On tour
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Your support makes all the difference.I usually come over once a year, whenever the Cambridge Folk Festival is on. I just came back from Brazil and we were in Australia earlier. I'm always touring - I'm on the road about 250 days a year. The first album came out in 1966 and I've been doing it so long now that I'm used to it. You learn to get rest when you can, iron your clothes in your hotel room, little things like that.
In the early days the clubs I was working were definitely a lot rougher - they were real rowdy and violent. There were several times when people started shooting in a place, but that was a long time ago - in Pennsylvania and Chicago. Now I work in much better places and the blues have become much more popular. These days you might have a breakdown when you are travelling, but it's not the end of your life.
I'm looking forward to London. It's endlessly fascinating - I could just walk up and down all day. The Indian food there is some of the best in the world. The blues fans are a little more traditionally-minded in Britain, other places prefer more modern sounds, but it's all valid. I tend to get a little nervous before the show, but that usually makes for a better evening. I'm with Andrew 'Junior Boy' Jones on guitar, Tommy Hill on drums and Felton Cruise on bass. Afterwards we'll go and listen to someone else or I'll just go to bed and read 'til I fall asleep, before it starts all over again.
Charlie Musselwhite, blues harmonica legend, plays Brecon Jazz Festival 12 Aug; Mean Fiddler 13 Aug; Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival 14 Aug; King Tut's, Glasgow 15 Aug. 'In My Time' (Alligator) is out now
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