Darlington R'n'B Club

RnB & Railways

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 Rhythm ’n’ Blues Club hold their monthly gigs at the Forum Music Centre in Borough Road, Darlington.

Here are a few “Blues and Railway” songs that might hit the spot!

South Bound Train
Muddy Waters

Hobo Blues
John Lee Hooker

All Night Train
The Allman Brothers

Too Too Train Blues
Big Billy Broonzy

Online
Tickets

Calendar

Location

Contact the box office for further details, ticket prices and future attractions 01325 363135

The Forum Music Centre
Borough Road
Darlington
Co. Durham
DL1 1SG

Map Link

Contacts

For booking arrangements and to send Demo Cd's, please contact:

Club Secretary: Ian Ross

Publicity Officer and Master of Ceremonies: Mike Prendergast

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 Centre, 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.

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Playlist Tracks

Corridor to the Blues

Blues ‘N’ Trouble - Travellin’ Light
Richie Milton & The Lowdown – When Baby Don’t Wanna Play
The D7’s – Iceman
Bluesline – Can’t Get Next To You
Parkers Alibi – Funny How
Errol Linton’s Blues Vibe – You Know I Love You
Peter Shoulder Band – When Will You Laugh Again
Citizen Kane – Idle Hands
The Junco Partners – Cocaine
Neol Davis Box Of Blues – Pack A Pistol
Bill Thomas – ‘Cos She’s My Baby
Nicky Moore’s Blues Corporation – Resting In The blues
Amor – Take Me Home
The Rhythm Method – Vehicle
Marcus Malone – Walkin’ Shoes
Harry Skinner - Arizona

More Blues for You

The Blue Bishops – Stop Breaking Down
Willie Logan – The House Of The Rising Sun
Mick Clarke Band – Devil On The Road
Lyndon Anderson Band – Take My Order
Smokehouse Blues – Better Watch Yourself
Lights Out By Nine – Feels Like Rain
Kyla Brox Band – Beware
The Roach twins Band – CSI Salford
Trafficker – Is This Called Love
Pete Gilgan Band – This Is Hip
Hucklebuck – Surf ‘n’ Turf
Big Boy Bloater & His Southside Stompers – They Call Me Big Boy Bloater
Doug Jay & The Blue Jays – Half Ain’t Been Told

Keeping the Blues Alive

Taste – The Drifter Bad Influence – Bad Desire Sean Webster – So Rare Ian Siegal – Sugar Rush Steve Arvey & Blues Move – How Do You Spell Love The Stumble – The World Is Tough Papa George – Its Raining Down In Texas DVD – Red House The Revolutionaires – Shake Your Hips Copperhead Still – Crossroads Blues Rivers – Bring It On Home To Me Rocky Athas Group – To My Friend – SRV

House Rockin' Blues

The Motel Kings – I Want You To Want Me
Eddie Martin Band – Blues With A Feeling
Bare Wires – You Got What You Wanted
Steve ‘Big Man’ Clayton – Can You Dig It
A.M 5 – Leavin’ Trunk
Preacher – Double Trouble
The Hokum Hotshots – Travelling Blues
Off The Wall – Double Crossed
The Nimmo Brothers – All My Life
The Hoax – I Want To Be Loved
Steve Bennett – Begging Bowl
Gwyn Ashton – Just A Little Bit
Erik & The Vikings – 19 Years Old
Scandalous Bachelors – Icepicks Confession
Alive & Kicking – Need Your Love So Bad
Jet Martin – Baby Please Don’t Go
The Moonshots – Roadhouse Blues
Mick Pini Band – Looking For Somebody

Garden Bar Blues

The Mighty 45’s – Chains
The Mighty Houserockers – Madison Blues
No Time For Jive – Lovers Lament
The Backscratchers – Shake Your Hips
The Dave Richmond Band – Behave Yourself
Little Stevie & The Rhythm Kings – I’m Ready
The Harpbreakers – If You love Me So Much The Mighty 45’s
You Gave Me The Blues The Backscratchers – Way Back Then
No Time For Jive – Love Sick
The Mighty Houserockers – Blue Light
The Harpbreakers – Cloudy Weather
Little Stevie & The Rhythm Kings – There Must Be More To Life Than This
The Dave Richmond Band – Hell Hound On My Trail
Stalebread Charlie – Built For Comfort

