At a time when most rock legends from the Sixties seem to be scarily older than you think – or in many cases, more scarily, dead – one of them still seems remarkably young.
Steve Winwood is still touring and is due in London in July. And though you might think he should be in his seventies by now, he's actually a mere 68.
That makes it more than 50 years since I first saw him on stage – when he was 16 or 17. He was already a veteran performer then, and fronting the Spencer Davis Group.
A precocious guitarist as well as keyboard player, he has had so many incarnations. But his finest hour was with the sadly short-lived Blind Faith, in which the Creamy musical virtuosity of Eric Clapton and Ginger Baker was harnessed to the truly lyrical songwriting and singing of Winwood.
I was fortunate enough to see Winwood and Blind Faith at Hyde Park. And despite all his brilliant work since that time, it is the Blind Faith album that seems perfectly to capture the Winwood essence.
No comments:
Post a Comment