Duster Bennett – complete Blue Horizon recordings set for release

Duster Bennett
Duster Bennett (right) with John Mayall in 1970

Duster Bennett was one of the most distinctive and unusual artists to emerge from the very productive period of the late 1960s latterly dubbed the “British Blues Boom”. Tony ‘Duster’ Bennett was nothing less than a Blues-wailing ‘one man band’, playing guitar and harmonica whilst also providing his own rhythm section via a bass drum and hi-hat.

He scored a record deal with the British Blue Horizon label (helmed by the great Brit Blues producer, Mike Vernon), by way of a recommendation from none other than Fleetwood Mac guitarist Peter Green. Bennett would become a real draw on the very active Pub, Club and Student Union circuit of the late 1960s and early 1970s, renowned for his energetic live performances, Mod sharp style and audience rapport. A cultured and skilful harmonica player, Bennett would open up his musical base to incorporate Funk and rhythm and blues styles after he left Blue Horizon, but his life was cut cruelly short when he died after falling asleep at the wheel of his vehicle – he was driving home from a gig with Memphis Slim in Warwickshire – on March 26th, 1976.

This excellent double disc set yokes all of the recordings made for Blue Horizon from the unique and gifted Duster Bennett, from 1968 to 1970, and chart his development as a fine, intriguing songwriter and magisterial musician. His back-to–basics approach can be heard in the sound of later acts such as The White Stripes, and Bennett’s name is still held in high regard by his musical contemporaries. The Complete Blue Horizon Sessions is released on the Retro World reissue division of North London indie label, Floating World, on Friday, September 21st 2018.

Label website: www.floatingworldrecords.co.uk

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