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The 2006 Festival is: Friday 19th May and Saturday 20th May      


Back Door Slam



BDS at The Centenary Arts Centre Peel - 5th May 2005 - Click to Enlarge


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Dave Knowles

Dave Knowles by Trevor Burgess


Back Door Slam on Stage

Back Door Slam






Formed whilst still all at school in August 2003, the band have gone from strength to strength in a very short period.

Dave Knowles singer and guitarist extraordinaire fronts Back Door Slam. Having taught himself the guitar parts of Dire Straits' Sultans of Swing at the age of 11 and cut his playing teeth with Out of the Blue, Roadhouse and Creamy Heads. Dave is now cutting his own musical path with Back Door Slam

Jamie Armstrong plays Bass and is already a Blues Fest veteran, having appeared on the Acoustic stage at the age of 13 as one half of the duo Me and Him with his father, Mark. They have played the Festival several times since.

Ross Doyle completes the line-up of the band on drums.

Blues fans will realise the band's name has been borrowed from a classic Robert Cray song and they are also heavily influenced by many other Blues greats including Stevie Ray Vaughan, Robert Johnson, Buddy Guy and Howlin' Wolf as well as Rory Gallagher, Bert Jansch, and Mark Knopfler - but they have wide tastes and listen to a lot of rock, folk, jazz and traditional Celtic music too.

Expect a very tight, polished, professional set from this precociously talented three piece band over the Festival weekend. They well deserve their Main Stage slot.

See the Festival News item "Back Door Slam Wows Arts Centre" (5th May 2005) by clicking here.

13th May 2006 UPDATE:

BDS are now in the UK spending a year pursuing with vigour their musical ambitions.

Currently based in Newark under the auspices of Running Media man Bob Miller who also manages Christine Collister and Corinne Bailey Rae who is making something of a name for herself this year.

They have played gigs in Oxford and around Notts and fast making a reputation that constantly gets them return bookings. They have some influential names (currently remaining, intriguingly, anonymous) guiding them in production and presentation of their own material. They have another auspicious Blues festival to play on July 22nd 2006 at Sudely Castle , Winchcombe supporting Eddie Martin at the Blues in the Ruins Festival compered by none other than our own Dave Wade.

There are plans afoot to play a very special one-off charity concert at the 2006 Isle of Man TT Road Racing Festival . This will be the bands second appearance at the TT, as a band, and will undoubtedly give the other musicians on the bill a run for their money but is a welcome return for the many local fans they have on the Island.


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