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The Mustangs

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The Mustangs
Picture taken by Alan Kemp (July 2009)
Background information
OriginSouth East England
GenresBlues, rock, rhythm 'n' blues
Years active2001 (2001)– Present
LabelsTrapeze Music
Members
  • Adam Norsworthy (lead guitar, vocals)
  • Derek Kingaby (blues harp)
  • Jonathan Bartley (drums, backing vocals)
  • Ben McKeown (bass guitar, backing vocals)
Websitehttp://www.themustangs.co.uk/

The Mustangs are a British blues rock band that was formed in Hampshire in 2001. Signed to the Trapeze Music label, they have recorded six albums, including Split Decision, which reached number 5 on the iTunes blues chart. They are unusual on the blues rock circuit as their albums are made of entirely original material. The Mustangs were nominated for Best Band at the 2010 British Blues Awards

Details

The Mustangs were formed by Adam Norsworthy and Derek Kingaby after an impromptu jam session in the Fountain Pub in Rowland's Castle, Hampshire, in 2001. The Mustangs first came to national attention after winning the Eel Pie Club's Search for New Blues Talent competition in 2004.[1]

The Mustangs have played and headlined a wide variety of gigs and blues festivals across the UK and Europe including Colne, Maryport, Blues on The Farm, Newark, Swanage,[2] Skegness, Hyde Park, Goodwood, Zinc Paris, Gosport and Southsea. Their concerts showcase singer Norsworthy's dynamic energy: he runs and jumps about the stage throughout each concert, whilst maintaining a visible camaraderie with the other band members. Musician magazine has called them "compulsory for British blues rock fans".[3] Record Collector magazine wrote of their "musical depth, sheer balls and plenty of heart and soul".[4]

As well as their own material, in concert the group often plays some blues standards, though radically reinterpreting the arrangement to suit the band's "truly storming... ferocious" sound.Rock 'n' Reel, July/August 2008 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |publication-date= (help) These include Lead Belly's "Hands Off", Troyce Keane's "Annie Maybe" and Cyril Davies "Countryline Special".

Chiefly influenced by the British blues rock bands of the 1960s such as Led Zeppelin and Fleetwood Mac, as well as Dr. Feelgood, the Mustangs also draw on more traditional blues influences such as Muddy Waters, Elmore James and Robert Johnson. The band's use of blues harp, played by Derek Kingaby, adds to an authentic, traditional blues sound.

The band's six albums to date have been well received. Blues In Britain magazine selected Nothing Stays the Same as one of its 20 albums of the year.[5] Blues Matters magazine said of the same record, "This outfit has the potential to change how British blues is perceived and received."[6] Rock'n'Reel magazine called Split Decision "the very definition of blues rock".

The majority of the songwriting is by Norsworthy, but all four members of the band have contributed songs to the albums.[7]

The band's fifth album, Cut Loose, received a 5 star review in the May 2010 issue of R2 magazine, with reviewer Brian Smith commenting, "Cut Loose is a real treat...it drips with musicianship..it is infectiously funky...and downright beautiful." In the same year, as well as being nominated for best band at the British Blues Awards, Ben Mckeown and Jon Bartley were nominated for an award in their own instrument categories, Mckeown for Best Bass Guitarist and Bartley for Best Drummer.

The band's sixth album, Shaman & the Monkey, was released in October 2011. Blues in Britain said "the album continues the Mustangs’ way with a catchy tune, first class musicianship and production values, and is worth adding to any serious blues/rock music collection."[8] The band supported the release with a number of shows at high profile blues festivals across the UK including Maryport, Cambridge, Swanage, Newark and the Isle of Wight. The Mustangs left Cross Border later in 2011 and signed to the Trapeze Music label, who subsequently took over the release of the Shaman & the Monkey album, as well taking over the distribution of the band's entire back catalogue.

In December, 2012 Shaman & the Monkey was voted Best UK and European blues rock album by the prestigious Blues Underground Network [9] The song 'Highwire', from Shaman & the Monkey, was nominated as Best Original Blues Song at the 2012 British Blues Awards. This was the band's fourth ever nomination at the Awards.

The band's seventh album, Speed of Love, was released on April 8th 2013. A single, Yours Sincerely, was released with an accompanying video and reached number 2 on the UK Blues Chart on April 23rd.

Discography

Title Year Label
Let It Roll 2003 Raging Horse
Rocking Horse 2004 Raging Horse
Split Decision 2006 Blues Matters
Nothing Stays The Same 2008 Blues Matters
Cut Loose 2010 Cross Border
Shaman & the Monkey 2011 Trapeze Music
Speed of Love 2013 Trapeze Music

Side projects

Norsworthy has released four critically acclaimed solo albums whilst in the Mustangs. All released on the band's own label, Raging Horse, they are Shadow On The Hill (2002), Memory Vine (2004), Lost In The Cinema (2008) and Mysteriously Saved (2010). More folk-based and melodic in tone, Norsworthy played all the instruments and produced the albums. In 2006, he released Making Grey, an instrumental soundtrack to a unreleased documentary of the same name.[10]

In 2012, as Adam & the King Bee, Norsworthy and Derek Kingaby released Pow Wow, a collection of blues- and country-tinged songs that they had written while rooming together on tour with the Mustangs.

References

  1. ^ "Eel Pie Club". Eel Pie Club. Retrieved 2010-04-14.
  2. ^ "Swanage Blues Festival". Swanage. Retrieved 2010-04-20.
  3. ^ Musician, September 2006
  4. ^ "Record Collector". Recordcollectormag.com. 14 February 2010. Retrieved 14 April 2010.
  5. ^ "Blues In Britain". Blueprint-blues.co.uk. Retrieved 16 April 2010.
  6. ^ Dave Stone, Blues Matters May/June 2008, issue 43
  7. ^ "The Mustangs". The Mustangs. Retrieved 16 April 2010.
  8. ^ Blues In Britain, 1 December 2011
  9. ^ "Blues Underground network". Blues Underground Network. Retrieved 2012-12-17.
  10. ^ "Adam Norsworthy". Adam Norsworthy. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
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