Connie Lush
Connie Lush is widely recognised as one of the finest blues singers that the United Kingdom has ever produced.
That indisputable fact was acknowledged when she was voted Best UK Female Vocalist by readers of ‘Blues in Britain’ for 5 separate years, earning a richly deserved place in the Gallery of the Greats.
She is also increasingly recognised on the continent, particularly in France, where she was honoured in the French Blues Trophies awards as European Singer of the Year for 2003 & 2004 (and nominated for 2005). There are no separate awards for male & female singers in the European category, so Connie defeated all challengers.
Connie was a born performer, beginning her singing career in church choirs from the age of five until she was 17 years of age. Her musical influences are wide ranging and include Ray Charles, John Lee Hooker and Maria Callas. She also adores jazz, which is very evident from her stage performances. In her early career, she recorded five White Label discs and one album of garage and soul music in the 1980s. It is less appreciated that Connie’s musical talents go beyond singing. She is a highly accomplished songwriter, confirmed by many excellent self-penned songs that form the content of her live & recorded repertoire. She has also written TV themes, provided the vocals for the theme music of several television programmes and for British Handmade Films, and she has featured as a DJ on Jazz FM.
The USA has also fallen under Connie’s spell. In Memphis, she recorded with The Memphis Horns and The Hodges Brothers (Al Green’s backing group) and gigged at BB King’s Club and elsewhere on Beale Street. She also performed in Greenwich Village, New York, appeared on TV in Hollywood and was recorded live on Hollywood Boulevard.
A particular highlight of her career was when Connie & ‘Blues Shouter’ supported BB King on tour in ‘98, culminating in a stunning performance at the Royal Albert Hall. There can be no greater compliment to Connie than that uttered so sincerely by BB King himself: “That woman makes my heart sing.”
