Madfish and the John Mayall Estate are proud to announce the forthcoming release of a boxset celebrating John Mayall’s remarkable career on the 7th March 2025.
This new collection of previously unreleased live concerts features sound-desk and audience recordings capturing a host of line- ups with guitar legends Mick Taylor, Harvey Mandel, Walter Trout and Coco Montoya; drummers extraordinaire Keef Hartley, Mike Gardner and Colin Allen; bass supremos Larry Taylor, John McVie, Steve Thompson and horn maestros Blue Mitchell, Johnny Almond and Clifford Solomon all featured along with many more.
Mayall’s influence and appeal was worldwide; the selection of recordings herein showcasing his timeless, singular sound. Captured from 30 incredible performances from cities including New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Paris, Milan, London, and more, the collection spans a 25-year period and offers a comprehensive view of Mayall’s legendary live prowess.
This box set coincides with John Mayall’s much-deserved induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and was approved and fully supported by the Two-Time Grammy Nominee before his sad passing earlier this year. The Mayall estate also supplied two very special privately recorded shows for this box set, both performances coming from Gaz Mayall’s legendary club night Gaz’s Rockin’ Blues in 1981 and 1982 respectively. The former features Alexis Korner and the latter is a rare example of John and his sons Gaz and Ben all appearing onstage together.
The set also Includes a large hardback book with many previously unseen photos plus a commemorative art print.
John’s career is legendary, and his influence spread far beyond the confines of the blues scene. Inspired by renowned American blues players, his music career began while at Art school playing with fellow student Peter Ward and other local bands. Following advice to move to London’s burgeoning British Blues scene he immediately found an enthusiastic receptive audience. His own obsession with the blues found a natural home in clubs like Marquee, The Flamingo, The Fillmore, The Scene and Klooks Kleek, all finding fertile proving grounds for Mayall’s style and various line-ups.
His reputation quickly grew as he introduced upcoming exciting new talent into his Bluesbreakers line-ups. Throughout his musical career Mayall provided a springboard for musicians who would themselves move on to greater recognition in some of the world’s greatest bands – Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce, John McVie, Mick Taylor, and Peter Green, to name just a few. His ability to give opportunities to new artists earned him the nickname the Godfather of British Blues.
Gaz Mayall spoke recently about the forthcoming boxset: “The family has been working closely with Madfish / Snapper Music over the past couple of years to bring together this formidable collection of music and memorabilia. We are very excited to present this fabulous selection to coincide with John’s long overdue induction into the Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of Fame.”
