IT was a rock ’n’ roll show that literally brought the house down.

Many years before he became Southampton’s King of The Blues, Bob Pearce was cutting his musical teeth on the youth club gig circuit.

But he never thought that a pop career curtain-raiser would go so spectacularly off the rails.

Bob had only been lead singer with The Footprints for a matter of weeks when he was invited to do a gig at a Nursling Youth Club dance.

It was back in the “anything goes” 1960s and the budding rock star decided to make a grand entrance by swinging and singing from the stage’s curtain rail.

He recalled: “The stage was small but very well lit. The curtains were made of deep red velvet. The group played two or three instrumentals and then introduced Thelma Quinn who sang Where Have All The Flowers Gone.

“It was not long before the group were playing yet another Shadows tune. Out I came shaking and snarling like your average day crooner.”

With microphone in hand he felt like Southampton’s answer to Cliff Richard, as for the second time that evening he belted out a Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On.

Bob said: “I thought it might be a good idea if I just jumped off and swung on the curtain pole, which was quite low just for a bit of a laugh.”

It did not go quite according to plan and it is a curtain call that he will never forget. For the curtains came crashing to the ground, along with Bob, and the group slowly ground to a halt. Suddenly an arm reached out from the heap of motionless curtains with a voice from the deep yelling: “Come along, baby.”

Bob, who in those days only knew two numbers, managed to scramble back on stage and deliver a note-perfect Ray Charles’ number, What’d I Say.

He does not recall the audience reaction, but added: “I think I remember someone saying ‘The caretaker is not going to be too happy’.”

Fifty years after shaking up Nursling Village Hall, Bob is returning with his Blues Band on January 10. The evening is in aid of Southampton’s Rose Road Association for disabled children and young people.

“You could say I am returning to the scene of the crime,” quipped Bob, who still has vivid memories of the night that his rock ’n’ roll world came crashing around his ears.

It was not the first time that Bob has made a spectacular stage entrance. He once swung onto the Southampton Guildhall stage dressed as Batman. He said: “I used to like to do things to try and surprise the band,” said Bob.

Daily Echo:

It is one of many amusing stories the Southampton-born musician tells in his biography Beginning to Beginning – My Story So Far.

Singing the blues has made him one of Southampton’s most famous sons and it has taken him around the globe, including to far-flung places like the Falklands.

The name Bob Pearce is etched in the city’s musical heritage.

For 18 years he led the resident band at The Onslow, which became the Home of The Blues.

And for two years he was a regular headliner at The Joiners, another legendary port of call on Southampton’s musical map.

His book is packed with hilarious tales of life on the road and from playing in backroom bars to 40,000-strong festival audiences.

It was in 1963 that Bob heard Sonny Boy Williamson’s Lonesome Cabin in a record shop booth in Shirley, Southampton. From that day he was hooked on the blues.

The Footprints was the first of many bands that Bob belonged to before heading his own group.

With his well-honed skills on guitar and harmonica, Bob’s reputation for playing the blues has won him many fans beyond the boundaries of his native city.

Bob, who has built up a big following across Europe, fulfilled a lifelong ambition when he went to Texas to record an album in Austin.

He appeared alongside some legendary blues musicians in New Orleans.

  • Bob Pearce and His Band at Nursling and Rownhams Village Hall on Saturday January 10 between 7.30pm and 9.30pm. Tickets £3 on the door.