He was thought of as one of the finest blues and rock singer the island has produced and even stopped one of the greatest musicians in a generation in his tracks.

Tributes have been paid to the memory of Jerry Christian, one of the island’s musical giants, who died last week.

A contemporary of some of the biggest names in Manx music and a regular face around the burgeoning rock and pop scene of the late 1970s and 80s, Jerry has been remembered as a genuine talent and was once described as one of the best blues singers in Europe by a visiting jazz guitarist, Robin Nolan.

Jerry played in many of the top local rock bands of the late 70s, most notably with ‘Nasty Piece of Work’, where they would frequently pack out the Douglas Head Hotel.

During the early 1980s, he trooped off to the exploding South Wales rock scene in Penarth with local greats, drummer Danny Kneale, Jerry Carter and the late Anglin Buttimore.

Following a stint in Australia, he returned to the Isle of Man and joined up with the Status Quo drummer John Coghlan, then a local resident, whilst also picking back up with Jerry, Dave McLean and Anglin, who Jerry remembers as sharing a great chemistry with each other.

He also won through to the national finals of a TV talent show, host by the ITV morning programme, GMTV, during the mid 1980s.

Before illness and various health issues inhabited his considerable skills, he performed a memorable concert supporting the great UK blues guitarist and Fleetwood Mac founder Peter Green at the Gaiety theatre during his 2010 concert.

After Jerry performed one of Fleetwood Mac’s classic songs, ‘Need Your Love So bad’, Green sought our Jerry to tell him that he thought that was the best covers of one of his song’s he had ever heard.

On summing up Jerry’s life and musical legacy, former bandmate Jerry said: ‘We have lost the best rock blues singer the island has ever had’.