New date for memorial gig will see members of band formed in Burnley in the 1990s take to stage for first time in 25 years

The gig, on Sunday, February 20th, will be both poignant and emotional as it is in honour of Colin Kennaugh, the band's former founder and lead singer who died in 2020 at the age of 59.

Colin was a gifted singer and songwriter and his band, Salt of the Earth, enjoyed critical acclaim, even catching the attention of Noel Gallagher.

In 1997 the band won the title of Best Unsigned Band Britain after beating off competition from 99 other finalists in the contest at Wembley Stadium.

One of the members of the biggest bands at the time even became a fan of Salt of the Earth. Howard Donald, who was a member of Take That, attended some of the gigs and sang on one of the tracks called Drink Your Fill, penned by Colin, on the band's second self title second album.

The memorial gig has been organised by Colin's oldest son, Chris who will be taking his dad's place as front man.

He will even play the same guitar his dad owned as he sings some of the songs Colin wrote.

The gig was originally scheduled to take place in December but Chris and the other members decided they needed more rehearsal time to be ready for the stage.

Chris said: "It has taken me a long timer to organise this gig but once I had the idea in my mind I was determined to make it happen."

Liverpool born Colin moved to Burnley as toddler with his parents, Bill and Dorothy, in the mid 60s. He attended Christ the King RC Primary School and the former St Theodore's RC High School for Boys.

After leaving sixth form Colin, who was a keen Clarets fan, went to work for the Burnley branch of Barclays Bank where he remained until he took early retirement in his late 30s. During his career he held the post of manager and also worked at a number of other branches including Earby and Barnoldswick.

Musically gifted from an early age, Colin joined Burnley based band No Comment as the drummer when he was 18. After a couple of years he left to set up his own band, Inside Information.

All of Colin's four children have inherited his musical talent. Chris is a singer/songwriter, Simon plays keyboard and mixes his own music, Zoe can sing and Joshua is a guitarist.

The venue for the gig Salt of the Earth Live is Lowerhouse Cricket Club and it starts at 1pm. All are welcome to attend.