From Fort Worth, Texas, Buddy Whittington strides onto the big stage at the Irish Centre and launches into BB King’s ‘You Upset Me Baby’. Buddy – a man of size -not only sings like BB he looks like him too (well almost) with a Fender cradled like a baby on his girth. Tonight he is accompanied by seasoned musicians – Roger Cotton (keyboards) and Pete Stroud (bass) both former members of Peter Green’s now defunct Splinter Group. The excellent Darby Todd plays drums.

This is a night of electric guitar blues – with a Texan flavour. More than half the set comprises cover versions – Freddie King and Buddy’s former employer John Mayall predominate.

The sound is good – all the instruments cut through cleanly and the Buddy’s vocal is strong and expressive. There is something missing though – excitement? tension? Perhaps that’s more due to the venue and the audience – who are seated around tables – supper club style. Despite lots of encouragement to get up and dance there are few takers.

‘Black Cat Bone’ is the second number and features some fluid interplay between guitar and organ.
Opening with some jazzy piano, Greenwood is a lovely lyrical instrumental. Buddy’s melodic guitar weaves a pretty homage to Peter Green (the mainman in Fleetwood Mac Phase 1). Peter Green’s work , incidentally, also shaped the set of tonight’s support band: The Early Mac Band). Another self-penned track from Buddy’s debut album follows: ‘Pay The Band’. It ‘ups’ the pace and is the rockiest number so far with infectious guitar and piano fills.

The droll Roger Cotton does most of the introductions and tells us that its not often he come to Leeds – in fact its not often he leaves his garden! But they’re here to brave Leeds’ one-way system, tiny hotel showers (try not picture that) and play ‘Back when the Beano was Boss’. Buddy explains that this is a reference to the cover of the 1966 Bluesbreakers LP which features an uncooperative Eric Clapton reading the Beano comic.

After a run through Freddie King’s ‘Woman Across the River’ – notable for some fine syncopated rhythms the first set closes with ‘For Crystal Beach’ – a languid instrumental and the first number to be played from the new album: Six String Svengali.

‘Minor Blues’ opens the second set - the highlight of which is ‘Jacksboro Highway’. Doubtless Buddy played this many times during his fifteen years with John Mayall and as Louis Walsh would say “he really nailed it”. Kelly Rowland would have been so proud of him.

‘Go See Alice’ is a fun shuffle about erectile dysfunction (a pun on the drug Cialis) but sticks out like a ‘don’t know what’ in the context of some serious fender bending on ‘Brakeman’ ( nice train effects) and an effervescent ‘I Just Got Back From Baby’s’.

Buddy Whittington is the Fender Champ. He’s the consummate professional – modest personable and an all round nice guy.

Review by Andrew Lindsay
Photography by Tony Butterworth