Well, here I am already filling the early pages of the 2026 diary that I bought in October.  Retirement!  What – me worry?  Wow…two exclamation marks on one line already and I haven’t said anything about 2025 yet. That’s because in October 2024 I was thinking about just letting it all slow down because Miriam (nearly recovered from her 2022 stroke) was laid up again for nearly three months with a dreadful virus that knocked the stuffing out of her.  As ever, music provided me with a sturdy handrail and consequently, a very decent release schedule for 2025 and beyond.

This year started with the final batch of monthly singles from the Hannah White musical calendar that we had initiated in April the previous year.  Her songwriting covers a diverse range of subjects, issues and emotions - delivered in a variety of genre-defying styles.  These were released monthly over the course of a year to avoid diverting attention from “Hannah White: Fine Day”, which was the new album released in September.  A tour of record stores during the week of release, a string of nationwide gigs and some shows opening for Jools Holland’s R ‘n’ B Orchestra culminating with a brilliant performance at Royal Albert Hall, made it a truly memorable year for this rising star.  Hannah and her partner Keiron operate a great venue in Sutton, Surrey named The Sound Lounge. Anyone who thinks that running this kind of enterprise is an easy ride should take a look at their social media postings for an eye-popping account of some of the stuff that they have to deal with to keep the doors open.

In March 2024, Loudon Wainwright III visited the UK for three sold-out nights at Nell’s in Kensington and wanted to make a live album.  We got some great recordings which enabled us to release “Loudon Live In London” earlier this year having had to make some difficult choices about what to leave out of a seventy-minute CD.  The record is a true representation of his masterfully delivered live shows and includes some material that has never previously been recorded by him.  It’s a great addition to the rest of the LWIII catalogue that is now represented by The Last Music Company.

“Andy Fairweather Low: The Invisible Bluesman” was an instant hit making it to number 1 in the national blues charts.  It shines a light on a selection of his recordings that, grouped together in this collection, provide crystal clear evidence of the credentials that have earned him the respect of the finest musicians in the world. Andy is almost constantly on the road with The Low Riders playing sold-out shows to people who simply can’t get enough of this great band.

And talking of the blues, it was the 20^th anniversary of the Grammy winning “Jimmie Vaughan: Do You Get The Blues?” album, so I reissued it on vinyl and CD.  Jimmie had taken some time off for treatment of throat cancer but recovered and did a lengthy tour in USA including many dates as a dual headliner with Bonnie Raitt. His touring included a few festivals in Europe.  He and his band performed for two nights in London, where he was joined on stage by Eric Clapton for some electrifying numbers.  When I went to see Bonnie Raitt in Dublin, Jimmie and his family were on vacation there and he joined Bonnie for a couple of songs.  

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Bonnie Raitt has covered many of Paul Brady’s songs and the demo versions of some of them are among the sixty-four tracks of his that we released this year as part of “The Paul Brady Archive”.  Paul has a large collection of memorabilia and recordings spanning his career and he agreed with my proposal to get some of the key elements of it represented in a 12” square hardback book and CD set.    Rather than just have all the illustrations accompanied by a selection from his readily available catalogue, we took the opportunity of ploughing through all sorts of rare or unreleased recordings to produce a compilation that would really appeal to his fans.  He performed two solo shows at Bush Hall in London to kick off the release, providing thrilled London audiences with a rare treat.

Bill Wyman has retired from playing live shows but agreed to let me re-issue the album “Bill Wyman: Back To Basics” we had released on Proper Records ten years earlier.  I particularly wanted to get it onto blue vinyl in addition to CD to keep it available worldwide.

