THE achievements of local musician Les Bloor were celebrated recently with a surprise bash at the Ngaere Hall.
When Les first took to the mouth organ at the age of 6, little did he know that around 70 years later he would still be a performing musician.
However, music is still a huge part of the South Taranaki man's life and on December 13 at a Christmas function organised by the Taranaki Country Music Club's, Les was presented with a special trophy commemorating seven decades of musical service to central, south and coastal Taranaki.
One of the chief organisers of the special presentation was fellow musician, friend and colleague, Ron Hayward.
"I've known Les since the 1950s, when I met him playing at entertainment and variety shows around Taranaki," said Ron.
According to Ron, much of Les' music career in the early days centred on providing music for touring entertainers and community groups.
"He also had his own one-man band. He had a bass drum at his feet, a mouth organ around his neck and 'banjo-uke' in his hands."
Les' quest for wider musical experience was one of the things that took him to Auckland in the 1960s, where at one time he had a regular gig as an hotel musician, in between freelancing as a musician for hire.
"Les could always turn his hand to any style. He's always played a bit of country, a bit of rock 'n' roll - anything really. He still is great at just fitting in wherever he's needed."
Amongst some of the stars that Les worked with were big names in New Zealand such as Lou Prime, Lou and Simon and Jack Riggir.
He worked for Fuller's Entertainment Bureau for a while and also had a stint playing for the John Hore Show in Wellington.
One of the highlights of his career was appearing on the TV2 talent show, "Have a Shot", winning his heat and going through to the next round.
After leading a busy life full of ups and downs in Auckland and Wellington, Les returned to Taranaki in the late 1970s and based himself in South Taranaki, where he began recording onto tape many of his songs and arrangements, whilst offering his services to local groups.
"One of his great achievements was establishing the successful 'Rawhide' Country Music Club over on the coast," said Ron.
"At one time, he and the club put on a huge community concert with all the proceeds going to charity. That was great."
Les' recorded his first solo albums Let Me Live Again and Country Variety in the early 1990s, and was a guest artist on some of Ron's albums, including Ron Hayward's Country Memories in 1994.
Les and his wife Judy recorded two LJ Country albums from the late 1990s through the 2000s and are presently still both very active on the local music front, working in, amongst other places, some of the region's rest homes as entertainers.
At the special presentation, Les was overwhelmed by the praise and support he received by the 70 plus members and supporters at the Taranaki Country Music Club function.
"He was so surprised. He was just expecting it to be another club night that he was playing at and had no idea he was the guest of honour."
As well as the trophy, Les was presented with a special certificate and had a special cake made for him which he and Ron cut together.
"He's always helped out our club over the years so we wanted to use the opportunity to also say thank you to him for that."
"To have been entertaining for 70 years really is a fantastic achievement," said Ron, "I bet there's not many people who could say that about what they've been doing."
Surprise of a lifetime
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.