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Drumming legend Eric Delaney performing in Aldermaston

NOWADAYS, not many people know of Eric Delaney.

But he is one of the all-time drumming greats, spoken of in the same awed tones as Buddy Rich and Jack Parnell.

A perfectionist, he coupled supreme musicianship with superb showmanship to become a required presence at many a top gig, from Cape Wrath to Calshot Spit, gracing such hallowed halls as the Royal Albert, the Royal Festival - and even Aldermaston Canteen in the wartime airbase's early days as a research establishment for atomic weapons.

And he is still going as strongly today.

To the aficionado, he is perfection on a drum kit - creating flawless, yet frenetic, rhythms few are capable of.

To many others, he was the man with the tuned timpani who made Oranges and Lemons his own.

He had big bands, small groups, employed many of the finest musicians of the day - the likes of Kenny Ball, Jimmy Skidmore and later Skidmore's son Alan, as well as the rich tones of Elkie Brooks when she was Elaine Mansfield - all in the name of swing. And did they ever swing.

One man has made it a mission to make sure his legendary life, both on and off-stage, is not lost to the passage of time - a former Basingstoke bank manager now living the retired life on the Costa Blanca.

Eddie Sammons, a product of Newbury's Saint Bartholomew's Grammar School, who did two stints in the Tadley branch of Barclays before heading up the team at Basingstoke's Market Place branch, has followed the unique talents of Delaney for half a century, gradually getting to know him until finally claiming his ear when the legend began banging out a new career on the southern Iberian peninsula.

Eric gave the OK and, over the eight years he lived there - in the Benidorm area - provided acres of valuable insight for Eddie to put down in black and white the remarkable career of this octogenarian under the heading The Magnificent Eric Delaney.

No stranger to the written word, Eddie, who lives with former teacher wife Chris, in the Valencia region of Spain, has a light style, but a depth of facts and figures.

Reading about his hero is like strolling through a who's who of big bands and big names from the last century - George Chisholm, Don Lusher, Stephane Grapelli, Cyril Stapleton, Geraldo and Lew Stone.

It's written in a sort of diary form. Initially, it seemed handy for picking up and putting down, but it gradually grabs the reader, making it difficult to set aside.

It was soon clear that an infant Eric had a wealth of drumming talent. Indeed, he made his first professional appearance as an eight-year-old.

Few could have foretold that he would be a byword within a few short years, a legend in his own lifetime, and arguably the most talented drummer ever created in Britain.

The pinnacle came in 1955 when NME crowned him Musician of the Year, a position confirmed in a later Melody Maker poll, which also gave him the number one drummer spot.

Today he is still in action, a regular visitor to Spain where his daughter is domiciled and where a hungry following clamours for his performances, in halls, outdoors and even at slightly upmarket car boot sales where he, old colleagues and new finds, play together for the enjoyment of everyone, raising followers, tempos and often funds for charity.

More often, at present, he is to be seen with the UK Glenn Miller band, another great name from the history books which has spawned several generations of outfits still touring a programme of swing today.

So, for those who have only a vague memory, if any at all, of Eric Delaney, there is still time to catch up with a living legend - on stage or through Eddie Sammons' comprehensive insight into one fantastic life.

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