Harry Bence, musician and band leader; born March 20, 1928, died October 21, 1997

IT is with great sadness that friends and colleagues learned of the death of Harry Bence, truly a man of music. He died on October 21, thus bringing to an end a remarkable career which started at the incredibly young age of 12 when he played with George Elrick's band at Green's Playhouse in Glasgow. He was still in short pants.

He then spent two years touring with Carl Barriteau, doing some session work in London, including broadcasts with Ted Heath which led to his joining Joe Loss. And he was still only 16. His extreme youth was not treated as a gimmick. He had become an outstanding musician.

At 18 he did his National Service before returning to the band. He then became part of the Eric Winstone orchestra. This was followed by a year with Ted Heath, another year back with Eric Winstone, and then the formation of his own band. It was now that his expertise as saxophone player and clarinet player was to be broadened to include his natural talent as a band leader. He specialised in, though was not limited to, the big band sound featuring music of Count Basie, Harry James, Benny Goodman, Glen Miller, Artie Shaw, and many more.

As a soloist nobody who was fortunate enough to hear him will ever forget his flawless and inspiring playing of Artie Shaw's concerto for clarinet. He travelled the world for several years with his band as musical director on Cunard's QE2, which was where he will be remembered by so many showbiz personalities who enjoyed his accompaniment and support. Among these would be well-known performers such as Dickie Henderson, Norman Wisdom from our own shores, and many more from the Stateside including Bill Cosby, Tony Martin, Cyd Charisse, and Donald O'Connor, among others. The list is long and impressive.

But perhaps the most lasting association that started during this period was his meeting with Count Basie. Both bands were featured together on many cruises and it was from this period that their mutual respect and sincere and lasting friendship continued. Their rapport was born of a deep love of music and spilled over into many happy hours sharing a sense of humour and indulging in their pleasure of playing the slot machines in far away places such as Aruba and Curacao. Their laughter and enjoyment in this pursuit was an antidote to their hard work on board QE2.

Then came the New Squadronaires Orchestra. Harry and a few of his Air Force friends got together and decided to reform the band he was with in the Air Force - hence the name the New Squadronaires. This was a highly successful venture and took them to many venues across the country, including the London Palladium. His guest stars read like a Who's Who in theatre and his rapport with guests showed he was equally at home with all age groups and their varying styles.

An illustration of this is his presentation at the Royal Albert Hall, London, when the two guest spots were filled by Brian Conley and Bob Hope. One from UK, one from US, and styles to go with their age groups. Both so excellent, both so different, but that this did not faze Harry.

There is so much more one could say that perhaps the well-used phrase of ''a legend in his own time'' is true of Harry Bence.

His mother Gran Bence still lives in the family home town of Wishaw. He is survived by his wife Elizabeth, who as Elizabeth Batey was a well-known featured singer with Joe Loss, and their only son Freddy who played drums with his father's orchestras and who has been a loyal and loving support through Harry's long illness.

God bless you Harry.