Julian Phillips          Piano                          

Julian started playing the piano at the age of ten and soon after he was playing in front of small gatherings of people from the neighbourhood, arranged by his piano teacher. At fourteen he remembers first hearing a boogie woogie records at a friend's house he borrowed the record immediately, took it home and to this day has not given it back!! Julian began to teach himself this infectious style of piano playing by listening to more records by the originators of boogie woogie, such as Pinetop Smith, Jimmy Yancey, Clarence Loften to name a few. Like so many piano players from the ear, Julian also began to develop his singing style enabling him to incorporate material from other great blues artists, including Big Bill Broonzy, Tampa Red and Louis Jordan. Julian is gaining a great reputation for his wide and varied repertoire in the Boogie Woogie and Blues genre, playing a in a truly authentic way. He performs solo and as a due with Chris Davidson, who plays his unusual boogie bass box. He also has a quartet that includes bass box, drums and sax as well as playing with his original band, The Stuff.

Liz Neilson           Vocals & Percussion

Liz grew up surrounded by music. Her father, uncles and cousins all traditional jazz musicians and her elder sister a piano and music teacher; she had little chance of avoiding joining the "family business". At the age of 5 she was singing at The Pavilion, Bournemouth and by the age of 16 was regularly appearing in concerts and clubs singing anything from the blues to country and western! On leaving school she toured with a traditional Big Show Band refining her craft and after two years she left to form her own Band, The Bonnie James Band, in which she recorded original material with some modest success. Through the 1980s, she was teaching music and singing the blues, joining The Blues Bandits for two years. Towards the end of the 80s she met Julian Phillips and recognised the music she had been surrounded with all her childhood - with her husband, Jon, she joined forces with Julian and The Stuff was born!

Jon Neilson         Drums.

Jon has been playing drums since his schooldays, although at one point he sold his drums to buy a bass guitar because the band needed a new bass guitarist! He sold his bass guitar to buy a motor bike and drums went on the back burner whilst he pursued a career in bike racing. However by the 1980s he was back on the drums and through the 80s and early 90s he played in several local bands, including Rock Bottom, The Lager Louts, Logan’s Run, Bedrock, Dr Graham's Boogie Brothers and The Blues Bandits. He was a founder member of The Stuff when they began in 1992 and has been playing with them ever since. An all-round drummer, Jon also plays with a modern jazz quartet, assisting with their recording and development work and at one time he played for a season with The Gillingham Imperial Silver Band

Chris Davidson          Boogie Box.

The box has had many names, like, skiffle bass, box bass, tea chest bass, and you may know a few more names. Chris' is called "The Boogie Box" and he made it himself. He first played a box back in the 1950s and 60s, when the style of music was Skiffle. He sang and played the harmonica, washboard and box. He continued to sing and play through to the late 1970s when he embarked on a new area of music for him, "English Folk". He played various instruments during this period, singing sometimes as a duet and sometimes as a trio, with both serious folk and some comedy. A good time was had by all but better times were ahead! In the early 1990s he met up with Julian Phillips and was asked to fill in with The Stuff - and he's been there ever since!

Howard Meyrick          Saxophone.

Dorset-based Howard's initiation in to boogie-woogie was at a party when he hired Julian and Chris to play. Howard ended up playing for the evening and was invited to join The Stuff. His first gig was a few weeks later! That was in 2002 and he has been having great fun playing every since. Howard draws inspiration from, among others, Red Holloway and Louis Jordan. He listens to all the old boogie woogie recordings as he develops his technique in the authentic style of period boogie woogie.