'Brunning Sunflower Blues Band' was a band of British blues- rock led by Bob Brunning , former bassist of the ' Fleetwood Mac ' , and blues pianist Bob Hall . Bob Brunning , a stalwart of the British blues scene for five decades , grew up in Bournemouth , where he learned to play the bass . And played with several local groups , including one led by future disc jockey Tony Blackburn on Radio 1 . In 1963 he moved to London to improve as a teacher in colleges St Mark and St John in Chelsea . There, he joined the faculty group , ' Five 's Company ' , which was keyboardist Steve Jones , radio host later. The group recorded three singles , but none were commercially successful . And so they parted . Later , Brunning answered an ad asking for a bassist in ' Melody Maker' , that was until its closure , the oldest newspaper about music existing in the UK . Brunning described later that for this hearing was received by someone who introduced himself as Peter Green , who said : ' You've certainly is appropriate for a blues guitarist name. You know your namesake , who plays the ' Bluesbreakers ' John Mayall ? ' . ' I am that Peter Green , you idiot , " Peter replied . Despite this gaffe , Brunning joined the ' Fleetwood Mac ' . And the band made ​​its debut at the 1967 ' National Jazz and Blues Festival ' in Windsor , after the group took presentations at the Marquee Club in Soho . But Brunning was asked to leave three months later, when Peter Green and drummer Mick Fleetwood John McVie convinced his colleague to leave the band Mayall and join the ' Fleetwood Mac ' . Undaunted, Brunning moved to a rival group , the ' Savoy Brown Blues Band' , later known as ' Savoy Brown ' , which appeared in the ' Nag 's Head , a pub in Battersea , south London . His journey with this band was equally brief . This time , the split was caused by financial discussions . This separation Brunning convinced that he needed a regular and safe to counteract the disadvantages and quirks in the music business jobs . He found one in an elementary school as a teacher and remained in the profession for 30 years , retiring in 1999 as director of the school.In the 70s , Bob Brunning remained active on the British blues scene in the formation of bands and accompanying many American musicians , many of whom had on tour organized by the Blues 'American Blues Legends' promoter Birmingham , Jim Simpson . Sometimes Brunning , returning to London in the middle of the night , after a show in northern England and had only a few hours of sleep before the day classes begin. Among those associated with Brunning on blues scene in south London were singer and guitarist Jo Ann Kelly , his brother guitarist Dave , and pianist Bob Hall . With Hall , Bob founded the ' Brunning Sunflower Blues Band' who recorded four albums between 1968 and 1970 : Bullen Street Blues (1968 ) , ' Trackside Blues ' with Peter Green in 1969 , ' I Wish You Would ' in 1970 and ' The Brunning / Hall Sunflower Blues Band ' in 1971 . Then he organized the ' Tramp ' group with Jo Ann Kelly and Bob Hall , plus the members of ' Fleetwood Mac ' , Danny Kirwan and Mick Fleetwood .In 1981 , Hall and Brunning returned with the band ' DeLuxe Blues Band' with Danny Adler on guitar and Mickey Waller on drums . The group was formed to support the American blues musicians , guitarist Eddie Clearwater and harmonica player Carey Bell at a show in London, but the quartet stayed together for over a decade , adding Dick Heckstall - Smith on sax . The band recorded five albums and toured frequently in Europe during the school holidays . In the 80s , Brunning was launched as an author . His first book , ' Blues : The British Connection ' 1986 , narrates his experience in the music scene and continues to be a definitive guide to the genre . Brunning was the author of many books and written a number of Fleetwood Mac , the British blues scene , and music in general . His books about his former group include ' Behind The Masks ' , published in 1990 , and ' Fleetwood Mac : The First 30 Years' and ' The Fleetwood Mac Story : Rumours and Lies ' released in 1998 . With his teaching experience has also launched a series of books about popular music for children , published as 'Sound Trackers ' . He continued to perform regularly in clubs on Sundays , and released CDs on his own label . Always faithful to the ' Fleetwood Mac ' , he still played occasionally with ' Fleetwood Bac ,' a tribute band . Bob Brunning died in 2011 after a heart attack at age 68.