Bournemouth, I feel, does not quite fit into the category of swinging, bluesy places. "Come to Bournemouth, Home of the Southern Blues!" - no, that is not quite right either. In fact, it is the unlikely birthplace of Zoot Money, one of the liveliest figures on the R&B scene. Zoot's fiery ginger hair - or should it be called 'strawberry blond'? - can usually be seen wagging about the 'in' places. Zoot, you see, is very 'in'; he is also very good. The two do not always go together but, in this instance, they are combined with incredible energy and almost complete lack of stage nerves. It boils down to the fact that Zoot knows exactly what he wants to do... and does it. He does it partly through conscious knowledge and partly through instinct. He does it because he is genuine in the pleasure which he gets from entertaining people. And entertainment, as we know, means tears as well as laughter.

It was at the end of the Rock & Roll period that Zoot started to play in Bournemouth, basing himself mainly on his first idol, Jerry Lee Lewis. He played good, rocking piano and belted out songs with maybe more vigour than artistry. Eventually, though, Zoot decided that he must come to London if he was to make it big and so he arrived, just at the time when I needed a singer for a month. He walked into the job and, while it was not the most peaceful and uneventful time I ever knew, it was one of the most hilarious. For instance, there was one night in the North when Zoot had got very excited and just a little bit too full of sherry. He shared a hotel room with our alto sax player, Dave Castle. All night long, while Dave desperately tried to sleep, Zoot grunted, gurgled or ranted with laughter at his own jokes - actually he was making up funny names! The terrible thing was that that, next day, Zoot was as bright as a penny (sorry about that) while Dave, poor bloke, was a total wreck..

This is the sort of energy and drive which has brought Zoot so far in such a short time, and will certainly take him a lot farther. An instinctive blues player and singer, a natural leader and a person who involves himself completely in whatever he is doing, Zoot must become an even greater success. His music really says all that, but I felt that what I knew of him as a person might interest some of you. Let me finish by saying that, through all the ups and downs of this business, I shall always remain extremely fond of 'Bournemouth's Answer To The World'!