FANS of singing siblings The Everly Brothers will be pleased to hear their harmonies are the inspiration behind the next live music night at The Pinfold Club, in Boldron.
Musicians and singers Andy Brewster and Jim Blenkhorn, have been performing together, as the aptly named The Heavily Brothers, for the past four years.
Based in Darlington, the duo are no strangers to Teesdale and have built up a following after a string of performances at venues including Butterknowle and Staindrop halls.
Mr Blenkhorn said: “Playing and singing with Andy is a joy for me.
“I have not had so much fun musically since those wonderful times in the Concordes.”
For three years in the mid 1960s Mr Blenkhorn, along with friends Doug Yates, Phil Kershaw, David Coulthard and Roger Tyrrell, entertained the masses up and down the country with their band the Concordes.
In fact the first paid gig he played was at St Mary’s Parish Hall in Barnard Castle.
He said: “We played many times in the parish hall and dances were advertised a lot in the Teesdale Mercury. I loved playing there.
“We were exceptionally lucky in the Concordes. We had one ace musician in Doug Yates and a fantastic lead vocalist in Phil Kershaw.
“Roger and I lived a few doors apart and used to play along to Shadows records on a Sunday morning.
“We got on well together and were all keen to learn what we didn’t know already.”
The five piece band rehearsed in Gainford and learned as many pop records as possible to ensure they had enough material to perform at least 40 songs an hour.
Mr Blenkhorn added: “We were exceptionally lucky in the Concordes. We didn’t back the Beatles or the Rolling Stones, but we played with just about everyone else.”
After turning professional, they found themselves driving up and down the country to gigs and although they were attracting crowds of 1,100 screaming fans, the travelling took its toll.
The Concordes disbanded in 1965 with members pursuing professional careers in other arenas.
However more than 50 years later Mr Blenkhorn, after a successful career as a transport consultant, says he couldn’t be happier to be performing again.
The Heavily Brothers will be on stage at the Pinfold Club on Saturday, February 22.
It’s free entry and doors open at 7pm.
Mr Blenkhorn added: “People seem to like the sound we make and that’s good enough for me.”
