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John Peel OBE, 1939 - 2004
Early Blues Interview
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"The indeed very
extraordinary and very British James Hunter, ... possesses a "tight,
slithery soul groove" and a "sweet growl" "Anyone who’s seen or heard James Hunter perform is already hip to his remarkable talents as a singer, guitarist and songwriter. This includes Van Morrison who asserts, “James is one of the best voices, and best kept secrets, in British R’n’B and Soul.... ....There’s no denying that Hunter’s musical style harkens back to the days of classic 50’s and early 60’s R&B. What’s remarkable is that the same timeless quality inherent to the R&B innovators, including Sam Cooke, Bobby Bland and Ray Charles, can exist in music that is being written, performed and recorded today. Hunter’s voice is smooth, brilliantly controlled and unapologetic. Through his infectious vocal and guitar performances, clever songwriting and tight horn arrangements, Hunter proves to be a man of impeccable taste who has learned from his influences rather than simply imitating them....
....His
natural ability as singer and guitarist brings added excitement to his
music, evidenced by the frenzy he can stir up among hardened gig-goers
and young hipsters alike. About the frenzies, Hunter concludes, “It’s
simple really - it’s music you can groove to.”
_________________________________________________________________________ After several attempts I finally caught up with James at the Great British R&B Festival, Colne: Alan: What were your first musical memories growing up in Colchester, Essex? James: That's a really good question. When I was little I think I was dimly aware of who the Beatles were, I did sort of know they were 4 or 5 blokes who were quite well known. I used to sell their merchandise at a corner shop we had. There used to be a glove puppet, plastic bag, in the shape of a random Beatle holding a guitar, full of sweets, so I was dimly aware of them on that level. Alan: Did you come from a musical family - is there a long musical heritage? James: Noooo. Although I only recently found out that on the Burmese side of the family, my Dad’s mum’s brother-in-law had a band in Burma, but apart from that nobody in our family apart from my brother can carry a tune in a bucket.
James: No, when I was 15 I thought I’d be a doctor because I thought I’d pull the birds like that but when I found out you had to qualify I thought I wouldn’t bother. I just knew I wanted to get through the rest of my life without working! Alan: So how’d you get started in music? James: I got together with some mates in Colchester and we had a trio. The first person I ever spoke to was somebody at a Charley Gracey gig at the Embassy Suite in Colchester and I used to go round this drummer’s house and we used to bash out some stuff. Alan: Tell me about the time you had with your first band 'Howlin' Wilf and the Vee-Jays'? James: Ah, 1986 and I’d just moved to London. I’d sent the tapes to Ace Records of my trio and these two musicians got in touch through Ace, Dot & Tony, and I started busking with them and it went from there. Alan: Which artists do you admire the most? James: I think my favourite is Lowman Pauling from the Five Royales. He was a good writer and guitarist. Alan: And did he influence you? James: Yes, but also Ray Charles early on, but Lowman was pretty much in that groove that I like. Alan: Are there any particular songs that you play that have special meaning or fond memories? James: Not really, no.
James: Same thing really but there’s more of it. It’s a bigger country but it’s pretty as much as simple as that. It’s a nice thing about Yanks, there’s a sort of innocence over there and they’re always up for stuff. They are never blasé, even at their most annoying they still have a certain innocence about them. Alan: You’ve toured extensively with Van Morrison, how did you originally meet up with him? James: We played at a place in Newport, South Wales and it was owned by a mutual friend who invited him along and we got chatting afterwards. We didn’t talk about collaborating and his mate kept saying “I think he wants to work with you” but we were mainly talking about Jerry Lee Lewis and Sam Cooke but later in the year we got in touch. Alan: You've sang alongside or opened for such music legends as B.B. King, Buddy Guy, John Lee Hooker, Jimmy Witherspoon, Junior Wells, Etta James, Aretha Franklin. You must have some fond memories of those times. James: I see you’ve got Junior Wells written down there. He was a very funny bloke and he took a shine to me and we got on really well. He showed me this Star of David pendant he had around his neck and he said, “My father-in-law gave me this”. And I said, “Is that how you spell Junior...J E W N I O R....?” He liked that.
James: About 20 years, and they are still waiting for me to pay them! Alan: You’ve been nominated for a Grammy award for the People Don’t Talk album. That must have been a big milestone for you? James: Which album? Oh, that one, yes, it’s been a big millstone ... !
James: It is, there aren’t any covers on there, this and People Don’t Talk are all original. And yes, it’s got Allen Toussaint on and we really had to arse-lick him to do vocals. He’s pretty reluctant because he doesn’t like his voice as much as we like it but he was well up for doing the piano.
James: I was thinking just the other day when I first left the railway we did a busking tournament in Brighton. I’d only just left my job after seven years and we’d had a really hard day busking and I went and sat on the seafront with a coffee and a cheeseburger, watching the sea coming in, and there was a sense of having escaped. It was just great. Alan: So, what about future albums? James: We are working on one now but just putting the songs together. Alan: When is that coming out? James: Don’t know yet, we’ve got to record it first! Alan: I’ll look forward to it. James, thanks very much for your time. _________________________________________________________________________
Check out James Hunter at the Great British R&B Festival 2011, Colne _________________________________________________________________________
Return to
Blues Interviews List
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Alan:
Did you always want to become a musician?
Alan:
You’ve had a lot of musical success in the States, how does the
musical scene compare over there with here?
Alan:
Tell me about your band and how long you’ve been together?
Alan:
Tell me about the making of your latest album 'The Hard Way',
which features Allen Toussaint and all your own material I believe?
Alan:
Looking back at your career, what are you fondest memories?
