Peter Green - Live Bluesbreakers 1967

Peter Green: Give Up Livin' | John Mayall's Bluesbreakers 1965-7 | Live 1967-70 | Live Bluesbreakers 1967 | Munich 1970 |

1. Introduction

The Real Blue Vimeo site contains a set of five audio recordings from 1967 featuring Peter Green and John Mayall's Bluesbreakers live in England. They were posted during 2018-2019 and feature accompanying detailed descriptions of the circumstances surrounding their creation by the 16 year old Tom Huissen. These so-called liner notes (from a CD edition?) are taken from a variety of sources, such as Frans ten Kleij (Mr. French), a blues guitarist with John the Revelator. Those descriptions, along with the five recordings, are brought together below. The recordings are as follows:

1. Ram Jam Club, Brixton, London, 1 February 1967
2. The Marquee, London, 27 April 1967
   
3. Klooks Kleek, West Hamstead, 28 April 1967
   
4. Bromley Court Hotel, 29 April 1967
5. Manor House, 5 May 1967

The quality is very good for the time, considering they are live, bootleg recordings taken from the audience rather than a soundboard. The live playing by Green is some of the finest, most soulful, ever captured.

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2. The Recordings

[#1] Ram Jam Club, London, 1 February 1967

1. Have you ever loved a woman?
2. Bad Boy
3. Four Million Nobs
4. Talk to your daughter
5. High Heel Sneakers
6. Sweet Little Angel
7. San-Ho-Zeh

The 3rd Man of the Guitar - Peter Green Historical context

At the time Jimi Hendrix Experience was formed in London, September 1966, Peter Green had already replaced Eric Clapton in the Bluesbreakers. Eric had left John Mayall and joined Cream in July of 1966. Later, in October, Cream had a chance to jam with Jimi. Come February 1967, after some changes, the mythologised Bluesbreakers line-up of John Mayall, Peter Green, John McVie and Mick Fleetwood, who never made a studio album, played quite a few live gigs in and around London. This line up shattered after only three months. Peter left the Bluesbreakers to form Fleetwood Mac with McVie & Fleetwood. Peter Green's playing during this period is unequaled in its intensity and passion. His elongated solos are melodic and unique in their phrasing. They burn with his incredible vibrato. The Blues with feeling and a Les Paul through a Marshall - this is British Blues at its best, enjoy.

# 1 Peter Green 1- Live 1967 Ram Jam Club, London, by Real Blue on Vimeo.

[#2] The Marquee, London, 27 April 1967

1. Talk to you daughter
2. Tears in my eyes
3. Streamline
4. The Stumble
5. So Many Roads
6. Four Million Nobs
7. Double Trouble

Peter Green and the London years / The ultimate blues years / John Mayall's Bluesbreakers Featuring Peter Green / London 1967.

A quick look at the gig guide of Melody Maker or New Musical Express could give you serious trouble.Within a few square miles you had to choose between Eric Clapton, then playing with Cream, the Jimi Hendrix Experience or Peter Green who was guitarist with John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers at the time. However when you missed one of those guys on Wednesday you could easily visit them on Thursday as they played in the area anyway. It all happened in the London’s mighty club circuit that had places like the Marquee, the Manor House or Klooks Kleek. Tom Huissen, a 16 year old boy who had swapped the quiet life of a Dutch province town for the mad making turmoil of the West End, bumped literally into this world of wailing Gibson Les Pauls and Marshall stacks. His big love became John Mayall's Bluesbreakers who apart from John on vocals, harmonica, Hammond organ and all kind of weird guitars, consisted of Peter Green on lead guitar, John McVie on bass and Mick Fleetwood on drums. After seeing the Bluesbreakers a couple of times Tom decided to cut short on food and alcohol supplies in order to purchase a little Sanyo reel to reel tape recorder and a couple of tapes. From that moment he taped the band wherever and whenever he could, becoming friends with John Mayall and Peter Green in the process. In those days the Bluesbreakers' repertoire consisted for the greater part of songs that can be found on legendary albums like 'A hard road', 'Crusade' and 'The Blues Alone'. However the live performances of well known songs like 'Someday after a while, 'The Stumble' or 'So many roads' are a completely different kettle of fish compared to the records. John Mayall has always been one to push his guys to the front and give them room to move. Peter Green, a 20 year old bloke from London's East End, took his chances and made his predecessor Eric Clapton forget within a couple of weeks. These live tapes show you why. Here is 'Greeny' at his best. Greeny's superb guitar work, John McVie's best bitter driven bass lines and Mick Fleetwood's tight drums makes it easy to understand why this embryonic Fleetwood Mac would rise to world fame some 15 months later. After more than 48 years a compilation of these tapes is released for the first time by John Mayall on Forty Below Records. The result is a unique document of a band in the midst of the blues boom playing the numerous London clubs. Of course this was all before the mega concerts and mighty PA systems of today. Also don't look for the word 'stereo' on the CD-cover. They were simply recorded mono with a small mike. But despite an occasional dropout, the sound is incredible and it's hard to believe that these historic recordings are over thirty years old. Play the CD and go back to the London blues boom in the late sixties. Visit or revisit, if you like, the blues clubs from those days, some of them since long forgotten, and feel the atmosphere. Good thing Tom lived there at the time, eh?

