TOP drummer turned portrait painter Gilson Lavis returns to Bournemouth this week with a new exhibition.

Alongside images of rock, pop and jazz musicians, the show at the Hatch Gallery in Christchurch will include studies of some of Britain’s finest comedians including Bournemouth’s own Tony Hancock.

The exhibition opens on Friday, September 2 and runs for the rest of the month.

Gilson, who was a member of chart-toppers Squeeze in the 1970s and 80s, is probably best known as the long-serving drummer with Jools Holland’s Rhythm and Blues Orchestra.

He started drawing and painting the many musicians that he has worked with a decade ago. His signature black and white acrylic portraits quickly became popular and he is now established as an accomplished and popular artist.

Gilson has continued to paint musician friends and many - including Eric Clapton, Paloma Faith, Emeli Sande, Rumer, Eddie Reader, Tom Jones, Evelyn Glennie and his long-time bandleader Jools Holland - now own examples of his work.

His latest paintings continue to include studies of musician friends, but also portraits of comedy greats Morecambe and Wise, David Jason, Les Dawson and the team from the 1950s radio and TV sensation Hancock’s Half Hour - Tony Hancock, Sid James and Kenneth Williams.

Gilson says he has tried “to capture performers who have contributed to the culture and mood of our great nation.”

Tony Hancock grew up in Bournemouth where his father was a hotelier and played his first shows in the town before finding international fame. He died tragically of an overdose of drink and drugs in a Sydney hotel room in 1968.

The new show also includes a portrait of the late David Bowie who died of cancer in January.

n Gilson 2016 - Gilson’s third exhibition at the Hatch Gallery in Church Street, Christchurch - opens on Friday and runs until September 30.