"Bringing some much needed fresh talent to the world of rock-blues at The Horn was The Ben Poole Band. The outfit formerly called The Fifth Quarter, and well known on the Bedford circuit, picked up a whole new army of supporters as a red-hot warm-up act to Carvin Jones at the recently-refurbished venue. Poole, who lives in Barton, has everything going for him – he's a stunningly original and talented guitarist, he's slim, good looking, writes his own songs and is only 20. And his tight three-piece band has a real Bedfordshire flavour to it, with imposing bass player Johnny Chase from Clophill and energetic drummer Marc Golding, of Silsoe. Poole, who is studying music at Brighton, is a phenomenal talent. He isn't afraid to mix up his repertoire and ease off the pedal when necessary. A full-tilt rock number may be followed by a slow, bluesy song to offer a little light and shade and he's not afraid to steer away from the standard pentatonic blues scales to improvise and experiment live with the variety of Gibsons and Fenders he brings on stage. And his slidework on the last couple of numbers at the Horn was really on the money, with some high-tempo bottleneck work. With influences such as Robert Johnson, Albert Collins, Jeff Beck and Stevie Ray Vaughan, Poole has a steadying rock of heritage under his feet. But he's very much his own man and his versions of their work are interesting arrangements and interpretations rather than straight covers. According to long standing Poole fans, he's getting better and better with every performance. He's already a well known and popular act in St. Albans and around Bedford and if there's even more to come, I'd like to be around to see it." -Review by Alan Candy's on his Bluesman's Blog for The Times & Citizen Newspaper. Published date: 22/10/07
"Blues Extravaganza!...Not a great deal needs to be said here. The guitar sounds were impeccable, the timing was beyond reproach and there was evidence of dynamic awareness throughout – particularly in the live band section. This was no “lazy” blues offering – Ben managed to sneak in everything from country licks to Satriani-style legato widdling, yet this was never to the detriment of the overall musicality of the performance. Playing was of a thoroughly professional standard. Nice." -Guthrie Govan (Asia, Erotic Cakes, The Young Punx)
"Ben Poole...talented little bugger-I should cut his fuckin' hands off!" -'Slim' (The Hamsters)
"I had one of those unforgettable musical moments during their gig... difficult to explain if you weren't there, but I'll try.... Whilst the band were bluesing through a lovely number Ben (Guitar+Vox) decided to play around with the sounds he can get out of his Axe, and jam breaks at really low volume.... quieter and quieter ... and the number stopped. You could hear a pin drop. Not one member of the crowd started to applaud... not one... I'm not sure if he knew what he had at that point... but it was described later (by a grizzled old guitarist) as "An Audience in the palm of his hand". He looked up from his guitar, took in the faces... recognised they were silently shouting for MORE!, smiled.... and went straight back into a storming blues ending. The roof nearly came off! It was pure magic. A grizzled old keyboard player glanced across at me just after with a look that said: "Awesome"... just one word .... well maybe two ...effing awesome!" -Rob Vernon (Gig Promoter)
"Modern Rock 'n' Blues with Killer licks, A MUST SEE! " -Paul Craven (Gig Promoter)
"A F***in' wicked guitarist!" -Donny Tourette (The Towers of London)
"I love the Blues and they've got them, they blew me away." -www.bedfordmetal.co.uk
"Terrific blues trio" -www.brighton-hove.gov.uk
"A phenomenal guitarist...great rough blues vocals" Keith Pickering -Gig Promoter
"Blues Sensations" -Times & Citizen Newspaper. Published date: 22/07/07
"There are not many bands in Bedford who play just blues, especially young ones. These guys are great, and they are all fantastic musicians as well. Their EP is rather **** good too."
