Harmonica virtuoso Paul Lamb's journey from Newcastle to Whetstone has been littered with awards. Miriam Craig talks to a true blues man.

"My father and my grandfather were both miners. To come from a background like that and using this little six inches of wood, I've been around the world. I'm pretty proud of that," says Paul Lamb, 52, who lives in Whetstone.

During his career he has been recognised 15 times at the British Blues Connection Awards, voted for by readers of Blues in Britain magazine, in the categories best UK blues album, best harmonica player, and best UK blues band.

In 1995, in an effort to give other people a chance at the awards, the magazine's presiding editor created a Gallery of Greats and promptly inducted Lamb into it.

Because of his high standing in the blues world, Lamb's harmonica skills have been in hot demand. He has worked with Mark Knopfler, The Who, Rod Stewart and Jimmy Nail, and had a chart hit in 1994 with Harmonica Man on record producer Pete Waterman's Peach label. He has also scored and played music for countless TV dramas, documentaries, and advertisements.

But he sees these things merely as bonuses to the bread-and-butter business of touring internationally, playing regular blues gigs.

Born in Newcastle, Lamb was 14 when he started teaching himself to play the harmonica, the same instrument his grandfather played. He says: "I wanted to express my feelings through the music. I tried guitar and piano but the harmonica just became comfortable."

The music that first caught his attention was that of English blues singer John Mayall, followed by the earlier blues players from the Twenties and Thirties.

After leaving school at 15, Lamb entered the painting and decorating trade, working during the day and spending his evenings honing his skills on the folk and blues club scene. By 21 he was chosen to represent Great Britain in the World Harmonica Championships in 1975, coming in second.

Through a judge in that competition, he was introduced to one of his biggest influences, Sonny Terry, a blind blues musician known for his energetic harmonica style, and when Terry couldn't go on stage one night, Lamb was asked to stand in as his replacement.

As Lamb performed more and more through his 20s, music grew in importance for him. But putting music first was not without its problems, and the long periods of separation from his wife led to a divorce. He made the move to London aged 32 and formed what is now Paul Lamb and the King Snakes.

He says: "I could've survived up there, but I thought there was more to life. There was this call that was blues music, which I call the be all and end all of all music, and nothing else mattered."

Comparing his own experience of learning to play to that of young people today, Lamb thinks it's much easier to learn an instrument now. He says: "There weren't all these teach-yourself DVDs and videos - I just had to learn from the record player. But what children lack today is the feeling. You can play all the notes but if it hasn't got that big, intense feeling then it's not going to work."

It is this feeling Lamb has worked his whole career to foster: "It's a dying art, the music we're playing. I'm just trying to keep it there."

You can hear Paul Lamb and the King Snakes online at myspace.com/paullamb kingsnakes or see them perform at The New Bull and Butcher, in High Road, Whetstone, this Saturday at 8.30pm. Tickets cost £8 in advance or £10 on the door and are available by calling 020 8761 9078.