The Pilgrims
The beginnings of "The Pilgrims" can be traced back to a party in the home of Don Sanders, their lead guitarist. With three of his close teenage friends, he was living it up with with a kind of 'beer, fags [cigarettes] and telly' affair, when on this smoke-filled scene appeared Don's elder brother Robert.

Wondering how people who never went to church would ever hear about Jesus, they realised that they could reach others through Christian pop music. Through Robert, Don and Ian met Derrick Phillips (rhythm guitarist) and "The Pilgrims" was born with Don, Ian, Derrick, plus John Hubbard (bass guitarist), who had been with Don in a rock 'n roll group called "The Neons". John was not a Christian at the time, and neither was Chris King, who joined the group as a singer - so the others began to pray for them.

He admitted to God that he was a sinner and, recognising that Jesus had died for his sins, he accepted Him into his life. The group quickly become very popular (despite the fact that many Christians regarded beat bands and Rock 'n Roll as being evil) and they accepted invitations to play at youth groups and churches.

They were one of the top Christian bands for a long time and even played in the presence of Princess Margaret. During the summer of 1964 Chris King left the band and Derrick and John became the main singers, while Don and John swapped roles (John to lead guitar and Don to bass). Later, they were joined by Tony Goodman, a competent blues singer and harmonica player who helped them change to a more R&B music style. Unfortunately, on 20th March 1966, John died of Luekemia.
This was a huge shock and forced the four friends to stop and think what they were doing and why; but not for long... Following John's death, the band received a lot of support and encouragement and were backed by prayer from contacts and supporters all over the country. They felt sure that it was right to continue, but with a more definite focus on secular venues rather than "preaching to the converted". Tony Goodman became lead singer and lead guitarist, Don took up playing the bass guitar and their style became much more rhythm and blues. In August 1967, Derrick left the band and they changed their name to "Out of Darkness", with just Ian, Don and Tony.

Their experiences marked them for life and strongly affected their later, though separate, ministries.
No comments:
Post a Comment