#2 Peter Green 2- Live 1967 Marquee from Real Blue on Vimeo

[#3] Klooks Kleek, West Hamstead, 28 April 1967

1. Curly
2. Talk to your daughter
3. I can't quit you baby
4. High Heel Sneakers
5. Stormy Monday
6. Someday after a while
   

John Mayall & The Story of the Lost & Legendary Bluesbreakers Lineup. By Henry Yates. 

The mythologised Bluesbreakers line-up of John Mayall, Peter Green, John McVie and Mick Fleetwood never made a studio album and shattered after just three months. Now, with the excavation of a Dutch fan’s live bootlegs, that legendary four-piece lives again. “These tapes are a piece of history,” Mayall tells The Blues. “And Peter has never played better…” London, February 1, 1967. The Ram Jam Club is living up to its name. Amid the fog of smoke and crush of bodies, nobody notices the Dutch teenager with the oversized reel-to-reel tape recorder, as he holds up a microphone to capture the set by John Mayall’s latest Bluesbreakers line-up. “It was so packed,” remembers Tom Huissen, “and everyone was smoking. But this was the best music I’d ever heard in my life, so to me, those clubs were heaven. The crazy thing is that, at the time, I never thought about the world impact it would have. It was only later that I realised, ‘My God, I saw the Bluesbreakers with Peter Green, John McVie and Mick Fleetwood’. To me, it was the best line-up that John Mayall ever had…” Forget about Clapton and 1966’s ‘Beano’ album. For Bluesbreakers connoisseurs, the most exciting period began when the Surrey wonder boy split for Cream, and his one-time understudy Peter Green stepped formally into the breach. “Does Peter’s playing deserve the hype?” muses Mayall, of that drop-to-your-knees touch. “Oh, very much so. People talk about those three guitar players – Eric, Peter and Mick Taylor. They were all very special, and they don’t sound like anybody else. But I think there’s been a lot heard of Mick and Eric, of course, but perhaps a lot less of Peter in his heyday.” Previously, Green’s run in the Bluesbreakers was best represented by 1967’s studio album, A Hard Road (on which Mayall and McVie also play). Now, with the excavation of Huissen’s tapes, there’s suddenly a case that the guitarist found his ultimate platform after drummer Aynsley Dunbar was replaced by the gangling figure of Mick Fleetwood. “Peter didn’t get along too much with Aynsley Dunbar’s style of playing,” reflects Mayall, “even though A Hard Road is a great testament of how that band sounded.” “Aynsley was very technical, could drum anything,” picks up Huissen. “Then in came Mick Fleetwood. The first time I heard him play, I remember that I went to Peter and said, ‘Why did Aynsley go? I mean, for God’s sake – Mick Fleetwood?’ But then Peter said something to me that I’ll never forget. He said, ‘Mick’s got the feel, and that’s all that matters’. And it’s so true, because I can honestly tell you that Mick Fleetwood is my favourite drummer. The way he plays, the way he does it, it’s really incredible.” John Mayall. Peter Green. John McVie. Mick Fleetwood. Blink and you’d have missed them. For just three months in early ’67, this mythologised line-up pounded what was arguably the most exciting blues circuit in history. “In those years,” notes Mayall, “we were working seven nights a week, and on the weekends you’d play doubles. I don’t think anybody in any given time can think of it in terms of ‘history’, because you’re just dealing with the daily round of shows. Your only concern was putting one foot in front of the other and getting out there. Getting in the van, y’know, setting up at the club, playing the gig. There was a lot of camaraderie in that line-up. A lot of humour. Otherwise, the music wouldn’t have sounded how it did. Sometimes they got out of control, but that was happening with all the bands at that time. “Those clubs [on the tapes] were all part of our week’s work,” he adds, “and they were very rough-and-ready. Those types of places were a holdover: they’d been in operation with trad-jazz for many years. They were jam-packed, no room to sit down. It was a mass of bodies, all out there having a good time, having a drink, just enjoying the music and being a part of it.”