Friday Night Blues

Doctor Browns Blues Band – Every Day I Have The Blues
George Shovlin Band – Viola Lee Blues
The Moochers – Outta Shape
Blues Shouter – Sugar Man
The Producers – You’ve Gotta Change
Otis Grand – Blues Is King
Saints Or Sinners – Triple Trouble
Nine Below Zero – Hip Shake
The Hamsters – Boogie Man
The King Ivory Band – I Can’t Get Enough Of That Stuff
Out Of The Blue – Blues In A Bottle
Steve Williams Blues Deluxe – Full Moon On Broadway
Denny Newman – This World
Big Joe Louis & His Blues Kings – Leaving On My Mind
Frank White Band – Keep Me Hanging On

We've got the Rhythm if you got the Blues

Dr. Feelgood – Roxette
John O’Leary Band – Divin’ Duck
The Colin John Band – What’s Wrong
Speakeasy Blues Band – Ready For Love
Memo Gonzalez & The Blues Casters – Greyhound
Slack Alice – Mississippi
West Weston’s Blues Sonics – I Know What’s Going On
The Cadillac Kings – Lou Ann
The Winchesters – [It Depends] On Who I’m With
Blues Move – Slow Train
Danny Bryant’s Red Eye Band – Play To Win [ Born To Lose]
The Rockin’ Armadillos – Honeytrap
The Giant Killers – You Know My Love
Little Stevie & The Business – Nosy Joe
The Smokin’ Spitfires – Each Time You Leave Me
The Robin Bibi Band – [Up All Night] Vampire Blues

Blue is not a Colour

Buddy Whittington - Young And Dumb
King King - Broken Heal
Norman Beaker Band - Break It Down*
King Earl Boogie Band - Going To Dance
Tommy Allen Band - Read Me My Rights
James O'Hara Band - Please Try To See It My Way
The Dirty Robbers - All The Time
Key Frances - Real Deal
Spike Drivers - Hey Hey
Peter Donegan - Rock Island Line
W.T. Feaster Band - Back For More*
Storm Warning - on The Road

Welcome to Darlington R'n'B Club

Darlington R'n'B Club was formed in May 1995 by a small group of blues enthusiasts who decided to do something themselves due to a lack of live rhythm & blues music in Darlington. A committee of six people run the R n B Club on a voluntary basis and give up a lot of their spare time for the Club to function. The Club has a hard core of approximately 50 to 70 members who come along to most gigs. Our other patrons are floating R'n'B and Blues fans who most likely choose which bands they want to see. The club's atmosphere is very friendly, and any newcomer's are always made to feel welcome. So if you haven't been before, why not come along and join us for a great night's entertainment?

Darlington R'n'B Club has been running since 1995. We have, for the first seventeen years, held our events at Darlington Arts Centre until it closed, due to Council cutbacks, in July 2012. We then moved to the Dolphin Centre for four months, however, we didn't settle here long due to sound problems that couldn't be rectified and are now based at The Forum Music Centre in Borough Road, Darlington. The Forum Music Centre is the place to be for live music in Darlington, as a not for profit Community Benefit Society (Registered as a Mutual with the FCA). The Forum offers Live music, recording studios and even academic courses for music and arts so it is a perfect match for Darlington R'n'B Club as a great place for for great music.

The committee that runs the R'n'B Club works hard at getting the right blend of bands that cover the wide umbrella of "Rhythm ‘n’ Blues". We don’t always get it right, but we have a good idea of what our patrons like. So we try and balance this with our own tastes when introducing new bands that we feel will suit the majority of our customers.

Our ticket prices reflect the outgoing event expenses so we keep the prices as low as possible to encourage as many people as possible to come and enjoy a great night out and for it not to cost too much. Our belief is that a band plays well if their needs are catered for, we do our best to look after them with refreshments and comfortable changing facilities. And we always provide comfortable overnight accommodation for any of our bands who require it. Darlington R'n'B Club's philosophy is great music and a great time at a great price and we will endeavour to keep prices as low as we can.

We know from talking to bands that we have a great reputation on the R'n'B circuit for putting on good gigs and looking after their requirements. We enjoy promoting live Rhythm ‘n’ Blues events in Darlington, so until it stops being enjoyable, we’ll continue for as long as possible! Until then – please support us if you can!