Chris Gibbons Band - Sunday 19 July 2026 at Southbound Cafe Bar, Leamington Spa

Chris Gibbons Band
Chris grew up in the London blues boom of the late 60s and, having turned down Ian Fraser ( Free ) for his bass player, he formed a band with members of American blues man Freddie King's backing group including Lou Martin (later Rory Gallagher) and was offered a record deal, first recording with the Bee Gees arranger and orchestra at London's Olympic studios, then produced by Micky Jones (Foreigner) at Island studios with Gary Wright (Spooky Tooth, George Harrison and Dreamweaver).

With his firm foundation in American blues, soul and R&B, he was first call for many American soul acts including the showstoppers (ain't nothing but a house party), Viola Wills, Doris Troy, The Soul Survivors and Ben E King.

He toured the USA and recorded with the Original Truth label, a subsidiary of Stax records, where the band was attracting the interest of Quincy Jones who attended the rehearsals, but sadly the limited ‘green card' visa forced him to return to the UK where he continued his arranging and session work.

The list of artists and producers he has worked for include producers John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin), Del Newman (Elton John), Guy Fletcher O.B.E., and artistes as diverse as Leo Sayer, Chas and Dave, Linda Lewis and many others.


Jazz
Chris also leads his band of accomplished jazz artists with Tom Voce on drums and Matt Ball on keys. On upright bass is either Bernard Porter or Adrian Litvinoff. Guest horns have included Jay Riley on saxaphone or trombonist Rich Baker.

Southbound Cafe Bar
outhbound Café-Bar is a bar, café and music venue in Leamington's gritty southtown. Southbound was founded in 2024 by father and son team, Carl & Toby Harris.

What Southbound lacks in size, it makes up for in character. We have live music most nights, supporting outstanding local artists and hosting artists from around the world. You can expect many genres of music but we're particularly partial to a bit of blues or jazz.