Flint, Hughie

 Hughie Flint was born in Manchester, England in 1942. He began playing drums at age nine. In his early teens, he developed an avid interest in jazz.

In the late 1950s, he met future bandleader John Mayall at a local youth club in Wythenshawe, where John was teaching music. Hughie was 17 at the time. They discussed jazz and within a few years, Hughie was visiting John and his family, where he was introduced to blues.

Hughie joined John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers in April 1964. He was the band’s first drummer. After leaving Mayall’s line-up, he formed McGuinness-Flint in 1967, with Tom McGuinness (who had worked with Clapton in The Roosters). McGuinness-Flint scored UK hits with “When I’m Dead And Gone” and “Malt And Barley Blues”. In 1972, they teamed up with Dennis Coulson and Dixie Dean to record “Lo And Behold,” a collection of then unreleased Bob Dylan songs.

In February 1979, Hughie was a founding member of the Blues Band with Paul Jones (ex-Manfred Mann) and Tom McGuinness (ex-Roosters and Manfred Mann). Although Hughie left the band after several years, the Blues Band celebrated its 25th Anniversary in 2004.