Chiswick’s School Kitchen to celebrate West London’s rich history of rock music

Image: The Geoff Garbow Band on stage at the Ealing Blues Festival with guest Terry Marshall (sax). Photograph by Roger Green

Celebrating the West London origins of the UK’s rock scene

The recently-opened School Kitchen in Chiswick is to host an event to celebrate west London’s rich history of rock music.

The gig, on Friday 4 April, is a fundraiser for the Ealing Club, established in 2011 to highlight the music heritage of Ealing, Acton, Hanwell and Southall, and will feature some of the bands who play at the Ealing Blues Festival.

West London has played a significant part in the history of rock music, home to bands such as the Rolling Stones and The Who. Many of the musicians who went on to become famous worldwide in the 1960s and ’70s started out at the Ealing Blues Club, which opened in 1962. The club’s big claim to fame is that it is the venue where the Rolling Stones first met and played together.

READ ALSO: Celebrating the Rock heritage of SW London

Alistair Young, director of The Ealing Club said:

“Our mission is to take music to new venues and to encourage a new generation of players. The acts range from established Ealing Blues Festival favourites to two exciting young bands from the Powerjam Band Project, the not-for-profit band academy for players aged between nine and 18.”

The line-up for the 4 April event is:

• The Geoff Garbow Blues Band
• The Kings of Wonderland
• Rich Evro Reid & The Dead Flowers
• Powerjam Band Project presents Bluezd & MadTalk

Tickets are £10 and can be bought online here: wegottickets.com

Venue: School Kitchen at the Cricket Pavilion, Quintin Hogg Memorial Sports Ground, Hartington Road, Chiswick, London W4 3AN

The School Kitchen is a member of The Chiswick Calendar’s Club Card scheme – see their offers to Club Card holders here: School Kitchen Club Card offer

The Ealing Club is a Community Interest Company, and you can make a donation to support their work here: gofund.me

Image: Bluezd, the Powerjam band from Ealing. Photograph Powerjam

Alexis Korner, founder of the Ealing Blue Club and “the founding father of British Blues”

The organisers unveiled a plaque on the former Ealing Club premises opposite Ealing Broadway Station in 2012 to mark its 50th anniversary, and the co-founder Alexis Korner was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame at a ceremony in October 2024 in Cleveland, Ohio. The citation read:

‘In the mid-1950s, he was at the forefront of the British blues scene, introducing audiences to the raw, emotive power of American blues. Korner and Davies [Cyril Davies] formed Blues Incorporated and started a residency at both the Ealing Club and the Marquee Club.

‘These shows became the place to be, with Korner helping to shape the sound of the burgeoning British rock scene and serving as a mentor and guide to future rock legends including Mick Jagger, Charlie Watts, Ginger Baker, and Jack Bruce. As Keith Richards said, “Without Alexis Korner there would have been no Rolling Stones.”

‘The Blues Incorporated album, R&B from the Marquee, is considered one of the first British blues recordings, establishing the genre’s presence in the UK, and learning Korner the moniker, “the founding father of British blues”.’

The story of the Ealing Club is told in the feature-length documentary Suburban Steps to Rockland, the Story of the Ealing Club. The film includes interviews with Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce (Cream); John Mayall; Eric Burdon (The Animals); Nick Simper (Deep Purple); Paul Jones and Tom McGuinness (Manfred Mann); Mitch Mitchell (The Jimi Hendrix Experience); Pete Townshend (The Who); Geno Washington and many more.

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