Climax Blues Band: An Illustrated History 1968-2019 is the story of one of the most versatile and enduring of British blues-rock bands. Formed in Stafford in 1968 as a five-piece act at the height of the British ‘blues boom’, the Climax Chicago Blues Band personified the wave of exciting electric blues groups which spawned across the country in the wake of the pioneers Alexis Korner, Cyril Davies, Graham Bond, and John Mayall.

Unashamedly influenced by, and devoted to, the blues of the Mississippi masters such as Robert Johnson and Son House (with whom Climax played on more than occasion) as well as the exciting electric blues of Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy Williamson II, Jimmy Reed and Elmore James, Climax awakened audiences in the pubs, clubs and music venues of the British Midlands and London to their distinctive combination of saxophone, guitar and organ, driven by a tight jazz- and blues-drenched rhythm section.

Playing as Climax Chicago in the early 1970s, the band changed its name again in 1974 and for the next forty-five years they would be known as the Climax Blues Band. From a repertoire of blues, jazz, and psychedelic rock, through the changes in name and the influences of successive members of the band, the music developed and expanded into rock and funk. With ambitious management, talented songwriting, superlative musicianship, an ethos of hard work and dedicated touring, throughout the 1970s Climax carved an impressive reputation in America to the point that their home audience thought they were American.

With the success of a transatlantic hit single along the way and signing to a major US label, Climax weathered the storm of punk, recognising the need to adapt to contemporary tastes and embracing change, while remaining faithful to their origins.

From playing blues on small stages in British pubs and working men’s clubs to performing in packed American arenas alongside some of the greatest names in rock, such as Wishbone Ash and Bad Company, Climax became a prime act and in demand by the likes of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Johnny Winter, ZZ Top, Heart and Bachman Turner Overdrive.