MEMORIES OF A LEGEND
KYLA BROX
PAYS TRIBUTE TO
HER DAD
VICTOR
ON HIS BIRTHDAY 

I sit staring at this page trying to stop myself writing about this show for fear that I won't be able to stop. I will instill some self discipline and try to reduce my ramblings to their salient points. Ha!

  Where my relationship with the world of Blues is concerned, the Brox Dynasty is in many ways more important to me than almost anything else.

They say never meet one of your idols.

As a youngster (14/15) I saw my very first blues Band, an early incarnation of the Victor Brox Blues Train.
I became besotted with the memory of that night and could never again move very far away from the Blues.
Victor moved with his young family to France and he didn't appear as much, and fell off my radar. When his family got a little older he began to appear again in Blighty more often.
I saw Victor many times and as a result saw him play with some of his beautiful and talented family.  I guess the first time I saw Kyla sing with him she must have been about the same age that I had first seen her father.  In Kyla I knew I had seen a star right then. 

Many times I had been within inches of Victor but never actually met him. Not exactly the shyest of people, I could never bring myself to say hi to one of the nicest, most approachable men in the blues, whom, when given the invitation could talk the legs off a donkey.... no, two donkeys. I simply became that 14 year old again who had just seen this dude on a massive stage on a bill with Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee. Awestruck.

Years later, after seeing him a couple of times in my then hometown of Macclesfield, I started to think about a blues club, as an attempt to bring in some quality blues to my own turf more regularly. There just wasn't enough to see.  In 2006 I did it. Vic never knew what he was responsible for.

Later, having moved the club to Poynton, a lovely man became a regular visitor from the off. He was obviously in possession of an encyclopaedic knowledge of the blues and we got along famously. We would inevitably become friends.
Unbeknownst to me, Ray Stubbs was Victor's best friend who played roadie for him (Victor didn't drive).

One night, at the club, in walked Victor Brox. Alone. I mentally left the building and was replaced by a babbling 14 year old, who could only say "It's Victor Brox" to anyone in earshot. Erm, they didn't actually need telling; it was a blues club fer chrissake!
After a chorus of "Hi Vic"s and "How are ya Victor"s , in walked Ray (parking the car) and rescued me. "hi Garry, Have you met Victor"
4 hours later we were best mates. I grew to love both him and Ray and the pair would arrive together whenever a gig didn't clash with one of Vic's dates. I like to think we were a favourite of Vic's. The circle was complete.









                              Vic and I having a giggle at the club

Inevitably, he played several times for us in his own right and would often crash a Kyla gig with a bit o' brass sticking out of a pocket. Such a treat. Never did he have to warm-up his lip, he'd just lift a trumpet to his mouth and was off. Amazing. 

Another time he walked in on an Ian Siegal solo show carrying his beautiful old (very) Gibson acoustic. A little cajoling got him on stage with Ian and he silenced the room with an absolutely explosive rendition of an old blues and brought the house down. Ian was suitably gobsmacked, and said to me afterwards "Jeez! Vic was on fire tonight". Just another Vic tale in the story of Bluefunk.

See what I mean, I just can't shut up about the Broxes. All that is just a fraction of why I am so proud and privileged to be hosting this show at Bluefunk and if you haven't fallen asleep yet I will tell you about it.

The Sad Bit.

Last year we lost Victor.... I cried most of the day he passed. A gaping hole had been torn in the fabric of the blues world that could never be mended. Particularly in Manchester. A 24ct Manc legend who had conquered the world and gained the respect and adulation of some of the greatest names of the genre was gone. I will miss him forever.
One of the last full band gigs he was scheduled to play was at my 70th Birthday Bash Dec '22.  I heard on the wire that he had fallen ill days before the show.

He phoned me from the hospital on the verge of tears (this is hard to write) insisting that he would be there because he refused to let me down after the brilliant birthday gig I had done for him after lockdown ended. I reminded him that all I had done was facilitate a show that was delivered by him and his entire dynasty in their various incarnations and was frankly mind bendingly superb despite having to do it outside in the rain (the last of the Covid restrictions). 

Still he insisted he was not going to let me down because Clive (blues boy) Mellor was going to bring him. I happened to know that Clive was ill and couldn't come himself, but that is by the by. He then said that if he let me down I wouldn't ever book him again. AS IF!!.
I reminded him that there were two people having this conversation, only one of which was a legend and it wasn't me. I told him to get back in bed and get better and there would be a gig waiting for him until the end of world.
Sadly you know the end of the story.

At the great man's funeral (which was epic) I spoke to Kyla and said if there was ever an opportunity of paying homage to her dad with a tribute/memorial show I would love to help make it happen.

Bugger me! here it is

Let me say right now, this is Kyla's show. She loved her dad and has a lot to thank him for, not least her genes. She wrote a tribute song to him on her last (brilliant) album. (see below). 

Kyla has risen to a heady level of international stardom in her own right. Deservedly. She is THE blues voice of her generation. A plaudit widely given to her across Europe where she is in constant demand.  

This show would have happened without the sadness of losing Victor and we would have been here anyway but when it happened to be coincidentally scheduled on the legend's birthday, it would have been crass to do anything else.

Kyla will be celebrating the life and work of her dad as well as her own and will be inviting guests to join her to do so. It will be brave and loving and it will be unique. Bluefunk is overwhelmed to be part of it. Make sure you are.

Rest easy Victor. You will always be on the guestlist.