RAY BEAVIS

When he was very young Ray used to hear his father play alto saxophone and clarinet and knew, without question, that he would have to do the very same thing. At the age of seven he started to take lessons on clarinet from Len, his father, and switched to alto sax as soon as he was physically big enough, at around 10... At age 15 he co-formed a 7-piece soul band playing alto sax, and created a weekly Monday night gig at a workers social club. Monday nights the club was closed to the workers and the kids were allowed to take it over and put on a soul-night, which became very popular, packing the place out every week. The band played all the new Otis Redding, Wilson Picket, Lee Dorsey ‘Soul/R&B' songs which were just starting to come across from the States. He soon bought his first tenor sax and was playing in big bands, soul bands, functions etc. in and around his home town of Exeter, Devon.