Kimber's Men

Kimber's Men were formed in the summer of 2001 and in those early days they comprised Neil Kimber - ship’s bosun, John Bromley - ship’s cook, Joe Stead - ship’s doctor, and Roger ‘Tonky’ Hepworth the ship’s cabin boy. But in the summer of 2004 Roger was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer and sadly he passed away in April 2005. Kimber’s Men realized they would never sound the same again. Roger is missed not only for his wonderful harmonies and guitar playing, but for his friendship and advice always warmly given. Neil and Roger had been singing together as a duo in West Yorkshire since 1966 whilst John burst upon the folk scene a little later in 1972 as a member of Hebric. John, who has a voice similar to Paul Robeson also sings with the local operatic society in Halifax and is a member of The Bradshaw Mummers who can be seen in quaint outfits throughout most summers at various festivals acting out the important chapters of English history. John sang lead bass with Northern Ballet at Leeds Playhouse for the winter season of Mozart’s Requiem. Meanwhile Joe Stead had begun a professional career in London in 1966 which eventually took him to various parts of the world and more recently the first Valparaiso Festival of the Sea in Chile. Joe has performed in concert in America with Pete Seeger twice and also sung at a garden party with Paul Robeson in London in 1958. Neil also sang in concert with Pete Seeger when he and Joe crossed the Atlantic with Paul Downes to perform in a concert in New Jersey to raise funds for the Delaware Valley River Project. There are now two new members in the group. David Buckley joined Kimber's Men at the end of April 2006. David is an actor and a singer who has performed in musicals and with the Halifax Operatic Society. They found him playing the part of Captain Smith in 'Titanic the Musical'. David sings tenor harmony. He has recently written a song called 'I will always be there' which may become as popular as 'Don't take the heroes'. In June 2007 Kimber's Men increased their number to 5 when 'Gaz' joined the quartet. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.