Alan Glen (born 21 December 1951) is a British

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica incl ...

player, best known for his work with

The Yardbirds The Yardbirds are an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1963. The band started the careers of three of rock's most famous guitarists: Eric Clapton (1963–1965), Jeff Beck (1965–1966) and Jimmy Page (1966–1968), all of whom ...

, Nine Below Zero, Little Axe, and his own bands, The Barcodes and The Incredible Blues Puppies.

Career

Glen started playing harmonica after seeing

Muddy Waters McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913April 30, 1983), better known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer-songwriter and musician who was an important figure in the post-World War II blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of moder ...

, and the 'American Folk-Blues Festivals' which visited

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

in the late 1960s and early 1970s. His early influences being

Little Walter Marion Walter Jacobs (May 1, 1930 – February 15, 1968), known as Little Walter, was an American blues musician, singer, and songwriter, whose revolutionary approach to the harmonica had a strong impact on succeeding generations, earning him ...

, Sonny Boy Williamson, and Junior Wells. Early bands he was involved with were Crowjane Bluesband, The Radical Sheiks and Brothers Grimm, before going on to join Nine Below Zero (1991–1995), and

(1996–2003 and 2008–2009). Glen has played on over 50

album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

s and recorded/performed with: Alannah Myles,

Jeff Beck Geoffrey Arnold Beck (24 June 1944 – 10 January 2023) was an English musician. He rose to prominence as the guitarist of the rock band the Yardbirds, and afterwards founded and fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, ...

Steve Vai Steven Siro Vai ( ; born June 6, 1960) is an American guitarist, songwriter, and producer. A three-time Grammy Award winner and fifteen-time nominee, Vai started his music career in 1978 at the age of eighteen as a Transcription (music), transc ...

, Slash (on the Yardbirds' album '' Birdland''),

John Mayall John Brumwell Mayall (29 November 1933 – 22 July 2024) was an English blues and Rock music, rock musician, songwriter and producer. In the 1960s, he formed John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, a band that has counted among its members some of ...

, Steve Lukather, Skunk Baxter,

Lee 'Scratch' Perry Lee may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Lee'' (2007 film), Tamil-language sports action film * ''Lee'' (2017 film), Kannada-language action film * ''Lee'' (2023 film), biographical drama about Lee Miller, American photojournalist * ''L ...

Horace Andy Horace Andy (born Horace Keith Hinds, 19 February 1951) is a Jamaican roots reggae songwriter and singer, known for his distinctive vocals and hit songs such as " Skylarking", as well as "Government Land", "Angel", "Spying Glass", and "Five Ma ...

, Junior Delgado, Bernie Marsden, Paul Jones, Papa George, Geoff Everett, Gary Fletcher, Gordon Smith, Micky Moody, he has recorded eight albums with Little Axe. In addition he appeared alongside Alan Barnes, Jim Mullen and Roger Cotton on the ''With Friends Like These'' album for the Barcodes, which also included

Zoot Money George Bruno "Zoot" Money (17 July 1942 – 8 September 2024) was an English vocalist, keyboardist and bandleader. He was best known for playing the Hammond organ and for his leadership of the Big Roll Band. Inspired by Jerry Lee Lewis and Ra ...

. He played with Peter Green,

Mick Taylor Michael Kevin Taylor (born 17 January 1949) is an English guitarist, best known as a former member of John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers (1967–1969) and the Rolling Stones (1969–1974). As a member of the Stones, h ...

and Hubert Sumlin at the Long Beach Blues Festival. He recorded the album ''On The Road Again'' with Dr. Feelgood. Other collaborators include

Art Themen Arthur Edward George Themen (born 26 November 1939) is a British jazz saxophonist and formerly orthopaedic surgeon. Critic John Fordham has described him as "an appealing presence on the British jazz circuit for over 40 years.... Originally a ...

, Pee Wee Ellis, Dub Syndicate, Paul Cox,

Archive (band) Archive are a musical group based in London, England, whose music spans electronic, trip hop, avant-garde, post-rock and progressive rock. Over their 31-year history, the band has released twelve studio albums and enjoyed established success ...

, Alan Barnes, Little Axe and Gypie Mayo. Glen has played at

Montreux Montreux (, ; ; ) is a Municipalities of Switzerland, Swiss municipality and List of towns in Switzerland, town on the shoreline of Lake Geneva at the foot of the Swiss Alps, Alps. It belongs to the Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut (district), Riviera-Pays ...

, Brecon Jazz Festival and

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million Jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

Festivals A festival is an event celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, Melā, mela, or Muslim holidays, eid. A ...

, Hollywood House of Blues, the Hilton, Las Vegas, Sporting Lisbon Stadium, Wembley Arena, Ronnie Scott's Club and The

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...

, as well as various

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

and

radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

performances.

