The results of the British Blues Connection poll for 2001 are reported in the latest issue of Blueprint Magazine (Vol. 2, Issue 51). The details of the winners are shown below. These are the nearest thing the UK has to the Handy Awards. Some of the artists have featured in CD reviews over the past year in Blues On Stage.

In order to prevent an overdominance by any act in any of the categories, five times winners are inducted into the British Blues Connection Gallery of the Greats. This means that they are excluded from future polls. The only new inductee this year was legendary British sax player Dick Heckstall-Smith.

There were not too many major shocks. Worthy of mention, however, are the fact that The Producers, who are disbanding later this year, won best UK blues band for the third time in a row, and Taj Mahal had something of a field day, picking up three awards.

The Poll Winners, with runners-up where announced:

Blues Band: The Producers
Best Album: Paul Lamb & the Kingsnakes "Take Your Time & Get It Right"
Reissue Album: Otis Rush "Good 'uns - The Cobra Recordings"
Acoustic Artist: Dave Peadbody -- Adrian Byron Burns(runner up)
Blues Rock Band: Aynsley Lister Band -- Dr. Feelgood (runner up)
Female Vocalist: Connie Lush
Male Vocalist: Earl Green -- Eugene Hideaway Bridges (runner up)
Guitarist: Stan Webb -- Johnny Whitehill (runner up) (Paul Lamb & the Kingsnakes)
Harmonica: Errol Linton Steve "West" Weston (runner up)
Keyboards: Mike Sanchez
Bass: Dave Bronze (Eric Bibb)
Drums: Sam Kelly
Saxophone: Frank Mead (Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings)
Overseas Band: Taj Mahal & The Phantom Blues Band
Overseas Best Album: Taj Mahal & The Phantom Blues Band "Shoutin' In Key"
Overseas Female Artist: Shemekia Copeland -- Angela Brown (runner up)
Overseas Male Artist: Taj Mahal

Details of the winners reproduced by kind permission of Blueprint magazine (www.blueprint-blues.co.uk).

This review is copyright © 2001 by Gordon Baxter, and Blues On Stage, all rights reserved. Copy, duplication or download prohibited without written permission. For permission to use this review please send an E-mail to Ray Stiles.