Dr Tom Attah is a practising musician, and Course Leader for BMus Popular Music Performance at Leeds Arts University. His Ph.D. was awarded by University of Salford. His research interests include the effects of technology on popular music, particularly blues music and blues culture.
Tom’s teaching and blues advocacy includes workshops, seminars, lectures and recitals delivered to learning institutions in the United Kingdom and mainland Europe. Before being appointed to LAU, Tom taught undergraduate modules at University of Salford and BIMM Manchester.
As a guitarist and singer, Tom performs solo, with an acoustic duo and as part of an electric band. Tom’s solo acoustic work includes his own original Blues compositions and has led to performances at major music festivals around Europe, including major stages at the Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, the Great British Rhythm & Blues Festival, and Blues Autour Du Zinc.
Tom’s musical commissions include composing and performing the music for the HandelHendrix permanent exhibition in Mayfair, London, and Tom’s multiple national radio appearances include performances and documentaries for BBC Radio 4, BBC Radio 2,and Sky Arts. Tom has made regular contributions to The Blues Show with Cerys Matthews, and his Beginner’s Guide to the Blues is airing March-April 2022.
Tom’s writing is featured in specialist music publications including Blues In Britain magazine, and his original research papers and book reviews are published in several international peer-reviewed journals. Tom’s chapter on the blues in Britain during the 1950s and 1960s was published by Equinox Press in April 2018, alongside a co-edited book by David Sanjek, published in September 2018 by Routledge. Tom’s most recent chapter on the influence of Blues in the work of Prince was published by Bloomsbury in June 2020. Forthcoming chapters on Little Richard and Robert Johnson will be published in 2022 and 2023 respectively.