It was October 15, 1965 when 18-year-old Ian Anderson travelled from Blackpool to Manchester to see the fourth visit to Britain of The American Folk Blues Festival. A rolling revue of blues legends, the original event was the brainchild of German promoters Horst Lippmann and Fritz Rau, who’d developed a relationship with bluesman Willie Dixon. Through him they were able to persuade a stellar line-up – including Memphis Slim, T-Bone Walker and John Lee Hooker – to play a month of shows in Germany, Switzerland and the UK in 1962.
Three years later, when the teenaged Anderson went to see the 1965 festival, Hooker was back, alongside Big Mama Thornton, Buddy Guy, Mississippi Fred McDowell and more. But it wasn’t one of the big stars who changed everything for the future Jethro Tull founder – it was a lesser-known Chicago blues guitarist and singer-songwriter named JB Lenoir.
