Alan Glen

Alan Glen

Alan Glen is a blues harpist who has distinguished himself on records and in performances with bands such as Nine Below Zero, Little Axe, and the Yardbirds, as well as his own bands the Barcodes and the Incredible Blues Puppies. Born in Germany in 1951, his interest in the blues derived from the renowned American Folk-Blues Festivals produced by Horst Lippmann and Friz Rau during the 1960s. The recordings of Little Walter and Sonny Boy Williamson II, and the performances of Junior Wells, were all major influences on his approach to the harmonica, He passed through several bands before joining Nine Below Zero in 1991, with whom he made his official recording debut in 1994, on Hot Music for a Cold Night. in 1996, he began a seven-year stint playing with the reactivated Yardbirds, filling the harpist spot of the late Keith Relf alongside founding members Chris Dreja and Jim McCarty, which culminated with the release of the Birdland album in 2003. Glen has played with Jeff Beck, John Mayall, Peter Green, and the legendary Hubert Sumlin, among others, in addition to cutting albums with Little Axe and the Barcodes, and appearing on albums with Dr. Feelgood, as well. Bruce Eder