Despite Neuropathy Being One Of The Least Of His Problems, Andy Gunn Plays On

Today's post from telegraph.co.uk (see link below) tells the story of another musician who has battled through various illnesses, including neuropathy and still performs despite it all. Role models for neuropathy are hard to find in the entertainment industry. All the more hart-warming then to come across this talented performer to give us a bit of inspiration on a cold February morning.

Andy Gunn performs Warm Heart Blue in music session Clive Morgan, Multimedia editor / assistant editor 2 February 2018 •
 



 BB King once said that “the blues is whatever ails you” - and those words could have been said about guitarist Andy Gunn.

 Hailed as one of Scotland’s leading blues musicians, with comparisons to Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jimi Hendrix, Gunn has had a life full of ups and downs, to put it mildly.

 But these experiences have coloured his music, as can be witnessed in the song Warm Heart Blue (above). 

Explaining what blues means to him, Gunn said: "Blues is a vibrant, alive form of music to me, there’s some structure in it, but it is also a healer that I have always felt a strong connection to, even as a youngster.

 "Something about it spoke to me, I could relate to the honest expression of emotion in it, and a lot of it is totally open to how we feel on the night." Andy Gunn 


Andy Gunn 

The song Warm Heart Blue is taken from the forthcoming album, Too Many Guitars to Give Up Now, which takes Gunn back to his roots, and was inspired by a conversation about how many of the instruments he has - the answer is, according to Gunn, "an embarrassing number".

 Recorded on an analogue system to retain that warm classic blues sound, the album wasn’t the easiest for Gunn to make, but it is a resounding triumph over adversity. 

This is due to the fact that he suffers from from Peripheral Neuropathy (numbness) in his hands due to his ill health, but also the deep personal tragedies that have affected his life and health. 

Gunn was born with haemophilia, which means that he doesn't have enough clotting factors in his blood, and as a child, he was one of the patients affected by transfusions contaminated with HIV and Hepatitis C in the tainted blood scandal of 1980.

 These infections played a large part in him falling into alcoholism, depression and addiction as a teenager. 

However, his desire to play, along with the support of his fellow musicians, meant that the years he lost to illness were channeled into the soulful 2015 album Miracle of Healing.

 But it was also during this period that he battled HIV-related cancer for the second time. 

The Andy Gunn Band 

 Gunn pays tribute to his parents for the gift of his first guitar at an early age, and to his mother’s rock ’n’ roll collection, from which he learnt his craft by listening to old blues masters such as Lightnin' Hopkins and Muddy Waters.

 It wasn't long before the Scots musician and his school band, Jumpin’ the Gunn, signed a recording contract with Pointblank, Virgin's blues label, with Jumpin' the Gunn. As a result, the band travelled to Memphis, Tennessee, where Gunn had the opportunity to learn from and to jam with Al Green’s rhythm section and Pop Staples, to name a few. Recently he went on a busman's holiday across the United States, where he took in New York, Chicago, Memphis, Nashville and New Orleans.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/what-to-listen-to/andy-gunn-performs-warm-heart-blue-music-session/