#3 Peter Green 3- Live 1967 Klooks from Real Blue on Vimeo.

[#4] Bromley Court Hotel, 29 April 1967

1. Brand new start
2. Tears in my eyes
3. Talk to your daughter
4. Double trouble
5. Stand back baby
6. Someday after a while
7. Looking back

Huissen says, “I was a very difficult kid,” remembers the 65-year-old. “There was only one thing that me and my parents agreed upon: that I had to get out of the house, as soon as possible. I knew from the radio and magazines that something very big was happening in London. So I thought, ‘That’s the place I want to go’. And I’ve never regretted it. It was really the best time in my life. You’d go to one concert on Tuesday, another on Thursday. There was just one big vibe. Unbelievable. I saw the first Cream gigs, the first Jimi Hendrix gig at The Marquee…” Pinballing between seminal shows across the capital’s clubland, it wasn’t long before Huissen fell in with Mayall and his foot soldiers. “Maybe ‘friends’ is a big word,” he considers. “But after the concerts, we sometimes went back to John’s flat. There was drinking, and you’d stay and sleep there. Very easy-going, but I remember, one time, John was pissed off because I went to see The Spencer Davis Group instead of his band! I was quite close with Peter. He really was the most kind and friendly guy that you can imagine.” The Dutchman wasn’t just an observer, but also an avid bootlegger. “There was a group of eight of us – including Danny Kirwan – who went from concert to concert. It wasn’t some strategic plan. We just talked about how, y’know, wouldn’t it be great if after the concert we could hear the music again. I had a job at some office, just delivering the mail, and I had very little money, so I had to pay for the tape recorder in instalments. After the concerts, we’d go down in the tube and play the tapes, everybody looking at these crazy young guys making a lot of noise. Then the batteries would go low and there’d be no music anymore!” Between February 1 and May 5, 1967, Huissen recorded five Bluesbreakers gigs at clubs including Brixton’s Ram Jam, Hampstead’s Klooks Kleek and Soho’s Marquee, each time positioning himself in the sonic sweet-spot. “I’d make sure that I was standing in the middle, because there was a great balance in the band. There was no PA at the time – only for singing – and no mixing desk. There was just one mic coming off the tape recorder, and on the original tapes, you can hear me shout, because I was nearest to the mic. I just couldn’t keep quiet, because the music was so great.” For fans of Green, in particular, Live In 1967 represents genuine treasure. “These tapes show Peter at his very finest,” nods Mayall. “I don’t think he’s ever played better. It’s quite an amazing accomplishment to actually have a recording of it all.” “Peter had a hard job,” adds Huissen, “because he had to replace Eric, who was ‘God’ in those days. But after a couple of concerts, that whole idea was gone, because he was so amazing. What I remember about those concerts is that nobody was calling for Eric. They accepted Peter straight away. Well, you can hear the tapes. The way he played… it’s just phenomenal.” Mayall: “I think these tapes capture that live freedom. You know, the improvisation and the energy that’s imparted to the audience. The audience are very much a part of that. They’re the ones who encourage you to take off. I think live performances are very different from studio recordings. There’s a lot more freedom, you’re not concerned with the actual performance as much as just communicating with the audience and exploring the music with total freedom. You’re not concerned with, ‘Oh, this might not sound too good if you listen to it back…’” “If you look at the photo of Peter, with his eyes closed,” continues Huissen, “that’s the way he was playing at those gigs. He was so into the music. You can’t play like that and not be interested. I remember that So Many Roads really made me cry. He got into the solo, and you went all the way along with him. My God – you were exhausted after he played that.” “I’d have loved to have been a fly on the wall,” considers Corne. “I’ve never heard Mick Fleetwood playing in the Bluesbreakers, so to hear the chemistry of the four of them was really powerful. I was astounded at the chemistry between Mick Fleetwood and John McVie – back then, even – and at how confident they all are. Fleetwood’s drumming is just so confident. “But to hear Peter Green at the height of his powers is exhilarating,” Corne continues. “I think he’s top-shelf and needs to be in the conversation about the all-time greats. His playing on Double Trouble and San-Ho-Zay is just unbelievable. I also thought it was cool to hear him play the songs from the ‘Beano’ record, like All Your Love. I love So Many Roads. And it’s funny, because I shared it with Walter Trout and he immediately texted and said, ‘Why did you fade out Peter Green’s solo?’ And I said, ‘I’d never do that – that’s how I got it!’ Clearly the tape must have been running out, and Tom was scrabbling to get another one out…”

