Bob Bell

Born in London, UK 1946, raised in Winchester, Hampshire. Discovered Rock n Roll in 1954 thru Bill Haley, followed by Fats Domino, Tommy Steele and Little Richard. By 1960 was a rabid blues fan subscribing to all the UK jazz, blues and music magazines. First job was with Island Records in 1965, became production manager / label manager at Island subsidiary Trojan Records in 1969 - overseeing release of at least 8 reggae 45's every week. Dropped out of music business at end of 1972, and worked on a hill farm on Exmoor as a shepherd. Learnt to plough, run a combine harvester, lay hedges and all manner of useful things. Returned to Island in late 1979 to organize their archives, and then left for the USA to hitch hike around the country. Met up with Roomful of Blues that spring, and ended up living in Rhode Island and managing them until 2002. Moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in 2002 and worked as a carpenter, and hooked up with Rusty Zinn whom he now has the pleasure of managing.