Yes, Mr. Hey! Bo Diddley himself at Rome's new Auditorium on April 22nd, 2005! I couldn't miss one of the great'ol blues men on one of his rare concerts in Italy. Born in 1928 in Mississippi, Diddley also copied Berry’s duck walk (he had also played together with Berry on the "Two Great Guitars" album). He’s also been famous for his rather bizarre-looking guitars (created by Diddley himself). Diddley’s popularity got a boost when in 1963-1964 he backed the Stones, the Everly Brothers and Little Richard.
Diddley was the opening act of Rome’s new Blues Festival in 2005. His five-piece band also included two women, one on bass and one on keyboards. This was Diddley’s 50th anniversary tour. Two hours of great non-stop blues music which included “I’m A Man”, his most famous “Hey! Bo Diddley” and “I’m Bad”. Diddley was seated throughout the concert holding in his hands some of his typical handmade guitars. One of his opening remarks? “A graveyard is noisier than this place. Let’s make some noise”! So we all got down and made some mean noise, as ordered by Mr. Diddley himself! Towards the end of the concert Diddley actually got up. We all thought that he was going to leave the stage to come back for the usual encore (which actually lasted almost 20 minutes). Instead, he gave his guitar to a roadie and walked next to his drummer and then took two drumsticks and began playing the floor tom-tom and then the hi-hat. This went on for about 15 minutes. Something rather unusual for a rock concert, I must say. Not a full house but nevertheless a most entertaining concert with someone who has rubbed shoulders with the likes of Carl Perkins and the great Janis Joplin (pic by M. Rimati)!
Diddley was the opening act of Rome’s new Blues Festival in 2005. His five-piece band also included two women, one on bass and one on keyboards. This was Diddley’s 50th anniversary tour. Two hours of great non-stop blues music which included “I’m A Man”, his most famous “Hey! Bo Diddley” and “I’m Bad”. Diddley was seated throughout the concert holding in his hands some of his typical handmade guitars. One of his opening remarks? “A graveyard is noisier than this place. Let’s make some noise”! So we all got down and made some mean noise, as ordered by Mr. Diddley himself! Towards the end of the concert Diddley actually got up. We all thought that he was going to leave the stage to come back for the usual encore (which actually lasted almost 20 minutes). Instead, he gave his guitar to a roadie and walked next to his drummer and then took two drumsticks and began playing the floor tom-tom and then the hi-hat. This went on for about 15 minutes. Something rather unusual for a rock concert, I must say. Not a full house but nevertheless a most entertaining concert with someone who has rubbed shoulders with the likes of Carl Perkins and the great Janis Joplin (pic by M. Rimati)!
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