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What is british blues?

More than a mere geographical distinction, the early British Blues of the late '50s and early '60s paid strict adherence to replicating American blues genres, with an admiration for its originators bordering on reverence. But by the time of the blues revival of the mid-'60s, British guitarists -- in the main led by Eric Clapton -- were starting to bend the form to create their own amalgam.

Artists to start with

  1. John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers
  2. John Mayall
  3. Savoy Brown
  4. Chicken Shack
  5. Steamhammer
  6. Alexis Korner
  7. Jack Bruce & Robin Trower
  8. The Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation
  9. National Health
  10. Clare Free

Albums to hear first

  • The Rolling Stones by The Rolling StonesThe Rolling StonesThe Rolling Stones
  • Animalisms by The AnimalsAnimalismsThe Animals
  • The Very Best of Cream by CreamThe Very Best of CreamCream
  • Blue & Lonesome by The Rolling StonesBlue & LonesomeThe Rolling Stones
  • Crawling Up A Hill - A Journey Through The British Blues Boom 1966-71 by Various ArtistsCrawling Up A Hill - A Journey Through The British Blues Boom 1966-71Various Artists
  • Junior's Wailing by SteamhammerJunior's WailingSteamhammer
  • Looking In by Savoy BrownLooking InSavoy Brown
  • The Rolling Stones, Now! by The Rolling StonesThe Rolling Stones, Now!The Rolling Stones

British Blues songs

  1. All Your Love by John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers
  2. Hideaway by John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers
  3. California by John Mayall
  4. I'd Rather Go Blind by Chicken Shack
  5. Junior's Wailing by Steamhammer
  6. I'm So Afraid by Fleetwood Mac
  7. It Ain't Right by John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers
  8. Downtown Suzie by The Rolling Stones
  9. The Sun Is Shining by Fleetwood Mac
  10. Comin' Home by Delaney & Bonnie

Neighbouring genres

In the jazz & blues family. All genres

bluescool jazzbossa novaacid jazzblues rockbebopavant-garde jazzdelta blueschicago bluesdark jazzcountry bluesdesert blues

Questions

What is british blues?
More than a mere geographical distinction, the early British Blues of the late '50s and early '60s paid strict adherence to replicating American blues genres, with an admiration for its originators bordering on reverence. But by the time of the blues revival of the mid-'60s, British guitarists -- in the main led by Eric Clapton -- were starting to bend the form to create their own amalgam.
Who are the best-known british blues artists?
By Last.fm listening: John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers, John Mayall, Savoy Brown, Chicken Shack, Steamhammer and Alexis Korner.
What genres are similar to british blues?
On Risocast it sits with blues, cool jazz, bossa nova, acid jazz, blues rock and bebop.

Risocast is free. Install it once and it logs everything you play.

Download for WindowsFree · v4.0.11Open RisocastRight here · Spotify or Last.fm

Updated 7 October 2026

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Download for WindowsFree · v4.0.11Open RisocastRight here · Spotify or Last.fm

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On Android the app does the same for any music app. Anywhere else, connect Spotify or Last.fm.

When a song countsAfter half its length, or four minutes, whichever comes first.Very short tracks are left out.Songs you play offline are added when you're back online.

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Weekly Disc and Taste Map

Every week becomes a disc of your top songs. Every record you play goes on a map, grouped by genre.

Weekly DiscTaste Map

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Risocast is free for Windows 10 and 11 and for Android. On any other device, use the web app with Spotify or Last.fm.

Download for WindowsFree · v4.0.11Open RisocastRight here · Spotify or Last.fm
  • Version 4.0.11 · Windows 10 and 11 (64-bit) · about 100 MB
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  • On Android: download the app (APK, v4.0.4).
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Risocast Help

A music diary that writes itself, and a place to find people who love the music you love. Play music anywhere (Spotify, YouTube, your phone) and Risocast remembers every song. Each week it presses your listening onto a Weekly Disc you can share, and it introduces you to your taste twins: people whose music matches yours. Free, no ads, and it looks like Windows 98.

The people whose music matches yours most. Risocast compares what you actually play, not a list of favourites, and shows how much your taste overlaps with anyone's, so you can find them, see what they're playing and say hello.

Your week in music, pressed onto a CD: a ring for each song you played most, coloured from its cover. It's made fresh every week, to keep or share.

Yes. Risocast is free, with no ads, and nothing you play is ever sold.

Almost certainly. Spotify, YouTube Music, Apple Music, Deezer, music in your browser and nearly any app on your Windows PC or Android phone are remembered on their own. A few desktop players (VLC, iTunes, MusicBee) need a free add-on first. You can also connect Spotify, or bring your history over from Last.fm.

It keeps the same kind of diary of everything you play, without setting anything up for each app, and it's built around something Last.fm isn't: finding the people who love the music you love.

Your profile is public so people with your taste can find you, unless you make it private (then only your buddies see it). Your email never is. Nothing is sold and there are no ads; anonymous usage analytics (Microsoft Clarity, Google Analytics) show us what to improve. The privacy policy has the details.

Yes. Songs you play offline are remembered on your device and added when you're back online.

Once you've heard half of it, or four minutes, whichever comes first. Very short tracks (30 seconds or less) and long videos or podcasts (over 20 minutes) are left out, so your top songs stay songs.

More in Help, the guides and the privacy policy.

Features
Automatic loggingWeekly DiscTaste MapTaste matchProfiles and statsMusic windowsBPM, key and soundSong stripLikes that syncPlay in your appFindPeople and buddiesCompare tasteAnthemsGenre labelsAndroid appImport and connectWindows 98 lookAndroid widgets
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Track music on WindowsLog YouTube MusicApple Music statsFind people like youPlayers that workLog VLCLog foobar2000Log MusicBeeiTunes on WindowsLog DeezerLog TidalLog SoundCloudAmazon MusicWindows Media PlayerSpotify historyTop songs of all timeWhat genre is it?Describe your tasteExport your dataComing from Last.fmWidget for every appPC music from your phoneWindows 98 home screen
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