The “Chris Youlden: Closing Time” album got a dusting off and plenty of spins on the home record deck when I learned of his death in April.  It brought back some great memories of seeing the original Savoy Brown Blues Band (before Chris joined) upstairs at the tiny Nag’s Head pub in Battersea and then being at The Ram Jam Club in Brixton (tickets were seven shillings and sixpence – approximately 40p) for an “all-nighter” featuring John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers and John Lee Hooker with Savoy Brown.  That was the first gig that Chris did with Savoy Brown and it was a game-changer.  My pals and I saw them plenty of times after that at every opportunity.  Having left the band in 1970, Chris dropped out of sight after an attempted solo career until Martin Stone coaxed him out of his reclusive life to join the OTs with Paul Riley, Will Stallibrass and me for a residency at Dingwall’s in Camden Town.  That led to the series of recordings that we made as The Slammers resulting in this album we made with him.  He was one of the great voices of the British blues and I’m glad we’ve been able to preserve some of those memories on record and a couple of video clips.

Sadly, we also lost another great bluesman - Bucky Lindsey - this year.  I say we because he was the partner of my dear friend and colleague Lisa Best.  I tried to express the incalculable impact Bucky had on my life in my news blog of July.  He was a true source of inspiration for me.  The bass guitar was his instrument and he was also a prolific songwriter.  Among his credits as a musician, he played bass for many years with Lonnie Mack.  It was a monster band and one of their live shows was recorded in 1992 and I managed to get the rights to release it in November this year as a double vinyl LP and compact disc.  The recording quality is not great but the truly brilliant performances are now preserved forever on “Lonnie Mack: Live From Louisville 1992”.

The 2LP format also got used to great effect for “Bobby Charles: Last Train To Memphis”.  This was another album that I had originally released on Proper Records that had gone out of print.  I was very pleased to have met Bobby down in Lake Charles, Louisiana to do the original deal but it was only released on CD by Proper at the time. With guests Including Fats Domino, Sonny Landreth, Delbert McClinton, Clarence “Frogman” Henry, Maria and Geoff Muldaur, Willie Nelson and Neil Young (yes – that Neil Young), it is a beautiful album.  An absolute classic by any standards and hopefully, there’s more coming via us from the Bobby Charles archive next year.

The project that has taken up most of my time this year and been hugely enjoyable to produce has been “The Fabulous Thunderbirds: The Jimmie Vaughan Years. Complete Studio Recordings 1978 -1989”. The recordings and imagery in the compact discs and book is the only anthology of the band’s work from their formation until Jimmie left.  It was great to work on this collection which includes a previously “lost” album produced by Doc Pomus.  Listening to the music as it is presented in chronological order while reading the illustrated book makes you realise how hugely influential the band were on the development of contemporary blues at a time when it was largely neglected.

Elsewhere among the artists on the Last Music Company record label we had a 10” vinyl release of “Geraint Watkins and the Mosquitoes:  Here and There”.  Meanwhile, the James Oliver Band got through a few more sets of tyres on the highways and byways of the UK in their relentless emulation of BB King’s work schedule.  James is deservedly gaining more fans daily.  Tony Kofi has joined Cymande in addition to his own solo commitments, working with others and teaching.  I’m still hoping to record his Ornette Coleman set.  It’s unbelievably good.  

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Anita Wardell is slowly recovering from the stroke that has put her out of action for the last couple of years.  She is keeping in good spirits and has got well enough to have been able to travel back to Australia.  She recently shared with me some marvellous duo recordings that she did in USA with Jeremy Siskind before she was taken ill and we have released them as a digital mini album.  “Anita Wardell and Jeremy Siskind: West Coast Duo Sessions” is available on Spotify/Apple Music and all digital services.  

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Dan Penn has completed his “Dan Penn: Smoke Filled Room” album of demo recordings for release in 2026 and we have released his soulful Christmas single “One Blue Light” in time for inclusion in this year’s playlists! Go get it.  

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Bill Kirchen, having just finished mixing a new album pencilled for 2026, wound up in hospital and having to cancel most of his December tour dates.  He has a collapsed lung but is out of danger and returned home after Thanksgiving.  

And talking of being thankful…I have a great schedule already for next year with releases commencing in March.  You know me well enough to know that it’s the music that counts. Everything I’ve got lined up does the job for me and I’m sure you’ll agree when we announce our schedule. Stay tuned. ~ Malcolm Mills

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