The Mustangs are a British
blues rock band that was formed in
Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...
in 2001. Signed to the Skyfire Records label, they have released 11 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 The British Blues Awards were inaugurated in 2010. The prize was awarded in various categories, such as 'Male vocals', 'Female vocals', 'Guitarist', 'Bass player' and 'Keyboard player', 'Blues band', 'Young artist', 'Blues album', 'Blues festival' a ...
. The band's drummer,
Jonathan Bartley
Jonathan Charles Bartley (born 16 October 1971) is a British politician and was Co-Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, a position he shared with Caroline Lucas and then, from 4 September 2018, with Siân Berry. He was the Green Pa ...
, is a former co-leader of
The Green Party of England and Wales
The Green Party of England and Wales (GPEW; cy, Plaid Werdd Cymru a Lloegr, kw, Party Gwer Pow an Sowson ha Kembra, often simply the Green Party or Greens) is a green, left-wing political party in England and Wales. Since October 2021, Carla ...
. They are regarded as one of the most long-running and established bands on the UK blues rock circuit.
Details
The Mustangs were formed by Adam Norsworthy and Derek Kingaby after an impromptu jam session in the Fountain Pub in
Rowland's Castle
Rowland's Castle is a village and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is 2.9 miles (4.7 km) north of Havant, on the Hampshire/West Sussex border.
The focal point of the village is the village green which i ...
, 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.
The Mustangs have played and headlined a wide variety of gigs and blues festivals across the UK and Europe including
Glastonbury Festival, Colne, Maryport, Blues on The Farm, Newark, Swanage, 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". ''
Record Collector
''Record Collector'' is a British monthly music magazine. It was founded in 1980 and distributes worldwide.
History The early years
The first standalone issue of ''Record Collector'' was published in March 1980, though its history stretches ba ...
'' magazine wrote of their "musical depth, sheer balls and plenty of heart and soul".
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. These include
Lead Belly's "Hands Off", Troyce Keane's "Annie Maybe" and
Cyril Davies
Cyril Davies (23 January 1932 – 7 January 1964) was an English blues musician, and one of the first blues harmonica players in England.
Biography
Born at St Mildred's, 15 Hawthorn Drive, Willowbank, Denham, Buckinghamshire, he was the son ...
"Countryline Special".
Chiefly influenced by the British blues rock bands of the 1960s, such as
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...
and
Fleetwood Mac, as well as
Dr. Feelgood, the Mustangs also draw on more traditional blues influences such as
Muddy Waters
McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913 April 30, 1983), known professionally as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer and musician who was an important figure in the post-war blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of modern Chicago ...
,
Elmore James
Elmore James ( Brooks; January 27, 1918 – May 24, 1963) was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter, and bandleader. Noted for his use of loud amplification and his stirring voice, James was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ...
and
Robert Johnson
Robert Leroy Johnson (May 8, 1911August 16, 1938) was an American blues musician and songwriter. His landmark recordings in 1936 and 1937 display a combination of singing, guitar skills, and songwriting talent that has influenced later generati ...
. The band's use of
blues harp
The Richter-tuned harmonica, or 10-hole harmonica (in Asia) or blues harp (in America), is the most widely known type of harmonica. It is a variety of diatonic harmonica, with ten holes which offer the player 19 notes (10 holes times a draw and ...
, played by Derek Kingaby, adds to an authentic, traditional blues sound. In recent years the band has expanded into folk, country and even progressive rock in its songwriting.
The band's nine studio 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. ''Blues Matters'' magazine said of the same record, "This outfit has the potential to change how British blues is perceived and received." ''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.
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." 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 A new 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 8 April 2013. A single, "Yours Sincerely", was released with an accompanying video and reached number 2 on the UK Blues Chart on 23 April. In August 2014, the group's first live album, ''One Night In The West'', was released. It was recorded at the Swanage Blues Festival in 2013.
On 5 August 2016 The band release an 18-track 'Best Of' compilation. The songs were taken from the band's eight albums, and were all selected by the band members. The album features re-recordings of "Double Headed Romeo" and "Can't Find A Lover".
In September 2016, drummer
Jonathan Bartley
Jonathan Charles Bartley (born 16 October 1971) is a British politician and was Co-Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, a position he shared with Caroline Lucas and then, from 4 September 2018, with Siân Berry. He was the Green Pa ...
, a long-time political activist, was announced as the joint-leader of
The Green Party of England and Wales
The Green Party of England and Wales (GPEW; cy, Plaid Werdd Cymru a Lloegr, kw, Party Gwer Pow an Sowson ha Kembra, often simply the Green Party or Greens) is a green, left-wing political party in England and Wales. Since October 2021, Carla ...
alongside MP
Caroline Lucas. The pair won an 85% majority in the Party's leadership election.
In December 2016, the band released their eighth studio album, ''Just Passing Through''. An early review from Firebrand magazine called it "an eclectic masterpiece". It was named as one of the Albums Of The Year by the music website Fabrications HQ. In Autumn 2017, the band left Trapeze Music and joined Skyfire Records. Their first album for Skyfire was ''Watertown'', released on 7 June 2019. It is an ecologically-themed concept album about industrialisation and pollution. An early review from Frame Music Magazine gave it 10/10 and called it "a wonderful album".
On some social media the band refers to itself as The Mustangs (UK) to differentiate itself from a handful of other bands across the world with the same name.
Discography
Side projects
Adam Norsworthy has released three solo albums whilst in the Mustangs. In September 2014, he released ''Love & Wine'', on the Trapeze Music label. A video for the song "Coming Back To You (To Say Goodbye)" was made to support the album. Norsworthy played all the instruments and produced the albums. In May 2016 he released ''Rainbird'', which was co-produced by Wayne Proctor, the drummer from
King King. The album also featured guests slots from King King hammond organ player Bob Fridzema, and Nimmo Brothers bassist Matt Beable, as well as violin from Vittorio's Anna Brigham. The album received critical acclaim and two songs were released as singles, "Shores of Heaven" and "Da Vinci's Eyes". In 2018 his third solo album, ''The Circus Moon'', was released on Skyfire Records, with a number of videos made to support singles from the album. Frame Magazine called the record 'Truly Awesome'.
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.
In 2015, Norsworthy formed the blues band The Milk Men as a side project, with school friend Jamie Smy and bassist Lloyd Green, son of
Mick Green
Michael Robert Green (22 February 1944 – 11 January 2010) was an English rock and roll guitarist who played with The Pirates (with and without Johnny Kidd), Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas, and Cliff Bennett and the Rebel Rousers.
Biogra ...
and drummer Mike Roberts from
Johnny Kidd & The Pirates. Their debut album, ''Full Phat'', was released by Skyfire Records in 2017. The follow-up, ''Gold Top'', reached number 2 on the iTunes Blues chart. The band's third album, ''Deliverance'', reached number 9 on the Amazon national album chart in 2020.
References
External links
The Mustangsofficial website
The Mustangson Reverb Nation
Adam Norsworthywebsite
The Milk Menofficial website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mustangs, The
British blues musical groups
English blues rock musical groups
Musical groups established in 2001