The Boogie Woogie Man

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or just about every truly inspired musician out there, there’s always that one moment, that one song, that changed everything.

From Elvis hearing Big Mama Thornton’s Hound Dog to Lennon coming out of retirement after falling in love with Rock Lobster by The B-52’s in a Bermuda nightclub, sometimes, all it takes is one magnificent song.

For Gavin Povey, that song was on one of his dad’s old 78rpms, Pete Johnson and Albert Ammons’ Boogie Woogie Man suddenly making this 12-year-old boy realise that six years of piano lessons might actually prove worthwhile.

“That one song inspired me to go searching – through Elmore James, and on and on – and it just changed everything for me,” says Povey today. “If it wasn’t for that old 78rpm, who knows where I would have ended up…?”

Certainly not forming a band with The Damned’s Lu Edmonds and Culture Club’s Jon Moss. Or becoming part of the house band for Stiff Records, playing with everyone from Kirsty MacColl to Dave Edmunds, and on, to such icons as Van Morrison, Finbar Furey and – yowsa! – Shakin’ Stevens.

Through it all, Povey was perfecting that boogie woogie piano, soon breaking out on his own, with The Oke-She-Mokes-She-Pops keeping that steady, rockin’ backbeat as their reputation grew all across Europe, America and beyond. 

With his third album, Allons Rock & Roll, just released, Povey is set to make his Whale debut on Saturday, November 24th, with his all-star Christmas Cracker of a night. 

And that’s where we pulled up a pew to the great man, and his grand piano, to talk grooves, gramophones and greatness… 

You can check out Gavin Povey & The Oke-She-Mokes-She-Pops at The North Beach Music Festival on Sept 4th here, and check out their official website here. You can also check out the other songs that inspired the man right here.