By Martin Hutchinson

HE has played Glastonbury Festival and toured with blues stars including Walter Trout and Fleetwood Mac founder Peter Green.

Now top US bluesman Paul Lamb is returning to the UK to play a number of dates as part of his European tour — including a Whitefield pub.

Paul Lamb and The Detroit Breakdown will be at the Welcome Inn, Bury Old Road, on Wednesday, May 27, at 8pm.

Paul who, as the name of his band suggests, hails from Detroit is pleased to be back on British soil.

He said: “Any chance I get to play in the UK, I take it.

“The crowds in Britain really accept you with open arms, whereas in the US you have to prove yourself.

“I really enjoy it in the UK — in fact, I love it so much that I’ve toured twice a year for the last 10 years.

“The UK has some of the best crowds anywhere in the world, I can’t wait."

Paul grew up in Detroit, listening to a mix of great rock radio artists who have heavily influenced his sound.

He said: "There’s a lot of great blues come from the area and I have obviously been influenced by the likes of John Lee Hooker and Jimmy McCarty from Mitch Ryder’s Band.

“I’d say my sound is very derivative of Detroit funk and blues.

“There’s hints of George Clinton’s Funkadelic in there as well as the great James Brown; and it’s rooted with riffs, so I’d call it riff blues or just blues rock.”

Paul’s backing band — The Detroit Breakdown — has been with him for years but with a lot of changes.

He said: “Yeah, the line-up’s changed throughout the years as we are all touring musicians.

“At the moment, I have some great guys with me. On bass, there’s Joey Spina and I’ve got Layla Hall on drums.

“Sometimes, I bring in another guitarist or keyboard player."

Another influence on the singer-songwriter and guitarist is blues-rock guitar hero Joe Bonamassa.

He said: “Joe’s a dear friend and he crosses so many boundaries with his music, but these days, he appears to be going back to a more traditional blues sound.

“In fact, I’ve just been on the Keeping The Blues Alive cruise with him and we had a great time.

“I’m more influenced by him as a guitarist and songwriter, although I’m more of a singer/songwriter.

“I’m more of a lyricist and poet, I think the lyrics are the most important part of my music.

“Having said that, there’s plenty of solo-ing in my live shows.”

Unlike most touring musicians, Paul is not plugging any new albums while out on the road.

His latest album, Ready Fire Aim, was released last year and there is a best of, entitled Take It From The Top, which contains the cream of the crop from his four albums.

He said: “We are currently in the studio, but the album we’re recording won’t be ready until the end of the summer.”