BILL Holliday is a legend.

Well known - and highly respected - for many years as headteacher of Kendal's St Thomas's School, he would joyfully lead early morning assemblies with his acoustic guitar.

Bill is going back to his roots as a guitarist to celebrate his 70th birthday, plugging in his Gretsch and Fender guitars for a blistering session at The New Union in Kendal, on Friday, May 17 (8pm).

His Back to the Blues gig will be a fundraiser for Manna House: "It is just a fun thing to do to mark my 70th and to raise money for Manna House," explains Bill.

"It will be great to play blues and rock with friends while raising money for Manna House towards the fantastic work they do with the homeless in our area."

Bill was a professional guitarist in his 20s, playing many of the important London venues of the time such as the Marquee and the Rainbow. On the pub rock scene he played on the same circuit as Elvis Costello and Ian Dury, sharing the bill with Dr Feelgood and the Stranglers. He was looked after by Motorhead’s management and supported acts such as John Mayall, Judas Priest, and Southside Johnny and the Asbury Dukes.

"I was influenced by blues guitarists like Eric Clapton, Peter Green and then Jimi Hendrix appeared - then you develop your own style."

During the 1970s, when rock band Deep Purple had one of their fall outs with Ritchie Blackmore, Bill was on hand, poised to fill Ritchie's shoes. He was one of the guitarists they auditioned. However, he didn't get the job but went on to sign for CBS records with the Continentals, resulting in Bill and the band having one of the records of the week on BBC Radio One and subsequent releases in USA.

Down the decades, Bill has played with scores of artists, including the Nashville Teens, Limmie from the Family Cooking, country and traditional bands and even some shows with Tony Christie. He also produced and wrote songs for an album by Rockabilly act Whirlwind and also penned the music for a theatre production, which toured and starred well known actor, Derek Thompson, who plays Charlie in Casualty.

Bill says life changed after becoming a Christian. He abandoned his musical career and instead concentrated on teaching and leading worship bands in church. He eventually became a primary school headteacher in London, then headed to Kendal.

Bill retired from St Thomas's School 15 years ago, but continued leading worship bands at St Thomas’s Church and also became an ordained minister. For the last couple of years he's been one of the volunteers with the winter shelter held at various churches in Kendal.

Joining the six string ace for his big birthday bash will be a trio of talented friends: bass player, Mark Houston, drummer, John Whittaker and Alan Whitmore on keyboards.

The set will range from Taj Mahal, Freddie King, Bobby Blue Bland, Tampa Red, plus rock and roll classics from Buddy Holly, Fats Domino, Chuck Berry and Little Richard, as well as some of Bill’s own original songs.

So, after The New Union gig can we expect more performances, maybe a stadium tour and album release?

"I don't think so," laughs Bill. "This is planned to be a one off to help Manna House and to mark my special birthday."