ROCK legends Animals and Friends will be joined by special guest guitar maestro Steve Cropper for a gig at Middlesbrough Town Hall next month.
The show on Sunday, November 2 follows critically-acclaimed tours by Animals and Friends and Steve Cropper in 2008, 2011 and 2012.
The Animals and Friends line-up features John Steel and Mick Gallagher (The Blockheads, The Clash, Paul McCartney) from the original Animals, plus Danny Handley (performed with Spencer Davis, Bobby Elliott), Ric Lee (Ten Years After) and Scott Whitley.
Hailing from the banks of the Tyne, The Animals burst onto 1964’s energetic rock and roll scene with a brand of rhythm ‘n’ blues that brought them a worldwide following.
So influential were they that Bruce Springsteen recently revealed on stage in the USA that it was not The Beatles or The Stones but The Animals who were his favourite British Invasion band.
The band’s legendary take on the folk standard House Of The Rising Sun saw them become only the second British band to top the American charts after The Beatles, and they went on to rack up more than 20 global Top Ten hits.
Guitarist, A&R man, engineer and producer Steve Cropper is probably best known as a founding member of Booker T and the MGs (Green Onions, Soul Limbo), contributing to virtually every record issued by the legendary Stax label between 1961 and 1970.
As song writing partner of Otis Redding, Eddie Floyd and a dozen, Cropper’s credits include (Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay, Knock on Wood and In the Midnight Hour, not to mention the formation of the Blues Brothers Band.
Perhaps the ultimate testament to his immense contribution to popular music over the last four decades was his ranking by Mojo Magazine as the number two guitarist of all time behind Jimi Hendrix.
The Middlesbrough Town Hall audience can look forward to a feast of classics from Soul Man and Green Onions to House Of The Rising Sun and Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood.
- The Animals and Friends and special guest Steve Cropper perform at Middlesbrough Town Hall on Sunday, November 2 at 7.30pm.
Tickets are £20.
To book or for further information, call Middlesbrough Town Hall Box Office on 01642 729 729 or book online at www.middlesbroughtownhallonline.co.uk