Born on 9 July 1955 in Blyth, Northumberland, England, Lamb first encountered the blues through John Mayall’s recordings before turning his attention to Sonny Terry, whose approach shaped his own technique during a twelve-year period of deep absorption. Folk-club appearances followed, and a harmonica championship victory in Germany arrived in 1975. By roughly 1980 he had shifted to amplified harmonica in the manner of Walter Horton; as a Blues Burglar he cut sides for Red Lightnin’ in 1986.
Soon afterward Lamb relocated to London and assembled his own group. Between 1990 and 1992 Paul Lamb And The King Snakes were named UK Blues Band of the Year on three successive occasions, while Lamb himself collected the Instrumentalist of the Year trophy and retained it for five additional years that extended well into the decade. The definitive King Snakes line-up coalesced in 1992 around Martin Deegan on drums, Chad Strentz handling vocals and guitar, Jim Mercer on bass, and guitarist John Whitehill, born 11 February 1952 in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England. Prior personnel had included Alan Savage, Daniel Strittmatter on drums, Dave Stevens on bass, and Johnny D. on vocals and guitar.
Although widespread popularity may remain elusive, the King Snakes rank among the most compelling exponents of white-boy Chicago blues to emerge in recent decades. Lamb’s harp has featured in the stage production of Tommy, Nissan television commercials, and the series Spender and Crocodile Shoes. In 1994, recording as Bravado, he placed the top-40 single “Harmonica Man” with Pete Waterman’s PWL Records. Accolades from publications such as Blueprint have affirmed his standing as the pre-eminent figure in British blues, a judgment echoed by Blues & Rhythm magazine when it characterised the band as “lazily cocksure and coolly aggressive.”
