Roll Wyn James to play live in Perth

Sep 30 2011 by Alison Anderson, Perthshire Advertiser Friday

BLUES band Roll Wyn James are certain to get a huge cheer when they make one of their rare live appearances next month, and no one will be more proud than frontman and keyboard player Alwyn James.

Alwyn, who lives in Perth, has lived with aphasia and other effects of a massive stroke for 16 years, bravely battling to regain his ability to make music.

Alwyn had formed Roll Wyn James in 1993 along with Perth’s Kevin Smith, a couple of years after Alwyn abandoned his career as a schoolmaster to embark on a second career as a full-time musician.

Roll Wyn James became a hugely-respected band on the blues scene, and were touring abroad when the stroke abruptly cut short his professional career.

With a dedication, which he admits bordered on obsession, Alwyn fought back and re-gained the ability to play music, albeit just with his left hand – his right hand remains uselessly affected by the stroke.

Alwyn also has to live with aphasia – the massive reduction in his ability to communicate through speech.

Nevertheless, Alwyn’s return to music-making has resulted in the release of four blues albums. The fourth, Blues by Num3ers, released last summer marked the reunion of the original Roll Wyn James line-up of Alwyn on keyboards/harmonica/vocals, guitar supremo and singer Paul Henderson, Chris Agnew on bass guitar/vocals and drummer Kevin Smith.

Their reunion on a live stage played to a sell-out audience in the AK Bell Library Theatre last October.

A year on and Alwyn has managed to get his musical mates together again for Tuesday, October 18, when they play live, this time in the Norie-Miller suite of Perth Concert Hall, with a 7.30pm start.

“It’s fantastic that we could get all four members of Roll Wyn James together again,” said Alwyn, “because Paul, Chris and Kevin are such busy people.

“I’m delighted too that we’re able to play in the concert hall, which is a much better venue for me.”

Roll Wyn James will be in concert in aid of charity Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland.

Tickets for the October 18 gig are £5, available from Perth Concert Hall and RWJ Drumstore in Perth.

The Blues By Num3ers CD is available from the Perth branch of HMV.

l Alwyn is also celebrating his nomination in the Life After Stroke Awards 2011 in the category for the Adult Courage Award (65 years and over).