Around the end of the 80s four unemployed musicians from Buxton, England, Dave Bagshaw, Nick Pimblett ,Ian Fawkes and John Kerr were asked to provide the music for a friends wedding bash, it was a ad-hoc affair and the lads happily knocked out some safe rock n roll and RnB standards and a good time was had by all. The lads all knew one another from various local outfits and that night old feelings were stirred. It was`nt long before a couple more gigs were arranged, a local pub and a charity show. At the time the bass duties were shared between Dave and Lee "Rattler" Tomlinson a new edition was added in Brian "Nifty" Clayton on guitar making the band a five piece. The band still did`nt have a name and so one night when asked by an impatient promoter what to put on a poster Brian impulsively answered"ROUTE 66" , and a band was born! It was now the early 90s and the lads began to start looking further afield for gigs. To quote Ian,"We never planned anything it just kind of evolved and the feel in the band was good, so we all just got carried along". 1991 saw the departure of John Kerr and he was replaced on drums by the inimitable Phil Baker on the drum stool, by this time Dave was the permanent player on bass with Lee retreating to his native Dove Holes. In the same year ROUTE 66 played support to UK RnB stalwarts Dr. Feelgood. To quote Ian again, " Looking back this was an exciting time for us we played in big venues to big crowds and we had a big exciting time , it left us wantig more". What followed was a busy time for ROUTE 66 "We played 100s of gigs clubs, pubs, weddings, we`d have probably done a funeral if they`d have had us". It did`nt matter the band was on a roll(rock n) and the crowds loved it!. Nick Pimblett left the band in 1993 which cut the line- up down to a 4 piece. Nick`s last contribution being the six track "Quiet home loving man" which has it`s distinctive cover shot of Phil in a moment of passion(playing the drums of course). The mid-90s saw ROUTE 66 fully established on the blues circuit. They have become regulars at the Colne and Burnley festivals and done shows with a wide range of artists , from Uriah Heep to Mr Methane(check him out!) as well as 100s of gigs in thier own right. More recordings followed with "Iget one everynight" and "In your face" and then their first CD "Get the blues". The late 90s have seen ROUTE 66 consolidating their position on the RnB scene as a first class "turn" and they continue to forge ahead on that front. Nifty Clayton left the outfit in 1998, "Blow your fuse" being his last recording, he was replaced by long time friend Martin "B.B." Longden. Over the last ten years a crucial part of the set up has been driver, roadie and sometime bouncer Doug Addy and his trusty VW van. With one hand on the wheel and the other on a kebab Doug has cheerfully ferried the band around and amused them with tales of his native Yorkshire. If you see him at a gig go up buy him a whiskey and he`ll gladly tell yopu a tale of the road! Final quote from the ever philosophical Ian, "I guess the secret of ROUTE 66s siccess is that we don`t take it to seriously, we get the songs right and then hit the road and I know it`s the old cliche but we really do HAVE A GOOD TIME!"
Sep 11th The Royal Oak Chesterfield Sep 29th The George Accrington. Oct 15th The Talbot Burnley Oct 20th North Valley Colne.....Oct 26th The County and Station Matlock Bath......Oct 27th The Victoria Urmston Manchester.....Nov 11th The Moon and Sixpence Glossop......Nov 15th Knights Bar Macclesfield.....Nov 25th The Cheshire Cheese Buxton.....Dec 14th The Racecourse Chesterfield.... Feb 3rd 2001 Shoulder if Mutton Chapel en le Frith.......If you want more info or a CD then check out the "alternative" site below,if you can`t do that our email is ian.fawkes@virgin.net A quick list of our recordings(better list coming soon) ...QUIET HOME LOVING MAN..six track cassette..I GET ONE EVERYNIGHT..six track cassette.. GET THE BLUES (CD), ..BLOW YOUR FUSE..(eight track cassette)..."NEW CD OUT NOW ...."GETTIG OUR KICKS"...16 TRACKS INCLUDING 8 FROM THE GREAT NIFTY CLAYTON, £10, E MAIL US AND WE`LL SORT YOU ONE!! SEE YA KEEP GETTING YOUR KICKS!!!!!!!!!!!