Former Quo star backs calls for Jim Kelly plaque

Dundee musician played with successful ’60s band Honeybus

Honeybus and Status Quo drummer Pete Kircher has backed calls for a permanent memorial to honour the late Dundee guitarist Jim Kelly.

Honeybus are remembered for their 1968 hit I Can’t Let Maggie Go, but arguably much of their best work was made after Jim was added on guitar.

Kircher – who played drums with Honeybus and played at Live Aid in 1985 with Status Quo – said he would support the family’s suggestion of a plaque in Jim’s memory.

The Kelly family are looking at the possibility of a memorial for Jim perhaps at Baxter Park where he made his first tentative steps as a performer.

Kircher said: “I would support the thought of a plaque in Jim’s memory and hope the family manage to get the city to do it. The trouble is these things are so expensive...I wish them the best of luck.”

Friends with Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood, Jim’s guitar playing was compared to former Beatle George Harrison but his name remains largely forgotten in Dundee music folklore since his untimely death at the age of 49 in 1995.

Jim, who grew up in Linlathen and attended St Michael’s School, was an apprentice fitter at Bonar Long.

Throughout the 1960s he played in Dundee bands such as the Durelles, but in the late 1960s Jim headed for London, where he joined Honeybus.

Honeybus broke up in the early 1970s and Jim returned to Dundee, where he played in the Sleaz Band until ill health cut his music career short.

Honeybus, from left: Colin Hare, Pete Kircher, Jim Kelly and Ray Cane.