MISSING . . .

THE DAILY MAIL offers readers a unique opportunity to re-establish contact with long-lost relatives and friends. Each week, MONICA PORTER features the story of someone trying to find a missing loved one, as well as a tale of people reunited. This column is produced in conjunction with the voluntary tracing service, Searching For A Memory, run by Gill and John Whitley. ‘I’VE bEEn trying for years to locate an old friend,’ writes Phil Thorne of Portsmouth, a 68-year old semi-professional musician.

‘His name is Geoff Cox and we lost touch in the midSeventies when he moved from Portsmouth to the West Country.

‘He played guitar in a Portsmouth group called Timeless Trend until 1968, when he and I met and formed our own group, Good Life, which played 37 gigs between June 1968 and January 1969.

‘Like Geoff, I was a guitarist, and we teamed up with drummer Rick White, bass player barry Sutton and organist Paul nugent.

‘Our first gig was at the black Cat Discotheque, Kingston Road, Portsmouth, for the fantastic sum of £8.

‘Another memorable gig was at Kimbells ballroom in Southsea in October 1968, where the line-up was baby Dolls, Good Life, Pat nelson, Kats, Cyclone, Pevensey blues band and headliners Music scene: Phil Thorne, with first wife Rosemary blossom Toes. We played soul/dance standards as well as pop, rock and folk songs.

‘In those days, the attitude towards pop groups was that we weren’t doing proper jobs. We had a great time and, if only in a small way, we were part of the Sixties scene.

‘Good Life broke up in February 1969 and Geoff joined a group called Wickersnead. I would love to meet up again and chat about old times.’