The son of a keen amateur dance band musician, John Mayall put his first group, The Powerhouse Four, together while he was still at art school, studying to become a commercial artist. His next venture was the semi-professional Blues Syndicate who played gigs around the Manchester area. It was at one such gig, at the Twisted Wheel, that Alexis Korner persuaded Mayall to try his luck in London.

Mayall moved south and formed the Bluesbreakers in 1963. The first settled line-up of the band consisted of Bernie Watson (guitar), John McVie (bass) and Martin Hart (drums). This version of the Bluesbreakers lasted from July '63 to April '64 when Watson and Hart were replaced by Roger Dean and Hughie Flint respectively. It was this line-up that recorded the first single and cut an album live at a London club. These first recordings had a distinct R'n'B feel to them, but when Eric Clapton came on board from the Yardbirds early in '65 they switched to a more purist blues sound.

In 1966 they released their "Blues Breakers" album, an unexpected success commercially, the record firmly established Clapton's status as a guitar hero. Although singles would continue to be issued, Mayall became one of the first artists to concentrate on the albums market.

Clapton left in mid-66 for form the "supergroup" Cream and Mayall turned to Peter Green to replace him. Green would only remain with the group for a year before being leaving to form Fleetwood Mac and being succeeded by future Rolling Stone Mick Taylor.

Throughout their career the musicians themselves may have changed frequently but Mayall remained unconcerned about the commercial pressures of the day and stuck to a "back to the roots" policy of playing the blues.