Colin Larkin (writer)|Colin Larkin]]|publisher=[[Guinness Publishing]]|date=1992|edition=First|isbn=0-85112-939-0|page=312}}</ref> with Brian Knight on vocals and harmonica, [[Charlie Watts]] on drums and Peter Andrews on bass. The band played a form of [[Chicago blues]], with Bradford's guitar work now inspired by [[T-Bone Walker]] and [[Willie Johnson (guitarist)|Willie Johnson]].

Cyril Davies had formed a successful Chicago blues band named [[All-Stars (band)|the R&B All-Stars]]; original guitarist Bernie Watson left, and Davies asked Bradford to replace him.<ref name="LarkinGE"/> The band had a residency at the [[Marquee Club]] in [[Wardour Street]], London. The band released a single on [[Pye Records|Pye]], "Preachin' The Blues" / "Sweet Mary".

The R&B All-Stars were at the forefront of a wave of British Blues bands at the beginning of the 1960s; other groups that were part of the wave included [[The Yardbirds]], [[Manfred Mann]] and [[The Rolling Stones]]. However Davies died, and the R&B All-Stars became the Hoochie Coochie Men, fronted by Davies's backup singer, [[Long John Baldry]]. The blues boom evolved into what would become rock, and the music of the Hoochie Coochie Men failed to evolve with the times. As a result, Bradford faded from the view of the general public.<ref name=Myers2007>{{cite book |last = Myers |first = Paul |authorlink = Paul Myers (musician) |title = It Ain't Easy: Long John Baldry and the Birth of the British Blues |year = 2007 |publisher = Greystone Books |isbn = 978-1-55365-200-27 |url = https://archive.org/details/itainteasylongjo0098myer }}</ref>

He recorded infrequently, most recently in 1995.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/geoff-bradford-mn0001541693|title=Geoff Bradford &#124; Biography & History|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=17 August 2021}}</ref> Bradford also appeared on the [[music video|video]] ''Masters of British Guitar'', and on the film, ''Living with the Blues'' on [[Channel Four]].

* Geoff Bradford – ''The Right String'' (1976) Black Lion Records<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-right-string-mw0000842231|title=The Right String - Geoff Bradford &#124; User Reviews |website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=17 August 2021}}</ref>

[[Category:BritishEnglish blues musicianssingers]]

[[Category:BritishEnglish blues guitarists]]

[[Category:BritishEnglish male guitarists]]

[[Category:BritishEnglish male singerssinger-songwriters]]

[[Category:BritishEnglish singer-songwriters]]

[[Category:SingersMusicians from the London Borough of Islington]]