FOR a brief, glorious phase, Banbury throbbed with the Blues, thanks to The Swan in South Bar Street. For 18 months from 1968-69 the pub was the hub of a lively Blues scene with live shows attracting crowds of punters.

And now, one of the musicians who rocked there regularly has a reprise in mind with The Blues Attic Revisited, this Saturday.

The show at The Mill stars Shakey Vick’s Blues Band, Salt, Honeyboy Hickling and the DTs, Gordon Smith and Alan Glen, Washboard Bill’s Jug Stompers, Hokum Hotshots, The Last Gasp Spasm Band and Lee Bates and Billy Newton.

Its organiser is Colin Sykes, one of the Banbury musicians who played at the club with the Colin James Blues Band. He said: “There have been many revival nights in town and lots of reminders of the Winter Gardens and how things were back then. So I looked into putting on a Blues Attic Revisited night.

“We’re all in our 60s now but I’m a bit of a silver surfer and I found some of the others involved.”

Many of the musicians have played with various bands since the ’60s. Shakey Vick played at Blues Attic four times and went on to work with many big-name US artists. The singer and harmonica player is joined on Saturday by Chris Youlden, Alan Vincent, Jim Mercer and Dino Coccia.

Salt was a powerful blues rock band that played the Attic many times as well as Reading Festival and opened for Muddy Waters in London. Here Salt features Stevie Smith (Ruthless Blues), Mick Clarke and Stuart McDonald (Killing Floor) and Chris Sharley.

Colin Sykes teams up once more with brothers Bill and Jim Plester to play some skiffle, blues and folk tunes in keeping with the tradition of the old Jug bands in Washboard Bill’s Jug Stompers.

Gordon Smith played the Attic in October ’68. He was described by John Peel as ‘the foremost white blues guitarist in the world’ and was recorded by Blue Horizon with Fleetwood Mac’s Peter Green and Duster Bennett. He appears with Alan Glen who played with The Yardbirds, Nine Below Zero and The Barcodes.

The Blues Attic is at The Mill & Miller’s Bar, Saturday 8pm. Tickets £18-20. Call 01295 252050.