TRIBUTES have been paid to a Southend man described as the ‘father’ of the town’s folk music scene who wrote a song known around the world with ‘Rolling Down the River.’ Jack Forbes died aged 71 at Southend Hospital on January 30 following a period of illness.
He had a distinguished folk career over a period of nearly 50 years, which started when he performed as part of the duo Piertalk with Chris Jones and they performed songs about the locality and history of Southend, as well as some of the traditions in the area.
The town’s maritime connections through the Thames Estuary also feature prominently in his tunes, with Rolling Down the River describing the OCL ships using the waterway.
Echo News published a heartfelt tribute to Forbes, from which the above paragraphs were excerpted. You can learn more about Forbes on his MMDI Band Member listing.