England's the Blues Band is led by ex-Manfred Mann vocalist Paul Jones and guitarist/vocalist Dave Kelly, who, before forming the group in 1979, had been a member of the John Dummer Blues Band and issued several solo recordings on his own (Kelly had also received praise for his playing by such blues legends as Howlin' Wolf and John Lee Hooker). After hooking up with friend/bassist Gary Fletcher, the seeds for the Blues Band were sown, resulting in countless albums (including such titles as 1980's Official Bootleg Album and Ready, 1981's Itchy Feet, 1982's Brand Loyalty which featured new member ex-Family drummer Rob Townsend, 1983's Bye Bye Blues, 1986's These Kind of Blues, 1989's Back for More, 1991's Fat City, 1993's Homage, and 1995's Wire Less, among others). In addition, Kelly formed the Dave Kelly Band in the mid-'80s (issuing four albums), penned music for commercials and such projects as BBC TV's King of the Ghetto and The Comic Strip Presents Strike!, has been voted Best Acoustic Artist by BBC polls throughout the '90s, and is an honorary patron of the London Guitar College with Hank Marvin. ~ Greg Prato, Rovi