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time had been living in the USA for some years, and playing with a host of top bands, including Journey,
The Mothers of Invention and Jefferson Starship, amongst many others.

In the 1970s, after Heavy Jelly, Alex Dmochowski had played with both John Mayall and Frank Zappa,
but subsequent to those occasional Dorset jams has apparently disappeared from the scene.

However, Victor continued to gig regularly, and Paul arranged a number of local gigs for him, with various
pick-up bands, at a club he called The Barrelhouse, and which was situated at a number of venues in the
Blandford and Sturminster Newton area over the next few years. Indeed, having agreed a fee with Victor
for one date, the takings were insufficient to pay him, so Paul took him back to his home in order that
he could choose a piece of furniture to cover the balance of the fee! I was involved in a couple of those
sessions, and was always very impressed with Victor, who never rehearsed anything, but you’d never
know it! A particularly memorable one was where he ad-libbed his way through “The Story of the Blues”
for the entire night, using acoustic guitar and piano in the first set, and with the backing band in the
second. He did it superbly.

Sadly, Victor passed away in 2023, still gigging right to the end. He should truly be acknowledged as one
of our blues national treasures.

In the Summer of 1989 I received a call from Paul, asking me if I would like to do a gig with John
Morshead, to which I was only too delighted to say “yes”. It was at a pub in the Sturminster Newton area
of Dorset, and I have no recall as to whether we were paid, or just did it for fun. I had not seen John
Morshead since 1970, but he appeared not to have changed at all - the fine head of dark curly hair was
still there, as was the dark complexion, and the slim figure - he still looked like a true guitar slinger! The
only thing missing was the Gibson guitar, because on this occasion he was sporting a sunburst Fender
Telecaster. I can remember little about that otherwise highly memorable night apart from the fact that
his playing was very rusty, although the odd lick confirmed that underneath the surface was a very fine
player. He had obviously been away from the scene for a long time.
There is no doubt in my mind that John Morshead was a class act, and although decades have passed
since he made his contributions to the 60s “Blues Boom” his name deserves to appear alongside those
others that have remained in the spotlight over all these years.

ABOUT JOHN HOLMES

was born in London in 1953, and was a frequent visitor to the

Marquee Club and other venues, watching the blues bands and
I artistes in the late 1960/early 1970s. I’ve been playing guitar since
I was 16 years old (although I’ve barely improved in decades!). I played

in a couple of blues bands in London, including a few months with Victor
Brox, Dick Heckstall-Smith, John O’Leary and Keith Tillman. Moving

to Bournemouth in 1976, I founded Manhattan Slide in 1977, and ABB
(formerly The Average Blues Band) in 1988. At the same time I played
with Southampton stalwarts Bob Pearce and Pete Harris for a while.

ABB are still going, with an average age in excess of 70!