Our events were originally held at Darlington Arts Center which showcased some incredible bands for seventeen years. In the early days of Darlington R’n’B Club, to keep ticket prices down and encourage as many people as possible to attend our gigs, we generated limited runs of souvenir T-shirts and compilation cd’s.
We asked the bands who had played for us if we could use one of their tracks from their cd’s to be included on a compilation of limited-edition cd’s. The first cd was released in 1996 and then every two years after that until 2012, the cd costs were kept low as we thought of them as a nice souvenir for our loyal customers who turned up gig after gig and supported our events.When we moved from Darlington Arts Centre to the Forum Music Studios, if felt like a good time to move on in general. So we stopped releasing cd’s as music had become more accessible online so it just seemed the right time to move our demo tracks online. With cooperation from the bands we have been able to use their tracks as a demo playlist on our website to highlight the quality bands that Darlington R'n'B Club books for their events.
Blues origins belong in the deep south of the USA, among the slaves. Once freed these slaves took to the railways for escape, freedom and work. The induction of Sister Rosetta Tharpe's 1939 classic "This Train" into the Grammy Hall of Fame gives an acknowledged link to the “Blues and the Railways.” What better way to celebrate this link than in the home town where the first steam hauled passenger railway journey took place back in 1825.
Some great Blues tunes were inspired by black migrants travelling on trains up to the great northern cities of America looking for a better life. Located only a ten-minute walk from Darlington’s Bank Top Railway Station, Darlington Rock ’n’ Blues Club hold their monthly gigs at the Forum Music Studios in Borough Road, Darlington.