Davy Knowles

Davy Knowles is an Isle of Man-born blues rock guitarist, singer and songwriter from Port St Mary. He is known for fronting Back Door Slam and for later work with Rhythm Devils and MKO. Born in 1987, he grows up on the Isle of Man and begins playing guitar as a child after hearing Dire Straits’ “Sultans of Swing” in the family car. He learns the song by ear on his father’s acoustic guitar and later develops a style rooted in blues rock.

Early influences and development

As a teenager, Knowles studies his father’s record collection and begins tracing the artists who influence his own heroes. This leads him to blues musicians and guitarists including John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, Eric Clapton, Peter Green and Rory Gallagher, and further back to Blind Willie Johnson and Robert Johnson. He plays in bands throughout his school years, often as the youngest member, before forming Back Door Slam with school friends.

Back Door Slam

Back Door Slam’s debut recording, Roll Away, is released by Blix Street Records in June 2007. The release features Adam Jones on bass and Ross Doyle on drums, and Knowles writes all but one of its tracks. The record reaches the Top 5 on Billboard’s Blues chart. The band plays clubs, concerts and festivals, and shares bills with George Thorogood, Buddy Guy, Kid Rock, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Who and Gov’t Mule.

Media appearances and later work

Back Door Slam also appears on television and radio, including CBS Early Show and Jimmy Kimmel Live, as well as NPR’s World Cafe and Voice of America’s Border Crossings. After parting company with his bandmates Adam Jones and Ross Doyle, Knowles begins recording a follow-up to Roll Away. That recording is produced by Peter Frampton, who also appears on the album.

Style and outlook

Knowles describes making music as something he pursues for its own sake rather than for success. He also reflects on the Isle of Man as a place he feels lucky to have grown up in, while pointing to the wider world beyond it as part of his own artistic direction.