The name Deke Leonard may only ring vague bells…even to regular diners at Bournemouth eatery The Four Horsemen where one of his LP covers doubles as a menu.

To gourmets of classic rock, however, it will conjure memories of a psychedelic band called Man.

Man emerged from the shadows of the Black Mountains in Wales in 1968, members of successful close-harmony group The Bystanders having lured Deke - from rival band Dream.

In the following half-century Man had more personnel changes than the Government’s front bench . . . but notched up four Top 40 albums, and accumulated a fervent fan-base through their exciting and often improvised live shows.

With Deke’s unexpected death on 31 January this year there is now only one surviving original member, but their legacy lives on.

On Saturday 26 August, Welsh rockers Son of Man will be dedicating their performance at The Barrington Centre, Ferndown, to Deke’s memory. The gig will have bitter-sweet undertones for the band, who Deke knew well and made regular guest appearances with – the last just a week before Christmas.

Son of Man was initially formed by George Jones and Bob Richards to play Man classics at a series of memorial gigs after the death of George’s father, Man guitarist Micky Jones.

They teamed with three refugees from Sassafras, another legendary Welsh band of the same era, inviting keys man Marco James, singer Richie Galloni and bassist Ray Jones to join them …and added another very tidy guitarist in Glenn Quinn.

Now they have released a debut album of their own material, and it has gone down a storm with critics and ‘Manoraks’ alike. (You can sample it here www.cherryred.co.uk/product/son-of-man ).

“Proper rock music – simple as that,” declared reviewer Oz Hardwick in popular music mag Rock’n’Reel, while Southbourne-based Michael Heatley, told readers of Record Collector he had spotted “musical nods to Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and even AC/DC.”

Son Of Man will play their own songs plus several Man classics at the Barrington, where the support slot will be filled by Bournemouth’s own singer-songwriter and recording artist Hannah Robinson. It should be a great night.

Son of Man will perform on Saturday 26 August 2017 at The Barrington Centre, Ferndown. Doors open (7.30pm?) Tickets £10 in advance, £12.50 on the door. Details at www.thebarrington.online or by calling 01202 894858.