|
I've seen Simon "Honeyboy" Hickling on stage a number of times now, and I can honestly say that each time I've seen him he has absolutely lit up the stage and lifted proceedings to a higher level, ...just with his sheer presence and stage antics.
In fact, it's easy now to see the genius that Steve Marriott spotted in the late eighties. Steve, of course, being himslef a man of peerless stage presence ! Although when I first heard of Steve Marriott's Next Band I used to wonder why on earth he had hired a vocalist/harp player.
Soon I came to understand !
At last year's Steve Marriott Memorial Concert, for example, apart from the Weller/Oasis band, and the reformed Humble Pie, for me Simon's version of "Big Train Stops at Memphis" stood out like a beacon on the night....although Simon himself will argue about the correct title of the song
"It's Big Train STARTS at Memphis. Sixty coaches down to Santa Fe" he says, emphatically.
Anyway - let's wind back all the way to early 1988. Steve was mightily impressed by an RnB outfit coming out of the Midlands called the DT's. Led by Honeyboy and driven by Steve Walwyn's guitar. Legend has it that Steve spent so much time raving about them that his Agent Mick Eve (remember him - the saxophonist with Georgie Fame ) finally said "Steve, either shut up about them or join them".
So he joined them.
There followed two years of superb music, and a band that got on well in all senses of the word. All of this even before the days of the Next Band.
So after a decade as a professional musician, paying his dues the traditional way, Simon suddenly had three years to learn from from the master - touring and recording with Steve.
And nowadays he is established internationally as a virtuoso player, playing the largest blues festivals around Europe. Simon has had nominations as Britain's best harp player - but when you see him you are convinced that nobody does what he does better than Honeyboy himself.
Today, Simon still leads the DT's on their "Never Ending Tour", with Steve Marriott era DT's Craig Rind and Big Al Taylor, and with ex Waterboy Mike Hellier on drums.
|
