The Rockin Vickers have hit the headlines, following the death of their guitarist Ian Kilminster, aka Lemmy, who moved on to bigger things with Hawkwind and Motorhead.

But did you know that the original Rev Black and The Rockin Vicars, as the band was first known, originally came from Burnley?

In 1963/64 the group comprised lead vocalist Harry Feeney, Alex Hamilton on guitar, Peter Moorhouse on bass, and Cyril 'Ciggy' Shaw on drums.

The following year they were joined by lead guitarist Ken Hardacre, who had been a pupil, along with Peter, at St John's School, Padiham.

As the name suggests, they wore black suits and 'dog collars' and were described by fans as one of the hardest rocking live bands around.

But many thought the name blasphemous and television shows refused to book them.

Feeney protested that a clergyman had told him the name might inspire teens, who had seen the group on Saturday night, to attend church on Sunday.

However, the group conceded and renamed themselves The Rockin' Vickers.

Feeney acted as the booking agent, and the band became one of the leading attractions in the north, playing all the clubs, dance halls and student unions.

Mick Kemp, from Padiham, who also attended St John's school, remembers forming a skiffle group, making music on a washboard and tea chest, in the late 1950s, with Peter and Ken and the trio 'jamming' in the front room of his home in Villiers Street,

He later worked with Peter at a local engineering firm.

Fan Catherine Bradshaw used to watch the lads practise, when they first got together, in rooms over the Co-op store in Oxford Road, Burnley.

Another recalls watching the band one Monday night at Accrington Con Club, saying: "They were brilliant and hard rocking, but unfortunately, so the story goes, were banned for stripping off to the waist."

John Bennett recalls that it was his late father, from Burnley, who gave Cyril Walsh his nickname.

"They both went to the same school and later worked together - Cyril never had any cigarettes and was always tapping my dad for a smoke."

Around the mid sixties, Peter and Ken were replaced by guitarist Ian 'Lemmy' Kilminster and Steve 'Mogsy' Morris on bass and the band moved to Blackpool.

A major attraction on the local scene, they were also one of the first UK groups to perform behind The Iron Curtain, touring Yugoslavia in 1965, and later Finland.

The band also did summer seasons at The Queens at Cleveleys, appearing on stage alongside a host of top artists. such as Lulu, the Swinging Blue Jeans, The Four Pennies and Billy J Kramer.

It is thought that before the band linked up with vocalist Harry Feeney, whose stage name was the Reverend Black, it was known as The Tuxedos.

The history of the band can be found on the Lankybeat website, compiled by musician Ian Hart, who has researched the broad spectrum of bands which burst on to the pop scene in the north during the sixties.

He has also charted the local pop scene in three volumes of books with the same same. The photographs of The Rockin Vicars are courtesy of Lankybeat.

Captions. Pic 1: Alex Hamilton, rhythm guitar; Ciggy Shaw, drums; Harry Feeney, lead vocals; Pete Moorhouse, bass guitar and Ken Hardacre, lead guitar.

Pic 2: The new line up includes Lemmy, Nick Gribbon, Pete Hellewell, Cyril Walsh, who became lead vocalist and Steve Morris.