Artwork honour for popular Lancaster band

Trad jazz band, the Sun Street Stompers, have been a mainstay of Sunday afternoons at Lancaster’s John O’Gaunt pub for almost 40 years.

One of their fans, Paul McNicholas, travels from Manchester to hear them and commissioned a painting of the band from Morecambe artist, Bob Pickersgill, who occasionally plays saxophone with them.

The only other painting of the band was by Chas Jacobs as a private commission for former John O’Gaunt landlord, Steve Thorne, who originally requested the Sun Street Stompers to play at the pub, back in 1986.

The band currently features Barrie Marshall on clarinet, guitarist Steve Lister, Lawrence Marshall on banjo, Ken Johnston on double bass and drummer, Peter Boswell.

Bob Pickersgill, who’s well known locally for painting murals and launching the outdoor gallery fronting Morecambe’s old Frontierland site, has also played the saxophone for decades, so worked himself into the painting.