"I easily feel I could just put my feet up and let the gig review its self as it would take up time to sum up how I feel about this band and get beyond "wow". The bass in a good blues band always seems slow and ploddy in order to emphasise the melodic lead guitar who utilized different ways of holding his guitar while playing, including behind his head and other such positions. I thought it was good of the guitars to take a back seat for a while to allow the focus to shine on a drum solo, pounded out with gritted teeth. If their guitarist had spent much less time practicing his instrument and with a lot less skill he would probably just be in a punk band!" -Keith Pickering at www.bedfordmetal.co.uk
"Great tracks, great guitar and vocal live...one great special player!" -Bernie Torme (Ozzy Osbourne, Gillan)
"Phenomenal fret work and passionate playing" -www.thehorn.co.uk
"The highlight of the evening was the arrival of The Ben Poole Band. I hadn’t previously come across Ben Poole, but I'm telling you now, the kid is going to be a major star. And I'm never wrong about these things. After all, I saw Maroon 5 in London four-and-a-half years ago, and nobody would listen to me about them either. Ben Poole plays modern blues rock to a phenomenally high standard. Quite honestly I have never seen a better guitarist in the flesh. In fact it was slightly depressing to think that at the age of 34, I've probably been playing the guitar longer than he has, and yet even if I practice for the rest of my life, I'll never be as good as he is now. But my lack of talent aside, Ben made inventive use of a wireless radio transmitter plugged into his guitar, which meant that while his bassist and drummer took to the stage, Ben could start his set from the comfort of the bar outside. He repeated the trick towards the end of the gig, wandering out of the room like the Pied Piper of Jammin’, with a bunch of teenage rats following his progress through the foyer, while everyone else wondered where the music was coming from. Credit must go to Ben’s band too, who were excellent throughout." -Review by Phil Gardner for The Argus Newspaper (Brighton, Hove & Sussex), 29/11/07
"This band are awesome, specialists in churning out three-minute slabs of red-hot blues rock. Live they shake the venue as though they have been at this music for eons, while thier latest demo CD suggests the sonic future of this band will be even more exciting...this trio have forged a name for themselves on the scene, courtesy of a combination of skill and graft. Because quite aside from the fact that every member can boast great technical ability, the band have gigged like crazy over the past few years. Local scenesters have razed about the band, with phrases like "awesome" and "unforgettable" peppered liberally through thier reviews." -Times & Citizen Newspaper 24/08/07
"TOP TOP PLAYING...I was blown away...Classic blues with great band and vocals...material is top too" -Bruce Dickenson (guitarist with The Little Angels, toured stadiums with international acts including Bon Jovi, Bryan Adams, ZZ Top, Aerosmith, Guns ’n’ Roses and Van Halen)
“A very strong hybrid of [Richie] Kotzen meets SRV!... The Ben Poole Band have something unique and different to offer” –Andy Bray (guitarist who toured/recorded with Whitesnake, Zakk Wylde and Gun)
Young guitarist, Ben Poole, was brilliant, it's not often I sit up and take notice of a 19 year old lad playing guitar, but Ben certainly made me look twice. Watch out for him, I think he is very promising." -Review by Alan Frehley on The Ben Poole Band supporting the amazing G.M.T!
"Their talent, skill and musicianship should now be known to every local music fan. They belie their tender years to bring home the sound of the Blues. In the audience, men perhaps old enough to be the bands grandfathers watch open mouthed and awestruck at the sheer feeling, emotion and raw power that they produce. They really are something special" -www.bedfordesquires.co.uk
"Blues-rock legends!" -www.swmtf.org.uk
"These guys are destined for a great future with the Blues, see them here first and you'll be able to say you'd seen them before they became famous! If you like Joe Bonamassa you'll love this band.” -www.thehorn.co.uk
“Unmistakable blues/rock” -www.swmtf.org.uk
"Bedford's favourite young blues artists...Ultra cool, stylish, husky blues-rock is the order of the day whenever this three-piece are close to a stage." -Bedford Today Newspaper. Published date: 4/07/08
"I love the Blues and they've got them, they blew me away. I play their demo in my car-it's too short (I travel a lot). Move over Jules Holland your replacement has arrived. This is a band I'd love to manage."
"Rocking blues with great distinction...Ben is a stunningly talented guitarist...Jonny [Chase] is a precocious talent on the bass and the drums will be rhythmically pounded by Paul [Hannon]." -BBC Children in Need Gig Programme (Produced by Captain Bob Bruce)
"Older people in the pub were readily commenting on how young these 3 band members look, followed by being really surprised at just how good they can play. The outstanding part is of course the totally skilled guitar work with its hypnotically drifting tones that would get anyone in possession of a pair of ears tapping their foot or nodding along. You really would think that with such great potential in the guitarist that he would perhaps be a cocky bigheaded little bugger, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. He also has those great, rough, blues vocals that go well with the blues sound. So get your blues suede shoes on and reinvent the blues with them, next time they play!" -Keith Pickering at www.bedfordmetal.co.uk