Patti LaBelle & The Bluebells’ British tours of the 1960s

Hailing from Philadelphia, lead singer Patti LaBelle first toured Britain with her backing group The Bluebelles featuring singers Nona Hendryx, Sarah Dash and Cindy Birdsong in January 1966. The tour was arranged by promoter Roy Tempest. For this first British tour, Patti LaBelle & The Bluebells were backed by northwest London group Bluesology who featured a very young Elton John known as Reg Dwight at the time on keyboards. It’s not clear whether Bluesology backed them on all the gigs, so we’d welcome any further information on this. At the time, Bluesology comprised Stu Brown (guitar/vocals); Reg Dwight (keyboards/vocals); Rex Bishop (bass); Pat Higgs (trumpet); Dave Murphy (sax); and Mick Inkpen (drums) Melody Maker’s 8 January 1966 issue, page 4 lists, gig dates and TV appearances Melody Maker, 8 January 1966, page 4 Gig list 5 January 1966 – Scotch of St James, Mayfair, central London (Melody Maker) 6 January 1966 – Cue Club, Praed Street, Paddington, west London (Melody Maker) 8…