This time we will take a first look at the life of Alexis Korner.

In the first article about Chris Barber we took a look at his childhood and teenage years. This time we take a look at his first steps into the music business and his first band, the New Orleans Jazz Band.

Chris Barber was introduced in the last article, when he was about to join Ken Colyer's band in 1953 but let's first take a look at the early life of Chris Barber.

After leaving the Crane River Jazz Band and the Christie Brothers Stompers Ken Colyer tries his luck with the Merchant Navy once again. He makes it to America once again and he hopes he never has to return to the UK again.

Ken Colyer has returned to the UK to find a band to join and together with some friends he forms The Crane River Jazz Band. For three years the band would have success as a live act before Ken gets kicked out of the band.

In the first article about Ken Colyer we looked at his childhood and saw how he finally reached New York City. In this article we will continue our story and look at what happened when Ken went into the city and how this changed his life. We will also look at his first steps as a professional musician and his first band.

We start our story with Ken Colyer and his brother Bill. Ken Colyer never had a hit single but was one of the first to include a skiffle session in his jazz set. He is mostly forgotten but he was very important in the early years of skiffle. In this first article about Ken and Bill Colyer we will look at their childhood and teenage years.