Long-lost film footage of a Lanarkshire musician has been rediscovered following an appeal last summer.
Dean Reynolds had urged music lovers to check their cupboards, lofts and cellars for video footage from 35 years ago of well-loved pianist and entertainer John Docherty, known as The Doc, performing in Cambusnethan.
The grandson of Bobby Reynolds, a close friend of Doc, Dean has been gathering and documenting as much of his work as he can find to preserve it for the future.
Doc, a factory worker, was a popular entertainer on the vibrant clubland scene back in the 1960s and the VHS tape was from a benefit night at Newarthill Inn for the family of his former bandmate John Healy, shortly after his death in 1989.
A railway signalman, Carfin-born John Healy had been part of a skiffle group named The Heatherbells in the 1950s. Later he would form half of the musical duo Doc and Healy, featuring a rhythm section, before both men became solo performers. The two had originally met at secondary school in New Stevenson.
John Healy also appeared on television on the Carroll Levis Discovery Show, finishing second to Sydney Devine.
Following the appeal in the Wishaw Press someone got in touch with details of the tape he had been searching for and uncovered another from Newarthill, much to his surprise.
John Healy lived most of his days in Wishaw and Dean was put in touch with a relative of his whose dad had read the article in the Wishaw Press.
“That got the ball rolling, said Dean. “I got the tape in question along with a video of a surprise birthday gathering in 1995 for the publican Jimmy Nicol, who had the Newarthill pub the Coronation Inn. It took me by surprise, the tape from Newarthill came out of nowhere.
“I was put in contact with John Healy’s son Paul who had the tape of the Cambusnethan show. The show was in tribute to his dad who had been scheduled to play that evening too, but unfortunately passed a week or so prior.”
Dean was delighted with the result of the appeal, and added: “A teacher from a school in Wishaw actually emailed me and said her dad has dementia and the story in the paper brought back a load of happy memories for him, as he wasn’t doing too great.”
Dean continued: “Despite being a big deal in the clubland scene back in the 60s, John Healy never officially put out any albums on his own after departing the duo he had with Doc, so there was no audio of his voice that reached the digital age.
“John’s niece said that his brother Michael had the tape, but it turned out it was another one, it was an old Betamax tape from another benefit night filmed at Carfin Hibs Club in February 1989, that he had performed at six months before he passed.”
A natural showman, John Healy continued performing until shortly before he died, despite suffering from ill health.
“The audio quality isn’t the best, but he is audible – and it gives a peek of what he was like in his pomp. Despite being confined to a wheelchair at this time of his life, he still gives it his all and shows what a patter merchant he was with the speeches in-between his songs.
“Michael mentioned that his brother was in poor health that night and probably shouldn’t have been there, but it shows the sort of character he was.”
As more material has come to light since the summer, Dean is now hoping that readers may hold the key to finding even more.
He is looking for any recordings, whether audio or video cassette, or any other form of media, of John Doc and/or John Healy – that he can get his hands on which he will then digitize and return to the owners.
He’s already discovered there was footage shot of John Doc at another tribute night in Craigneuk that followed the show in Cambusnethan.
He is also looking to contact Roy Kyle from Wishaw who was an in-house photographer at Motherwell nightspot The Carousel, with the aim of putting his archive from that period out.
Anyone who can help with material or information can email Dean at: [email protected]
You can read more about the Lanarkshire musicians at: https://johndoc.co.uk and https://docandhealy.com
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