AFTER what can only be described as being a somewhat rollercoaster 2017, British blues rock masters King King are back on the road with dates in both Liverpool and Chester on the keenly-anticipated schedule.

The previous twelve months saw the release of the band's fourth studio album Exile & Grace to huge critical and audience acclaim, and their debut live Double CD and DVD, King King: Live on the back of a string of sell out gigs they've become renowned for.

On the downside, however, 2017 also saw frontman Alan Nimmo beset with vocal problems which unfortunately led to some gigs having to be rescheduled.

Undeterred, however, King King are out doing what they love doing more than anything, playing live, with dates at both Liverpool's Epstein Theatre on May 10 followed by Chester Live Rooms on May 17, determined as ever to deliver the very best blues-rock show around.

Alan Nimmo said: "I'm much better now, but it's just one of those things where I have to be careful as far as my voice is concerned.

"I'd developed polyps on my vocal chords which required surgery.

"That meant I had to take two months off from touring altogether so my voice could recover.

"As well as playing live, which I and the rest of the boys absolutely love to do, I also think it may be a bit of age creeping in.

"I have to make sure I'm in my bed by a certain time nowadays and get enough sleep and rest: all those kind of crazy things I thought only big stars had to do.

"I used to think those guys were all pretty weird when I'd read about them going on about this diet and that health drink, but it turns out they're not.

"At the end of the day, though, it's turned into a positive.

"The shows have always been the main thing. We must always put on as memorable a show as possible because it's what the people who've paid their hard earned money for a ticket deserve."

The upcoming Exile & Grace European tour begins in May at St Mary in the Castle, Hastings, on Thursday (May 3) and culminates, as it stands, 28 dates later, in August at the Colne festival.

This after extensive dates in Germany earlier in the year and before King King set out supporting one of the biggest names in rock across the continent during September and October.

Alan said: "It's what bands like ours have to do now; everyone nowadays has to tour so much more than they used to.

"With the bottom end falling out of the music industry with the rise of downloads and what have you, touring's become the only way bands can really survive financially as a business.

"I'm pretty sure their are some who'd love to see us on the road 365 days a year.

"As well as being physically impossible of course, I think it actually helps in building the band - and the brand of the band - to play less, which is also impossible because you have to keep working.

"It's a Catch 22 sometimes; a constant juggling act.

"These are all First World problems though, and at the end of the day we’re not doing too badly."

Exile & Grace was released across all formats in October, 2017 and it was no surprise to see it saluted by the rock media by being crowned as Classic Rock magazine's Blues Album of the Year.

The album also stormed to top of the iTunes and Amazon Blues charts, as well as making the official UK album charts at #31.

This success, of course, has opened the band’s appeal to wider audiences and a greater appreciation all round. Making the album, however, was far from straight forward.

"I honestly felt Exile & Grace was a long time in the making," Alan confided.

"We didn't spend that much time in the studio, true, but because of the touring schedule and my being ill, we had to record bits here and bits there as and when we could.

"The writing was getting done on the road at any and every opportunity, so it was kind of drawn out a wee bit and left me wondering, at the end of it, whether it was actually any good.

"It really was like that when it was finally completed.

"Because of everything being the way it had been while it was being put together, I'd forgotten a lot of what had gone into making it.

"Now it's out there though, it seems the audiences really like it, which is the main thing, and if there's a positive I can personally take from the experience itself, it's that I know now I've not peaked yet as a writer.

"I know there's so much more I can achieve in that respect and I've already started on some new songs.

"I'm really looking forward to what’s next because, as I say, I think these new songs are so much better than anything we've recorded before."

There are three different support bands at different venues on this tour.

At Chester and Liverpool, One Man Rock band phenomenon Steve Hill joins the Scottish stars on the road.

Hill is a self-confessed twenty-year-in-the-making-overnight-success and Alan can't wait to get to hear more from the Canadian.

"I have to confess, I don't know a great deal about his music as it stands right now but I believe he's another amazing talent and we're really excited he's joining us.

"As a band we pride ourselves on giving guys like Steve an opportunity to show our audiences what they can do: guys who are special and have a lot of potential.

"We like to showcase other bands and artists and so help them build an audience of their own."

So twelve months on from what was admittedly a difficult year, King King's star is very definitely back on the rise and the band are definitely back on track to reach even greater heights.

"I'm not going to lie: we as a band were extremely worried twelve months ago," Alan admitted.

"Not only for me, but the band as a whole. I'm not shy to say there were times I was sat at home in pieces, thinking it was all over. Done.

"If I'd kept losing my voice and rescheduling or even cancelling gigs, nobody was going to take the risk of booking us.

"It was a really dark time, mentally and physically."

Now as the tour approaches, so are the band and their ever growing legion of fans becoming more excited.

"We've played both The Epstein in Liverpool and The Chester Live Rooms before and have had amazing nights at both venues.

"I'm really looking forward to playing them again and the tour as a whole.

"We played the HRH in Sheffield in April and played some of the new songs there.

"It was a great night that was also a kind of thank you to the fans for their patience.

"As I said earlier, they've been just so supportive, it's been amazing, and if bands get awards, then fans should get them as well for their loyalty.

"The guys who have followed us, particularly over the past year or so, have done so through thick-and-thin and we honestly can’t thank them enough."

King King are at The Epstein Theatre on Thursday May 10 and The Live Rooms, Chester, on Thursday May 17.

The new album Exile & Grace is released on the Manhaton label and available now.

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