'Father of British blues' John Mayall dies 'peacefully' aged 90

Mayall was a pioneering figure in the British blues movement credited with shaping its revival in the sixties

The ‘father of British blues’ John Mayall who helped start the music career of stars like Eric Clapton died “peacefully” aged 90.

A statement on his Instagram said that the blues and rock musician died on July 22 surrounded by family.

“Health issues that forced John to end his epic touring career have finally led to peace for one of this world’s greatest road warriors,” it wrote.

“John Mayall gave us ninety years of tireless efforts to educate, inspire and entertain.”

Born in 1933 in Macclesfield, Cheshire, he learned piano, guitar, and harmonica at a young age.

Mayall performs in Munich, West Germany, in 1969 / Credit: AP

After serving three years in Korea, he attended art school in Manchester and helped form the band Powerhouse Four.

Mayall told the Guardian in 2014: “The scene in America was racially segregated – over there, never the twain would meet.

“In Europe, however – not just England – the black blues began to be heard by an audience that was not listening to them in America. We discovered Elmore James, Freddie King, JB Lenoir, and they spoke to our feelings, our life stories and that was it. Hooked.”

The Powerhouse Four would eventually lead to the formation of the Bluesbreakers.

Mayall sang and played guitar and keyboards in the Bluesbreakers. He recruited musicians like John McVie, a future Fleetwood Mac member.

The band debuted in 1964 and was the backing band for the Black American blues singer John Lee Hooker in the same year.

Mayall also played with blues legends such as Sonny Boy Williamson and T-Bone Walker, using his band to popularise blues in the UK with both covers and original songs.

In 1965, Eric Clapton joined the Bluesbreakers after leaving the Yardbirds, with their first sessions produced by a young Jimmy Page.

Clapton was briefly replaced by Peter Green, another future Fleetwood Mac star, and Jack Bruce played bass for a time. After Clapton returned, they recorded the hit album Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton in 1966.

“(Blues) is about – and it’s always been about – that raw honesty with which [it expresses] our experiences in life, something which all comes together in this music, in the words as well. Something that is connected to us, common to our experiences,” he told The Guardian.

Mayall moved to Los Angeles in 1969 and continued to lead bands, release dozens of albums and toured throughout the US and Europe into his late 80s.

The two-time Grammy-nominated artist was appointed an OBE (Officer of the British Empire) in 2005 and was recently inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Mayall is survived by six children, seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

The family statement ended by saying: “We, the Mayall family, cannot thank his fans and long list of bandmembers enough for the support and love we were blessed to experience secondhand over the last six decades.”