KING King are the four-piece blues maestros who seemed to spring up from nowhere to wipe the board at the British Blues Awards.

Now with a clutch of awards under their belt and a recent sell-out arena tour with Thunder, the band— Alan Nimmo (vocals/guitar), Lindsay Coulson (bass), Wayne Proctor (drums) and Bob Fridzema (keys)— are about to embark on a European tour which sees them return to The Wharf for a second time on Friday, July 28).

The driving force behind King King’s unstoppable charge is Alan Nimmo, a virtuoso frontman possessed of an almost impolite level of charisma and the talent to back it up. An award winning bluesman in his own right and widely known across the UK and Europe, Alan’s full-blooded style, technical brilliance and impassioned vocals are instantly recognisable.

Ellie Hudson checked in with Alan for a quick chat. . .

This is your second visit to The Wharf, have you been able to venture out around the town and, if so, what was your overriding thoughts on the market town?

To be honest, we haven’t had much time to do any sightseeing! That’s the problem in this business. You get to travel to lots of different places and you get to see very little of them. There’s so much preparation to do these days so it stifles your time to roam!

Lots of Times readers were very excited when they saw Bad Touch announced as your support act. How did that come about, are the two bands friends or stable mates?

Well we pride ourselves on delivering a great performance and giving our fans a great night out from start to finish. So, we like to have great bands out on the road with us so that the people get good value for their ticket!

It’s no secret that there are some bands out there who would rather bring a less than fantastic group on the road so it makes them look better when they come on stage but we never have and never will be one of those bands!

We love to encourage new music and new young groups and if we can help them get to a wider audience then it just means that the industry can keep on thriving. We were given such opportunities ourselves when we supported John Mayall and of course Thunder! We will always be grateful to them for helping us!

King King is an odd name, any story behind the choice?

We are huge blues fans and one particular band that we all loved was a band called The Red Devils. They recorded one now iconic live album before the frontman sadly died. It’s was titled King King as it was recorded at a famous Los Angeles blues club of the same name! There’s also a tip of the cap to our favourite blues kings – BB Albert and Freddie!

You’re described as a blues band but mention the ‘blues’ and people’s faces drop. It definitely has an image problem and yet your style of music rocks, how do you get round this contradiction in musical terms?

Yes unfortunately there is a bit of a stigma attached to the name ‘blues’ but I truly believe that our style these days is more like classic rock.

Blues is in our hearts and that influence will always be apparent in our songs and performance!

No matter what style you play, if you play it with meaning and passion then your audience can join you on your journey and together you can create a euphoric atmosphere that everyone can enjoy! I think that’s how we manage it... either that or they’re all just afraid of the big hairy guy in a kilt! Ha ha!

Your rise in success has been an upward curve and still growing. You’ve won a heap of awards and yet ultimately King King are playing quite a traditional style of music that offers nothing new but nevertheless delivers superbly. The whole band must be buzzing with pride?

Yes you’re absolutely right. When push comes to shove King King aren’t reinventing the wheel but what we do we do well and like I said before with a huge amount of passion and honesty.

What’s important to mention is that although we may not be doing anything ground-breaking or new, what we have is, in my eyes a freshness that has possibly been missing in this game for a while now and I think that’s the reason that we continue to grow. That and a shed load of hard graft and a bit of luck now and again.

I noticed you have an incredible sense of space and dynamics in the songwriting with slow guitar-picking numbers building to a nice crescendo. Who’s the driving force behind not just the song writing but the arrangements?

I am the main songwriter but we are a very diplomatic group and we arrange the songs together. Once we have a finished article I like to sit on it for a couple of days and make any slight changes then. If we’re recording in the studio then myself and Wayne, our drummer, have a great working relationship and we produce the albums together.

It may seem a silly question but it’s got to be asked, you wear your trademark kilt on stage, is that attire for everyday wear or just for performances?

Ha ha. . .Yes of course, all us Scotsmen wonder around in kilts every day! That’s why I never get much of a chance to practice my guitar. I’ve usually got a club in my hand chasing my next meal around the mountains! No, I’m a proud Scotsman and the kilt thing was originally done as a bit of a laugh and a gimmick but it seemed to stick and it’s now a huge part of our brand! So I’m stuck with it. Sorry girls!

Travelling to and from gigs, what will you as a band mostly be listening to. Do you have diverse tastes or mostly similar music to that which you play?

While we generally like the same music we all have our own tastes that we would call our favourites! To be honest, ever since we have employed a driver I tend to try and get as much sleep as I can when travelling as the shows are so energetic and it takes it out of me.

I also have to be very careful these days and look after my voice after my recent throat surgery to remove polyps from my vocal chords. However, I’m a huge fan of Free, Whitesnake, Thunder and many more, while for instance, Lindsay loves Delbert McClinton, Bob is a massive Janice Joplin fan and Wayne has an unhealthy love for Phil Collins and Genesis! (sorry Wayne).

What’s the biggest rider you’ve requested?

More water than the usual amount! We’re not a very demanding band. It’s not all sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll! We don’t drink on tour and we don’t ask for silly things. Just some water and maybe the odd wee backstage snack!

And lastly advice you’d give yourselves if you could turn the clock back to when King King started out?

I’m a believer in things happening when they do for a reason. It’s all part of a plan. So if I could give my younger self some advice I’d probably be wasting my breath! Maybe all I would’ve said was put down the cake and get to the gym!