ROBERT SAKER

Band timeline:

Hobbs Lot

The Terry Mann Band

Peppermill

The Eljays

The Pheonix Showband

"Hobbs Lot was my first band and we played locally for a number of years.  I remember we did every Saturday night for 14weeks at The Halcyon PH, Westwood, Peterborough. In 1968 I entered a competition at The Celler Club in March Cambs called "Star of the Fens" I was fortunate to win the contest first prize being £50!!! Wow, loadsamoney back then.
I then learnt my trade by singing in the working men's clubs up north trekking up and down the A1 every weekend. Around 1972 I was asked to front a popular dance band in Peterborough, The Terry Mann Band which consisted of a full brass section and rhythm section. I had 5 fab years with them until I to moved to Southampton for work
I didn't do any gigging in Southampton apart from the odd dep with a local band called The Jeff Thomas Showband. In 1982 I moved back to Peterborough and was soon gigging again with local band Peppermill. We were very successful for 15/16years. Sadly in 1994 guitarist Dave Green was killed in a car accident we had various other players in but it just didn't seem to gel and in the late 90s, we all seemed to drift into different directions and the band split. That didn't stop me wanting to perform so around 2000/2001 I was asked to join a small band from St Neots area called The Eljays. We were a 3 piece with keyboard and guitar and used backing tracks, a new experience for me. In 2006/7 I joined another Cambridge band who are still around today The Phoenix Showband where I was reunited with Peppermill drummer Ian Bowen. I stayed with them until 2010 when my health was not so good and I decided to take a break from gigging. I did nothing until 2013 shortly after my wife died when I was reunited with an old friend whom I had never gigged with namely Peter Green. Peter has been with many bands over the years and was the founder member of Son Of A Gun who won the New Faces TV Show in 1975. We got together in 2013 and started gigging the theatres and clubs and have been and hope to continue to be so when we get back to normal." RS24/07/2020