Barry “The Fish” Melton returns to Art Bank, a splash of 60’s Psychedelia with a host of special guests…

Barry Melton will be on lead guitar and vocals, joined by Canadian born singer & guitarist Natalie Martel, the sought after Parisian guitarist Stephane Missri, on bass guitar Steve Browning, an ex member of top U.K psych band The Pretty Things, the drummer will be Bernie Fox, who has toured with many American blues legends (including Jimmy Witherspoon and Eric Bibb), and on guitar, keyboards and occasional vocals we have Rob Beckinsale, vocalist for The Greg Douglass Band.

Barry “The Fish” Melton was the co-founder of Country Joe and the Fish, one of the most influential groups to come from the San Francisco scene.

In May 1967, they released their debut album, “Electric Music For The Mind & Body”. It was a chart success and still consistently appears in lists of the top psychedelic albums ever made. It’s never been out of print. In 1967 – the “Summer of Love” – Country Joe and the Fish played the Monterey Pop Festival, as did The Who, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, The Mamas and Papas, Otis Redding, Simon and Garfunkel, The Steve Miller Band and The Jefferson Airplane.

After a superb performance (check out D.A.Pennebaker’s film “Monterey Pop”) Country Joe& The Fish were in great demand, and toured arenas, concert halls, and stadiums throughout Europe and North America.
Their most famous appearance was at 1969’s historic Woodstock Festival when they played before a staggering HALF A MILLION people! Here’s some footage from the Academy Award winning “Woodstock” film. Barry is on lead guitar wearing the red patterned shirt >

Country Joe and the Fish split up in 1971, but occasionally regrouped to play together. In 1976 they shared the bill with Bob Marley and The Wailers at a stadium gig in Cardiff, Wales. They released two reunion albums in 1977 and 1994. Now only Barry Melton and keyboard player David Bennett Cohen are still active, both recording and touring with their own bands in the U.S.A. and Europe. After Country Joe and The Fish split, Barry released a series of excellent solo albums, and also recorded with top Welsh rockers Man at Rockfield Studios in Wales, and toured with them on many occasions.

Tickets £10.00

Doors 7pm