#4 Peter Green 4 - Live 1967 Bromley Court from Real Blue on Vimeo

[#5] Manor House, 5 May 1967

1. Brand new start
2. Tears in my eyes
3. San-Ho-Zay
4. So many roads
5. Stormy Monday
6. All your love
7. The Stumble
8. Double trouble

In an era when buffed, polished and Pro Tooled albums squeak benignly from our iPods, Live In 1967 deals in ragged atmosphere, dragging the listener back to London’s golden-era club circuit as effectively as any time machine. “I think the energy and the dedication to the blues is what comes across on those tapes,” notes Mayall. “It might not be very sophisticated, but it’s very raw and heartfelt. And it does capture those old days. It was such a long time ago. It’s a piece of history, isn’t it?” Corne nods: “It’s really a historical document for British blues.” As the man who originated the project, Huissen gets the final word. “If you listen to the tapes,” he considers, “of course, it’s not 24-bit hi-fi audio. But what you hear is exactly how it sounded in The Marquee, The Manor House and Klooks Kleek. People say to me, ‘Oh, I wish I was there’. Well, with this album, in a certain way, you are. I was 16 then. I’m 65 now. But when I hear that music, I see myself standing there in the clubs again…” By the summer of ’67, Mayall’s line-up struck out as Fleetwood Mac. Here’s how the key players remember the split… Mick Fleetwood: “The nicest way to put it is that John Mayall ‘let me go’ from the Bluesbreakers. Me and John McVie were wild men in that band, definitely partial to one or two. I realised we were getting too loose – loose as a goose – and a couple of gigs had been affected, and one of us had to go. But my thoughts of John Mayall are as someone who should be forever heralded as a mentor, who took so many players and showed them the way. I was then – and still am – a great friend.” John Mayall: “Mick left first. Peter stayed a while. John stayed until Fleetwood Mac was established. So nothing ever happened all at once. There was no bombshell dropped. It was just time to move on.” Tom Huissen: “John McVie did hesitate, because he did have a steady job, and with John Mayall, he was sure of some gigs and income, so he was a bit unsure if he should leave or not. Peter didn’t tell me he was going to leave, but I talked to him afterwards. It was a decision he felt he had to make, he felt he really had to do his own blues.” John Mayall: “There’s obviously quite a lot of blues in Fleetwood Mac’s early days, but at the same time, I think the bent of the band was to be a little bit more commercial, perhaps.” John Mayall: “Do I ever wish I’d had longer working with Peter? No. You can’t think in terms like that. Things have a natural way of showing themselves. If somebody feels they want to move on, then they have to move on, because they’ve got other things on their mind.”

#5  Peter Green 4 - Live 1967 Bromley Court from Real Blue on Vimeo

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Last updated: 25 June 2024

Michael Organ, Australia