The prominence of the harmonica – and Peter picked from a selection of a good couple of dozen in their own flight case- is not unusual by itself in the blues but inserted into the band’s raw hard rocking sound, it made for an intriguing combination.
Their distinguishing feature was the instrumental battles between the eponymous guitarist and lead singer and harmonica player Peter Narojczyk that featured on nearly every song including openers ‘Breaking the Stones’ and ‘Heavy Water’. There was a decent turnout and a very well-received support band, all the way from Aberdeen in Gerry Jablonksi and the Electric Band. Fortunately they made amends with this show, at one of the few venues to survive from their heyday, as part of the January Blues Festival, thankfully restored after a covid year out. As far as I am aware this was their first London appearance since I saw them at the Underworld in 2003, though they have played a couple of festivals. Their name rarely seems to be mentioned either as an influence or a continuing recording outfit and appearances on home soil have been rare as they concerate on overseas markets. Yet their profile has long been ridiculously low in their home country. Ten Years After have a considerable pedigree- leading lights in the British blues explosion and participants at Woodstock, as the sixties gave way to the seventies they were a big enough draw at the time to notch four top ten albums and a top ten single. Share the post "Gig review: TEN YEARS AFTER- 100 Club, London, 24 January 2022"