William "Hammy" Howell (24 October 1954 – 13 January 1999) was a British piano and keyboard blues and boogie-woogie player, who played for the then-popular doo wop outfit Darts.
[3] After leaving school, Howell developed his own distinctive style of piano-playing, starting with blues, then rock and roll and eventually boogie-woogie.
[1][2] In the 1970s, he backed Johnny Mars, a popular American electric blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter who had relocated to Britain.
Mars and his Oakland Boogie Band frequently visited Germany, where they became popular among blues fans.
During this period he occasionally taught piano, and at one point came to young Brendan Kavanagh's home to give him three free boogie-woogie lessons.