THE sons of a beloved Swindon musician who passed away three years ago have organised a special concert in his memory.

Jamie and Darren Hunt have gathered several friends of their much-missed father Gerry together for a big gig at Level 3 on Saturday, October 7, which would have been his 65th birthday.

Gerry was a drummer for 50 years and played in a band called Shred with his sons for 22 years, then became a professional drumming teacher.

He died at the age of 62 in July 2014 after a gruelling battle with follicular non-Hodgkins lymphoma.

Jamie said: "When he passed away, I felt like I lost my identity for a long time because I'd done gigs with him week in week out since I was 12.

"It was our passion and when that was suddenly taken away, I had to find myself again."

Jamie and Darren will play guitar while bass players and vocalists who worked with Gerry will play with them. One of Gerry's drumming students will step in to complete the band.

Two drum tutors will be playing a tribute piece to Gerry, then Gary and Richard Cleaver will also pay their respects to him.

Jamie added: "We've got a big screen above the stage at the venue which we'll use to project different sequences, photographs and stories of him.

"When he was diagnosed, how he was known instantly switched from 'Gerry the talented musician' to 'Gerry the man who has cancer' and that's not how we want to remember him.

"He was very creative and spontaneous, always upbeat and positive, the life and soul of the party, very cheeky, he liked making people laugh and lifted everybody's spirits.

"The version of him that was ill imprinted itself on me but looking at old photos of him as a youngster has been a really nice experience, re-connecting with who he really was, that's what we're focusing on.

"He's irreplaceable."

Proceeds from the event will go to the Lymphoma Research Trust and Help Musicians UK.

Jamie added: "It seemed appropriate to donate to research for the cancer that he was diagnosed with.

"Help Musicians UK supported him financially after he was diagnosed, they helped pay for his funeral and they visit mum every year to see if she's okay, they really stepped up and it's comforting to have an organisation like them which supports musicians and their families.

"This concert always seemed like it would be the right thing to do since he passed away but we wanted to do it justice and decided that this was the year to do it.

"We started contacting musicians in February and made a facebook post that got an amazing response, then we got in touch with Level 3 and they said yes straight away."

Doors open at 7pm for an 8pm start. Tickets cost £5 in advance or £7 on the door.

To book in advance, email Darren Hunt at darrenshred@hotmail.co.uk