Description

Blind Dead McJones was never a fan of being in the spotlight, no number 1 singles, cheesy videos or appearances on celebrity cooking programmes. A true Bluesman in every sense of the word, living a life on the road shrouded in mystery.

Some say he died years ago in an agriculture related accident, some say he is part of the keyzer soze family and some say he now makes Halloween costumes for dogs. One thing we know for sure is he is responsible for bringing together the blues rock behemoth that is The Blind Dead McJones Band.

Back in 2008 McJones was a lost and tortured soul, wandering the earth just like Kane in Kung Fu. Battling with his demons and struggling to keep going through the Hell that is the music business. All he needed was a friendly face, a pack of smokes and something to help him once again shake the earth to its very core, bring grown men to tears, turn sophisticated women once again into sreaming schoolgirls, and well and truly cement his place alongside the Gods.

He found all this and more when he met…

“The Boys”!

Ben “Buddy” Slack – Andy “The Cake” Johnson – Steve “Wee-Man” Nixon

“The Boys” are three of the finest young musicians in their price range. Nobody knows exactly why McJones decided to switch from working with battle hardened top of the line professional musicians to these three. Maybe it was their youthful enthusiasm, their quirky sense of humour, their undying love of the music and performing, the raw magnetism of Ben’s beard, most likely he was just a bit strapped for cash. Whatever his reasons were he took the boy’s under his wing like a goddamn chicken and educated them in his ways, raised them as his own and turned them into the best backing band he could afford.

The Story doesn’t end there though.

The debut performance of The Blind Dead McJones Band came around and you’d never guess what happened! The great Blind Dead McJones failed to show! This left the Boy’s in what could be classed as a “tricky situation”, what’s a backing band to do with no one to back? The Boy’s decided to simply play and have some fun. Guitarist Ben “Buddy” Slack donned his best McJones vocal impression and they winged a performance to a mediocre reaction from a confused crowd.

This is how our tale has continued over the years with McJones absence being one of the most consistent elements of The Blind Dead McJones Band. The Boy’s have embraced this with open arms and relished the opportunity to develop themselves as a 3 piece band. They’ve taken the great blues lessons learnt from McJones and infusing them with their other influences and quirky sense of humour to create their own original sound.

McJones seems happy with the arrangement as well, acting as a silent partner in the bands development. Advising the boys on all things blues and still making the occasional cameo appearance.

Description

The Duck & Drake is an historic pub in the centre of Leeds in beautiful West Yorkshire. Expect to find the finest cask ales and some of the tastiest live music anywhere in the city!

A fine example of a two-roomed Victorian corner pub retaining some original features. Wood-floored throughout and some of the floorboards have survived two hundred years of trade.

The central bar with fifteen handpumps sits in between and serves both rooms.

There is live music most nights from a small stage in the corner of the front room, which also features a mural on the back wall depicting many blues and rock legends and is decorated with various music memorabilia.

The pub has existed under several different names including THE HORSE & GROOM & THE BROUGHAM'S ARMS. During the second world war Broughams had a reputation for being a place where women would meet and entertain American GI’s. It wasn't until 1985 - while the pub was under the care of landlord Les Moon - that the name changed to The Duck & Drake. Though the present name is represented in the form of waterfowl it actually refers to the pastime of skimming stones on water called “ducks & drakes”.

Parking is often tricky... There is an NCP car park quite close by but it closes bang on 11pm - so if the bands still rocking - your car may get locked in!

43 Kirkgate,

Leeds,

West Yorkshire,

England,

LS2 7DR.

0113 245 5432