After more than 40 years, gracing stages up and down the country, living the rock and roll lifestyle and having the occasional brushes with fame, blues guitarist Barry Nelson is hanging up his axe.

Words you’d never thought would be uttered.

Barry has played with the legendary and the best musicians the island has to offer, and has remained one of the most gifted and brilliant blues, rock, pop and any-other-genre-you-can-name guitarist of his time.

However, he and his bassist, manager and, most importantly, wife Val, have decided that they are to end their constant playing days.

Barry and Val are to play at the Dark Horse festival this weekend, followed by a final gig with members of the Barry Nelson band at the Ginger Hall on July 29, with his UK band mates, drummer Rob Marsden and guitarist Carl Jones.

And that will be that!

Having spent the last several years playing regularly around the UK with the Barry nelson Band and the latest incarnation of ‘Jeceris’, Barry, now about to hit 60 years old, said that the Covid pandemic gave him a chance to stop and have a look around and realise he didn’t miss playing as much as he thought he would, which led him to happily walk away from the stage.

As said earlier, Barry has played with the best the island has seen, and over 40 years, has amassed a wealth of rock and roll anecdotes and adventures that could easily fill a book.

Former comrades include the late bassist Simon Buttimore, John Buttery and Tim Reynolds, who formed the band ‘The Decibel Boys’ and came close to taking London by storm in the late 70s, followed by the band ‘Ocean’s Eleven’, who attracted considerable label interest.

Most people will remember Barry for his long-running and always enjoyable blues acoustic duo, ‘Bluey and the Six Pack’, which formed with his ex-GASP band mate, the late Steve Parry.

Their residence at the long-gone Cul-de-Sac was one of legend, and they ended up playing for well over 15 years across the island and elsewhere.

He is a guitarist who has lit up stages and crowds wherever he has gone, and it’s well worth making an effort to catch Barry over his last couple of gigs (although its hard to imagine him never actually playing anywhere again!).

A full feature on Barry’s life and career will appear in Island Life next week.