MEMORIES came rolling back for veteran trumpeter Ron Jackson when he spotted my recent piece about old-time dance bandleader Eric Norbury.

In fact, it shot him back to his own teenage years.

Ron, now turned 80 but still performing with style and gusto each Tuesday with his band at the Sutton Cricket Club, says: "Eric was trumpeter and leader of the band which played at Holy Cross Hall, St Helens.

"I was just a kid when a talent show was staged at the Theatre Royal run by Jan Ralfina whose band played on Radio Luxembourg."

Ron shared a stage spot with his old pianist chum Tom Pennington. "Amazingly we wore the same kind of blue blazers and slacks as the main band and I think the audience thought we were part of it!"

This affected the clap-ometer scoring rate and the pair were beaten by a kid in ragged clothes singing Danny Boy!

But it wasn't the end. The time was 1940, with most local men called up for the forces. So Ron, who had earlier been watched at the theatre by Eric Norbury, was contacted by him. He was talked into stepping up to fill in a second trumpet space.

It proved a good deal for Ron, later to serve with the RAF. He was then a 16-year-old, earning £1 a week at Pilkingtons and was pleasantly surprised to find that his three band nights raked him in more than twice that amount.

It was also the start of a great musical career with many top regional and national bands. A passion he still retains today.