This is the write-up in the April 2010 edition of the mag:

“In the Red” is the latest collection from the Blue Bishops.  The band, led by vocalist, songwriter, harmonica and guitar player Geoff Grange and fellow writer and guitarist Simon Burrett, play a wide range of their own music, and a few high energy covers.

The album starts with a cover of John Fogerty’s “Walking in a Hurricane”.  Well played versions of the Everly Brothers’ “Price of Love” and Arthur ‘Big Boy’ Crudup’s “That’s Alright Mama” show the group’s credentials, whilst their own songs show a universal quality. 

Songs such as “Wake up Call” with its telephone opening show a scope that ranges well past the usual three chord blues arrangements, whilst ballads such as “Place in Time” and album closer “These Things Take Time” have good backing tracks, allowing for melodic, well thought out slide guitar solos in the play outs.  “The Black Diamond” looks at the plight of miners, whilst “Credit Card” is a jokey singalong track looking at the end of a relationship.  “The End is Listless” is a duet for harmonica and Simon’s guitar.

Contributions from a number of other musicians, such as keyboard players John ‘Rabbit’ Bundrick and Rod Argent, also help to add colour to the arrangements.  The Blue Bishops give a very good account of themselves on this album, but I would have thought that the best place to hear a band like this is live.  Rating: 8 – Ben Macnair

The release of the John Leckie and Stuart Epps produced album , ‘In the Red’ sees the Blue Bishops live backbone energy complemented by a top production team. John and Stuart, having seen the band many times live, set out to capture that distinctive heartbeat that’s been so successful at gigs and bring it out with a clear band signature in the production, allowing each track its own individuality but with a clearly defined Blue Bishop’s style. This is further underlined by the addition of keyboards on a variety of tracks played by welcome guests Rod Argent of the Zombies and John ‘Rabbit’ Bundrick, of Free – now a long serving member of The Who.

With ten original tracks and three covers delivered with their own special twist, the album marks an important stage in the band’s history. The songwriting covers a broad spectrum from the lighthearted current take on the tough financial times, ‘Credit Card’, to a rocky reflection on the confusing messages of climate change, ‘The Sea will Rise’ and ‘The Black Diamond’, a biographical story of a mining disaster in the North East of England. Underlying all this is a style rooted in rock and rhythm and blues that brings together the influences that come from the musical backgrounds of each individual member as a tight, co-ordinated unit.

The Blue Bishops comprises a bunch of seasoned players who, between them, have worked with household names and global stars galore. They range from Jethro Tull to Joan Armatrading, The Kinks, Thomas Dolby, Blancmange, Bill Wyman, Lene Lovich, Argent, Nina Hagen… The Zombies….and lots more.

This formula means the Blue Bishops music is crafted, exciting, deep-rooted, ballsy and different, with enough early blues and enough late acid rock to turn every gig into an event.

The Line-Up:

• Geoff Grange – Vocals, Harmonica and Guitar
• Simon Burrett – Vocals, Slide and Guitar
• Jim Rodford – Bass guitar, Vocals
• Justin Hildreth – Drums

The History

The 2nd Blue Bishops album DEEP was well thought of, gaining a highly rated 9/10 review from ‘Blues in Britain’ and nominated as one of the best albums of 2002. It featured ex-Wishbone Ash founder and bassist Martin Turner who played with the band for 9 years in all, and who co-produced the album alongside legendary engineer Mark Tucker. Martin Barre from Jethro Tull made a guest appearance too. At this time in the band’s history Bob Sellins, had the lead guitar slot which he occupied for around 10 years. A role that Geoff and Simon now share between them.

An impromptu live album called “Bootleg”, made up of un-mixed tracks recorded “off the desk” in a series of gigs has been a hot favourite with Blue Bishops fans, in the period between ‘deep’ and the release of ‘In the Red.’

The Music

occupies a space in a genre that has a powerful 60s/70s appeal – but with a new take, with original numbers from experienced performers whose energy and freshness gives an encouraging nudge to all those who packed their own gear away years ago and feel they have to listen to old records to get what they want. Or to a younger audience who just want to see the real deal  – a live, no-nonsense straight down the line band with new and interesting songs to listen to.

‘One of the best kept secrets on the scene’ Blues Matters
‘I’ll have to watch my back’ Robert Cray at the Bishopstock festival
‘One of our top 20 albums of the year’ Blues in Britain on the release of the ‘deep’ album

Well, the saga of the long-awaited album continues. The history of closed studios, lost masters, lost overdubs…[outside parties - nothing to do with the amazing production team of Stu Epps and John Leckie]…was worth the wait.

The keyboard parts Rod has put on so far add a dimension that’s absolutely spot on for the new material, not to mention his enthusiasm and that energy that just flies out of his fingers. Thank you Rod. Roll on the next session.

To hear Rod in action on ‘Place in Time’, check out the Album Samples page.

I’m delighted to be able to say that Jim Rodford will be joining us to add his world-class experience and musicianship to the band.

As the former bass player with Argent, the Kinks, the Animals, the Zombies and even Lonnie Donegan, his experience speaks for itself. Not to mention his enthusiasm for the kind of driving music the Bishops have a reputation for delivering.

While we are sad to see Martin go, we wish him loads of luck and understand his need to complete a project that’s been close to his heart for a long time. But at the same time we are delighted to give Jim the warm welcome he deserves and look forward to having another fine bass player driving the music forward.