Artist: Ten Years After

Originally from Nottingham in the UK, this band of virtuoso musicians under the leadership of Alvin Lee conquered the UK scene and then spread their wings to the USA. Their blend of Jazz, Blues and Rock was initially slightly awkward but their first album provided an opening for them. They were never short of live work from this time on; the L.P. prompted top U.S. promoter Bill Graham to book Ten Years After at his Fillmore West venue in San Francisco in 1968. In July 1969, Ten Years After were asked to play at the Newport Jazz Festival in Rhode Island but this was overlooked due to another little gig called Woodstock.