CityLife

Soul star Callier in Band on the Wall fundraiser

QUAYS BENEFIT: Callier

WHEN the legendary live venue Band On The Wall closed down in 2005 in a poor state of disrepair for ‘renovations’, no one imagined that the venue would still be struggling to find its feet four years down the line.

Much promising talk of reopening dates has been mooted, but none have looked as sure a bet as the recent news that the venue – reinvented and refocused on becoming a creative arts centre – will finally reopen this September. 

Fundraising to make this happen still continues (the venue is owned and run by not-for-profit company Inner City Music), and the latest artist to throw his support behind the cause is an icon of the jazz, northern soul and R’n’B music scenes – Terry Callier.

Raised in post-war America and immersed in music before his teens, Callier (pictured) got his first big hit at 17 playing alongside Howlin’ Wolf and Muddy Waters for the celebrated Chess record label. 

Acid jazz explosion

He was invited to join Muddy and blues great Etta James on tour on the back of the song’s success, but his mother vetoed the opportunity and made him stay in school. 

He did, but halfway though college he quit in favour of music and enjoyed 20 years of success in his native America before retiring in the 1980s to care for his 12-year-old daughter, Sundiata, after he became a single parent.

The acid jazz explosion of the early 1990s brought him back to music from his computer programming job at Chicago University and he’s never looked back, releasing nine albums (including current LP Hidden Conversations) since 1998 and adding Nitin Sawney, Beth Orton, Paul Weller and Massive Attack to a collaborations list that already included Curtis Mayfield.

He is, of course, exactly the sort of man that Band On The Wall would have put on their own stage if only their doors were already open.

So instead, Callier is playing The Lowry on his first tour with a new album in four years.
 

Terry Callier plays The Lowry on Friday, June 5. £22.50. Call 0161 832 1111.