THOSE of you who remember The Beachcomber in Bank Street, Bolton, the club launched at the height of the pop boom in the 1960s by local entrepreneurs Norman Clements, Eddie Grindrod and Eric Eckersley, will hopefully have fond memories of the jazz sessions staged in the upstairs room every Sunday afternoon.

I was among a number of local musicians who were involved and can't have been the only one who listened with awe to the offerings of a young guitar player called Bob Gill, who was always accompanied by his proud dad.

Bob was a truly phenomenal talent and it was merely a matter of natural progression when he turned professional, eventually heading for London, to where anyone who hoped to make a name in the business went as a matter of course in those far-off days.

Before then came the honing of his craft, which took place in Mecca dance halls and summer seasons at holiday camps.

He spent some time with Phil Moss at The Ritz in Manchester, one of the biggest and best ballrooms in the UK, with a band to match, before joining the hugely popular Hedley Ward Trio, which included Keith Miller, a former Boltonian, who also had a successful career as a professional musician.

Bob's first job in London was with the famous Joe Loss Orchestra and as his reputation grew, he had stints with bands led by Ken Mackintosh, Victor Sylvester, which he describes as the hardest he ever had, Syd Lipton and Nat Temple. Next came a string of West End shows; Billy (with Michael Crawford), Grease (with Richard Gere), television programmes including Record Breakers, Rolf Harris, and The Royal Variety Command Performance. He was a member of British bands who backed international "celebs", including Bob Hope, Matt Munro, Tommy Steele, Paul McCartney and Tony Bennett, the latter at Ronnie Scott's Club.

It was during his time with the excellent Bill McGuffie quintet and big band that Bob emerged as a jazz player of repute, playing alongside some of the best musicians this country has produced, including another Bolton "export", the brilliant trumpeter Derek Healey, Don Lusher, Roy Willox, Bobby Orr and Ronnie Hughes. He is justifiably proud of his achievements, and also of the fact that he fought and defeated the alcoholism, which all but killed him. Bob, now back living locally, gave me a copy of a CD he had recorded "live" before an audience in London, with a backing trio of drums, piano and bass. It contained a dozen or so standards, all given the special jazz interpretation which can only be accomplished by someone who has mastered their particular instrument. It provided further proof, not that any was needed any, that Bob Gill, always was, and still is, a very special talent.