After first touring the UK with big-band leader Chris Barber in 1957, Tharpe joined the Blues and Gospel Tour of Europe in '63, which also featured blues legend Muddy Waters. There was just one UK whistle-stop – in Manchester, the hub of the UK's blues and jazz scene. A minibus rolled in from London carrying teenagers eager to catch the show. They arrived with Muddy Waters in their heads, but left with Sister Rosetta Tharpe in their hearts. Among them were Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Keith Richards and Brian Jones – all future luminaries of the British guitar boom.

The following year, a spin-off TV performance billed as The Blues and Gospel Train attracted 10 million viewers. Granada TV filmed it at a disused railway station near Manchester and, naturally, the heavens opened. Tharpe took it in stride, though, starting with the spiritual "Didn't It Rain". And yet again, she stole the show.

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