A VETERAN musician has died aged 76.

Ted Earle died after becoming unwell at his home in Farish House, South Street, Keighley.

Mr Earle, a talented drummer and singer, started as a musician in a skiffle group called The Zephyrs in the late 1950s, where he played washboard and guitar.

They became known as The Presidents, then, following a merger with The Beatnicks, as The Beat Squad. A record contract with HMV followed and the group was re-named Linda Russell and the Keymen.

Former band member and Haworth resident Bruce Russell said: “Linda and myself left the group after a summer season on the Ronnie Hilton Show in Skegness in 1965. Ted, along with Dave Mirfield, continued as The Keymen. They called it a day in the late 1970s, and after that Ted played with several local beat groups.”