1960s music aficionados are in for a real treat later this month when the ULTIMATE RHYTHM & BLUES tour revisits the sounds of 1964 courtesy of The Zombies, Animals and friends, The Yardbirds, Spencer Davis and Maggie Bell in Cardiff.

“This tour marks the 50th anniversary of the first Animals recording.” Animals and friends drummer John Steel tells me, “64 was a big year for so many bands.”

John, along with Eric Burdon, Alan Price, Chas Chandler and Hilton Valentine formed the original incarnation of The Animals in 1963. The band was big news in 1964 when they recorded The House of the Rising Sun.

There has been much controversy over the years as to who did what on the record, particularly as keyboardist Alan Price was credited with arranging it. John recalls all band members had an active part in the songs success, including late guitarist Chas Chandler who would go on to manage Jimi Hendrix three years later.

“Chas, I have to say back then he must have really had his business head on then long before Jimi Hendrix,” says John, “ I can remember him distinctly saying “Everyone’s going to be trying to out-rock Chuck Berry. We should try to stand out with something that’s different. We weren’t consciously trying to create the first ever folk-rock crossover single or the first single that broke the 3 minute barrier. We just did the song as we felt it. Hilton introduced this beautiful guitar intro, Eric rewrote the lyrics to be about a gambler because we’d never have got a song about a prostitute played on the BBC and I was always a jazz influenced player. I picked up that vibe from Jimmy Smith’s Walk on The wild side.

The House of The Rising Sun topped the UK charts in the summer of 1964 and for a while The Animals were seen as the next serious challengers to The Beatles pop crown.

“We were always talked about in the same breath as The Beatles and the Rolling Stones.” says John, “When we went into a studio to record a single we’d knock off half a dozen or so tracks with almost one take on every one of them. A lot of them were a live performance just recorded live.”

“We got left behind because The Beatles and The Rolling Stones had very successful writing teams and wrote original material. The Animals unfortunately never got that act together.”

Despite not writing their own material, The Animals raw energetic appeal was strong enough to capture the imagination of the American audience where the similarly topped the charts and appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show.

“When we were kids in the 50s America was our inspiration,” John remembers “everything came from across there, blues jazz, rock n roll, movies, everything! Britain was hard and grim especially in the north east. America on the big silver screen was like another planet. For five working class Geordie lads flying across the Atlantic and landing in JFK we were driven into Manhattan in individual sports cars with models dressed as tigers and police escorts riding on bikes with sirens on, we couldn’t believe it, it was our promised land.”

John considers himself to be very lucky to be part of a successful band that got to see the world and to still be touring 50 years later still doing what he loves. The Animals music has also endured. Their recording of Boom Boom was featured in the last James Bond film Skyfall while more recently Bring It on Home to Me was featured in a Christmas advertising campaign.

Fans will no doubt hear some of these songs when Animals and Friends which also features 60s Animals keyboardist Mick Gallagher who replaced Alan Price in 1965 play St David’s hall on January 31. “I love the buzz of getting a standing ovation and coming off the stage feeling as high as a kite,” laughs John, “fabulous!”

Catch Animals and Friends along with The Zombies, The Yardbirds, Spencer Davis and Maggie Bell on the Ultimate Rhythm and Blues 50th Anniversary Tour at St David’s Hall on January 31. Call 029 2087 8444 for details.