1984 was the year it all started. In an open concert at the stadium of Amyntas, Dimitris Ioannou (electric bass, voice), who was playing with the BLUES UNITED MUSICIANS at the time, meets Stelios Zafiriou (guitar) and with a common feature their love for blues music but also the need to express themselves through it, they make JUKE BLUES. Playing in various venues in Athens and jamming with other musicians, they meet Stelios Gavrielidis (drums) and change their name to BLUES MACHINE. In 1987, Stelios Zouzoulas (guitar), then a member of the ATHENS BLUES BAND of Yiannis Vezyris (Dr JOHN), joins the group and the new formation is named BLUES CARGO.
Full of musical concerns, they start working systematically on electric blues and experimenting with their own compositions, playing in the well-known live venues at the time (Café Pallete, An Club, Kentia, etc.).In the course of time, with their performances in Athens and the countryside, in venues such as Rodon, Lykavitos, Ah Maria, Kentri, Blues Hall, Mylos, Hi Hat, etc., they are recognized as one of the most important blues bands in the country and expand the defining them by accompanying American blues artists like:
LOUISIANA RED, LURRIE BELL, BIG TIME SARAH, EDDIE C. CAMPBELL, GUITAR SHORTY, LEFTY DIZZ, BYTHER SMITH, ANGELA BROWN, LOVIE LEE, JEAN CAROLL, MAXINE HOWARD, UP-WILSON, SWEET BETTY, JIMMY MORELLO, JANNICE HARRINGTON, BLIND MISSISIPI MORRIS, JUKE, MICHAEL DOTSON, JOLLY JUMPER & BIG MOE, and NELLIE TIGER TRAVIS, MICHAEL DOTSON, MATTHEW SKOLLER, but also opening the concerts of:
JOHN MAYAL BLUESBREAKERS, JOHN HAMMOND, NICK GRAVENITES / JOHN CIPPOLINA BAND, BIG TOWN PLAYBOYS, FERNEST ARCENAUX & THE THUNDERS.
With valuable experiences and an absolute sense of the form and ethos of the blues, in 1993 they released their first album entitled “First Delivery”, consisting only of the group’s compositions, and gathered excellent impressions and reviews.At the beginning of 2009, they released their second album entitled “Delayed Delivery” which received excellent reviews in Greece but also abroad, especially from the most important American magazine of international prestige, the “Blues Revue”.It is no exaggeration to argue that BLUES CARGO are today closer to the authentic Chicago sound than many bands active in the city of Chicago itself, with “ON TIME”, their latest CD coming to seal their commitment band in this musical idiom.
BLUES CARGO is now presented with the following line-up:
Stelios Zafiriou (electric guitar)
Dimitris Ioannou (electric bass, voice)
Giorgos Lagogiannis or Orestis Vavitsas (keyboards)
Babis Tsilivigos (saxophone)
Tolis Goulas or Petros Daktylidis (drums)
Nikos Skiadopoulos (harmonica)
