Back Door Slam is the name of the blues rock band started by

Davy Knowles Davy Knowles (born 30 April 1987) is a Manx blues guitarist and singer. Knowles currently tours as a solo artist, but is formerly of the blues-rock band Back Door Slam, as well as working under the name Davy Knowles and Back Door Slam for a ...

on the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

in 2003–04. The band got its name from a

Robert Cray Robert William Cray (born August 1, 1953) is an American blues guitarist and singer. He has led his own band and won five Grammy Awards. Early life Robert Cray was born on August 1, 1953, in Columbus, Georgia, while his father was statione ...

song of the same name. Originally a four-piece, with Castle Rushen High School friends Jamie Armstrong (

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

), Ross Doyle ( drums) and Brian Garvey ( rhythm guitar), the band was torn apart in 2004 when Garvey was killed in a car accident along with their close friend Richie Brookes. Deciding to carry on in Garvey's memory, Knowles, Armstrong, and Doyle reformed the band, with Knowles writing the emotional tribute to his friend & former bandmate, ''Stay'', which was later to appear on an EP and on their debut album '' Roll Away''. The trio recorded two EPs togethers, and played hundreds of gigs on their native Isle of Man before moving to London to live with Knowles's manager, Bob Miller (

Corinne Bailey Rae Corinne Jacqueline Bailey Rae (; born 26 February 1979) is an English singer and songwriter. She is best known for her 2006 single "Put Your Records On". Bailey Rae was named the number-one predicted breakthrough act of 2006 in an annual BBC po ...

Christine Collister Christine Collister (born 28 December 1961) is a Manx folk, blues and jazz singer-songwriter. She was born and grew up on the Isle of Man and first came to public attention in 1986 as the singer of the theme song for the BBC's television adapt ...

). After a handful of gigs in the UK, Armstrong decided to pursue a career in music production and left the band to go to University. In 2007, with a spot secured at the SXSW Festival in Texas, Knowles and Doyle recruited former schoolmate Adam Jones to replace Jamie on bass. Jones joined Back Door Slam for what turned out to be two extensive tours of the US lasting until January 2009.

Career

Debut album

The band in this classic lineup, with Ross Doyle on Drums and Adam Jones on Bass released their debut album '' Roll Away'' on 18 June 2007 in the Isle of Man, with a 1 July release date in North America. The 10 song disc (plus 1 bonus track) includes live favourites "Come Home" and "Too Late", along with evocative love song "Too Good For Me", newie "It'll All Come Around" and the one cover - 1920s blues rocker "

Outside Woman Blues "Outside Woman Blues" is a blues song originally recorded by Blind Joe Reynolds in 1929. It is one of few known recordings made by Reynolds, who used "Woman Blues" in several song titles, including "Cold Woman Blues", "Goose Hill Woman Blues", and ...

" (originally by Blind Joe Reynolds but most famously covered by

Cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this process ...

on their album ''

Disraeli Gears ''Disraeli Gears'' is the second studio album by the British rock band Cream. It was released in November 1967 and reached No. 5 on the UK Albums Chart. Search "Cream" in ''Name of Artist'', and No. 1 on the Swedish and Finnish charts. The alb ...

''). The album was produced by Dave Armstrong of Running Media/DAM Productions.

Tour

Following their performance a
SXSW 2007
the band then played 310 dates in support of their album ''Roll Away''. The tour included support slots with

Rusted Root Rusted Root is an American worldbeat rock band formed in 1990 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania by singer-guitarist Michael Glabicki (born January 21, 1971), bassist Patrick Norman and percussionist Liz Berlin. The band got its start as the house ba ...

, REO Speedwagon, Styx,

Eric Burdon Eric Victor Burdon (born 11 May 1941) is an English singer. He was previously the lead vocalist of R&B and rock band the Animals and funk band War. He is regarded as one of the British Invasion's most distinctive singers with his deep, pow ...

, Kid Rock, and Lynyrd Skynyrd with hundreds of gigs and festivals ( Lollapalooza, Download Festival, Wakarusa,

Austin City Limits Festival The Austin City Limits (ACL) Music Festival is an annual music festival held in Zilker Park in Austin, Texas on two consecutive three-day weekends. Inspired by the KLRU/ PBS music series of the same name, the festival is produced by Austin-base ...

and

Bonnaroo The Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival is an American annual four-day music festival developed and founded by Superfly Presents and AC Entertainment. Since its first year in 2002, it has been held at what is now Great Stage Park on a farm in M ...

). A live album was released of their performance at Bonnaroo. The band also toured with longtime jamband favorites

Gov't Mule Gov't Mule (pronounced "Government Mule") is an American Southern rock jam band, formed in 1994 as a side project of the Allman Brothers Band by guitarist Warren Haynes and bassist Allen Woody. Fans often refer to Gov't Mule simply as ''Mule'' ...

Breakup

On 27 January 2009, a letter was posted on Back Door Slam's website, announcing that the band had "broken up" and its members were pursuing different musical endeavors.

Davy Knowles and Back Door Slam

Knowles joined Jeff Beck as solo opening act for dates of his US Tour early 2009. He then recorded a new album, ''

Coming Up For Air ''Coming Up for Air'' is the seventh book by English writer George Orwell, published in June 1939 by Victor Gollancz. It was written between 1938 and 1939 while Orwell spent time recuperating from illness in French Morocco, mainly in Marrakesh. ...

'', with Peter Frampton as co-Producer, (and also adding guitar, backing vocals & co-writing two songs), along with

Benmont Tench Benjamin Montmorency "Benmont" Tench III (born September 7, 1953) is an American musician and singer, and a founding member of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Early years Tench was born in Gainesville, Florida, the second child of Benjamin ...

(keys), Mauricio Fritz Lewak (drums) and Kevin McCormick (bass), which was released in June 2009. He is now on the road as Davy Knowles and Back Door Slam, with PK (bass), Steven Barci (drums) and Ty Bailie (keys). They opened for Chickenfoot in August/Sept 2009. In June 2009, Chickenfoot guitarist

Joe Satriani Joseph Satriani (born July 15, 1956)Prato, Greg"Joe Satriani – Music Biography, Credits and Discography". '' AllMusic''. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved May 28, 2014. is an American guitarist, composer, songwriter, and guitar teacher. Early in his ...

described Davy as his "new favourite modern-day bluesman" in a Playlist article in ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, w ...

''. ''The Outsider'', Knowle's solo album, was released in March 2015.

Discography

* '' Roll Away'' (2007) * '' Back Door Slam - EP'' (2008) * ''Back Door Slam: Live from Bonnaroo'' (2009) * ''

'' (2009)

External links

Back Door Slam's MySpace

Davy Knowles & Back Door Slam Official Web Page

{{Authority control British musical trios British blues musical groups Manx musical groups