HISTORIAN Pat Barrow is appealing to

Journal

readers for photographs and anecdotes from North Devon's rock and roll years.

He is researching a new book devoted to the old beat bands of the 1960s.

And he has been laboriously going through old

Journals

from that era, noting down which bands were playing where, and how much it cost to get into their gigs.

Pat, of Ilfracombe, has already achieved some success in his quest.

Through Dave Barrans, a singer with The Prophets, then The Essence and finally Liberty Camel, he has been able to tap into other sources.

Pat remembers seeing Dave perform in a group at Braunton Parish Hall in 1965 when he was in The Prophets.

Pat, a director of the North Devon Athenaeum, said: "He has been my lead-in. He got me an introduction to two more major groups in North Devon, The Summits and The Chevrons.

"I had an interview with Chris Verney, the rhythm guitarist with The Summits and Mike Warburton, base guitarist with The Chevrons."

The Summits were the top beat group in North Devon in the early part of the 1960s, sometimes playing three or four times a week.

The Chevrons, who were more popular later, came second in a band competition at Wimbledon Palace.

Local skiffle group, The Rockets, with vocalist Derek Prideaux, was still going in the 1960s. They won a competition in the Queen's Hall, Barnstaple, in 1968.

Nowadays, Derek rides on the same bus to Sainsbury's with Pat and his wife.

Pat has also been able to trace Sally Dibble, reported to be the first woman singer with a local beat group in the 1960s.

Pat is no stranger to writing and has been compiling 26 books in the last two years.

His published work to date has included Slaves of Rapparee for which he has now written an up-date.

● If you have any old photographs of bands from North Devon's rock and roll years, please e-mail afoster@c-dm.co.uk