Ron Sayer

Ron Sayer Junior and the Big Three

Blakeney Harbour Room

Ron Sayer is a local guitar hero to many of us. A musician from North Walsham whose skills with the “axe” inspire and depress we lesser players in equal measure - seeing what can be achieved and amplifying the fact you will never achieve such heights.

But watching and listening to him is always a pleasure, whether it is a solo session in a pub or a band format in bigger venues.

His blues-driven “junior” format at Blakeney saw him joined by his keyboard-playing, songstress wife Charlotte, former Oli Brown band man Fred Hollis on bass where he traded licks with the main man, and Sonny Lee, who despite being better-known as a guitarist himself, showed his own versatility with a superb stint on drums.

The set ranged from pared-back blues, to rock and roll, and progressive rock covers (Albert Collins, Rory Gallagher and Zeppelin among them).

But there were also many powerful originals penned by Ron. The funky Bad Thing and Manana were real crowd-pleasers for the dancers, while the guitar solos in I Ain’t Leaving highlighted the talent of the front man and a masterclass in technique, tone, light and shade to those of us sitting drop-jawed in awe.

Richard Batson