Tours

Nine Below Zero - 1993 - Spain,Portugal & Scandinavia (with Sting) Nine Below Zero - 1993 - USA (with Alvin Lee) Nine Below Zero - 1994 - USA & Canada (with Alannah Myles) Nine Below Zero - 1994 - 12 Nights at the Royal Albert Hall with

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English Rock music, rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s l ...

) Nine Below Zero - 1994 - UK tour (supporting

The Kinks The Kinks were an English rock band formed in London in 1963 by brothers Ray Davies, Ray and Dave Davies, and Pete Quaife. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British ...

) Nine Below Zero - 1994 - UK tour (supporting

Brian May Sir Brian Harold May (born 19 July 1947) is an English musician, songwriter, record producer, animal welfare activist and astrophysics, astrophysicist. He achieved global fame as the lead guitarist and backing vocalist of the rock band Queen ...

) Little Axe - 1996 - European tour

- 1996 - Australia tour The Yardbirds - 1998 - USA & Canada The Yardbirds - 2000 - USA & Canada The Yardbirds - 2001 - European Tour The Yardbirds - 2003 - 'Birdland' tour - USA & Canada The Yardbirds - 2008 - European tour ''Soundcheck'' magazine referred to Glen as "one of the finest blues harp players and slide guitarists of his generation," and also received praise from ''Net Rhythms'' for his harmonica playing. Glen's original music was used on the soundtrack of the BB King Biopic "Life of Riley"

Selected discography

*The Yardbirds - **''Birdland'' ( Favored Nations) - 2003 *Nine Below Zero – **''Off the Hook'' ( China Records) - 1992 **''Hot Music for a Cold Night'' (

I.R.S. Records I.R.S. Records was a major American record label founded by Miles Copeland III and Jay Boberg in 1979. I.R.S. produced some of the most popular bands of the 1980s, and was particularly known for issuing records by college rock, new wave and a ...

) - 1994 **''Best of Nine Below Zero'' (I.R.S. Records) - 1994 **"Ice Station Zebro" (Pangea Records ) - 1995 **"'Live' in Europe 1992" (Floating World Records ) - 2011 *Dr. Feelgood – **''On the Road Again'' (Grand Records) - 1994 *Little Axe – **''Slow Fuse'' - ( M&G Records) - 1996 **''Hard Grind'' - (

Fat Possum Records Fat Possum Records is an American independent record label based in Water Valley and Oxford, Mississippi. At first Fat Possum focused almost entirely on recording previously unknown Mississippi blues artists (typically from Oxford or Holly Sprin ...

) - 2002 **''Champagne and Grits'' - ( Real World Records) - 2004 **"Stone Cold Ohio" ( Real World Records ) - 2006 **''Bought for a Dollar, Sold for a Dime"'' - ( Real World Records) - 2010 **"If You Want Loyalty, Buy a Dog" (On-U Sounds) - 2011 **"Wanted Live" (LA Records) - 2012 **''London Blues'' (On-U Sounds) - 2018 *Junior Delgado – **''Reasons'' ( Big Cat Records) - 1999 *Dub Syndicate – **''Acres of Space'' (Lion & Roots) - 2001 **''Rasta Far I'' (Collision Cause Chap) - 2006 *The Barcodes - **''Keep your Distance'' (Note Records) - 2000 **''Independently Blue'' (Note Records) - 2004 **''With Friends Like These'' (Note Records) - 2006 **''Live - In Session for the BBC'' (Note Records) - 2007 **"Be Cool - The Best of The Barcodes" ( Note Records ) - 2011 *Incredible Blues Puppies - **''Puppy Fat'' (Note Records) - 2005 **''In The Doghouse'' (Note Records) - 2008 *Roger Cotton and Alan Glen - **''Born in Black & White'' (Note Records) - 2003 *Gordon Smith - **"The Essential Gordon Smith" ( Note Records ) - 2009 **"Gordon Smith - Live" (Brooks Blues) - 2011 *The Geoff Everett Band ** ''The Quick And The Dead'' - 2012 *Tim Hain & Alan Glen **' GlenHain Gold Reserve (Note Records) - 2012 *Steve Morrison & Alan Glen ** ''Blues from South of the River'' - 2012 *Robin Bibi & Alan Glen **Live at The Oval Tavern (2016) **St Lawrence Blues (2019) * Dave Peabody Trio **Flea Biting Blues (2019) *Eldon Backhouse & Electric Blues Band **'Catslide Roof (2019) *Lee 'Scratch" Perry - **"Heavy Rain" (On-U Sounds) - 2020 *Gary Fletcher Band - **"River Keeps Flowing" (Repertoire Records) - 2020 *Bernie Marsden - **"Chess" (Conquest Records) - 2021 *Horace Andy - ** Midnight Rocker ( On-U Sounds)- 2023 *Keith LeBlanc **''The Chess Project (Marshall Chess Music) - 2023''

References

External links

Barcodes websiteNote Records website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Glen, Alan 1951 births Living people Musicians from Wuppertal Blues harmonica players Harmonica blues musicians I.R.S. Records artists Fat Possum Records artists

Career

Tours

Selected discography

See also

References

External links