Abbey Road meets Severn Valley for singing fishmonger's new single
Singing fishmonger John Perry and his band are hoping to be on the right track after taking time out for a photo-shoot at the Severn Valley Railway.
The Vibe, made up of John, old friend Rob Southall, from Wombourne, and Pete James and Chris Purcell from Wolverhampton, evoked memories of the Beatles' famous Abbey Road record sleeve when they posed for a picture on the Severn Valley's level crossing at Hampton Loade.
John, 66, from Chesterton, near Bridgnorth, is better known to many as 'John the Fish', the travelling fishmonger who calls from door-to-door in the Wolverhampton, Dudley and Shropshire areas.
John says the band is influenced by 1980s British-American group the Travelling Wilburys – famous for its hit End of The Line – and thought it would be a good idea to use the Severn Valley Railway to promote its new records.
The band will release its new single Travelling Band through the streaming service Spotify this month, and will be performing at the Chesterton festival to mark the Platinum Jubilee in June.
The Vibe was originally formed to mark Chris's 70th birthday in 2020, but the coronavirus restrictions meant the party was delayed by a year.
"Rob and I used to play in a band 35 years ago," says John. "We used to play in working men's clubs.
"Chris learned to play the drums on pots and pans when she was a kid, she never even had a drum kit until a couple of years ago, she's just a natural."
John added that Chris had also performed with the house band at Liverpool's famous Cavern Club before the pandemic.
He said the band would feature on the Severn Valley Railway's website, and it also had a live music page on Facebook.
