From left, Colin Burnell, Terry Gay, Dave Elias, Robin Burnell & Ray Holmes
In the 1960s, blues band The Poor Souls were regular performers in the Bristol area.
The band in the 1960s
Inspired by the Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton and early Blues music, the band met when they were all at Withywood School (now Merchants’ Academy).
One of their first gigs was at the Capri coffee bar in Moravian Road, Kingswood.
They also played the Corn Exchange, Dugout, and the Bamboo Club in Bristol, and went on to play at the Colston Hall, supporting nationally known groups including the Moody Blues, Pretty Things and the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band.
The Poor Souls were together for five years before they split.
Bassist Ray Holmes is now a volunteer at Kingswood Heritage Museum and the museum has set up a small exhibition to commemorate the band, using Ray’s collection of memorabilia.
The black and white picture shows the band against the backdrop of Cabot Tower in 1966. And this afternoon the band held a reunion at Kingswood Heritage Museum in Tower Lane, Warmley, where they recalled their happy days together and recreated that sultry pose.
Pictured from left to right are guitarist Dave Elias, who now lives in Claverham, Colin Burnell, who played keyboard and was the only band member who could read music (now living in Cheltenham), drummer Terry Gay (Nailsea), Robin Burnell (vocals and harmonica) who now lives in Tewkesbury, and Ray Holmes.
For a time the band also had a saxophone player called Nick King but they have been unable to trace him.
The museum is open on Tuesdays, Saturdays and Sundays from 2pm to 5pm and on bank holiday weekends (including Mondays) from 11am to 5 pm. Buses 17a, 42, 43 and 319 stop nearby.
