ON a steamy night down by the harbour, we could almost have been in Mississippi.

Instead, here in downtown Dorset, Paul Jones and the Blues Band were celebrating 30-plus years together by treating a relatively small but enthusiastic audience to a selection of serious cover versions of everything from Willie Dixon and Elmore James to Junior Parker and even the country music of Hank Snow.

These guys were a tribute band long before the Abba-likes and Elvis-clones came on the scene, and deserve our thanks for maintaining a great tradition, and recycling some fabulous music with no little skill.

Sadly, the weather and World Cup will have contributed to a disappointing turn-out, while the sound was a mite swampy as it swirled around the great hall.

But the effervescent Jones, who continues to preach the gospel on his Radio 2 show, was as engaging as ever, and Tom McGuinness even managed to manoeuvre his guitar behind the back of his head for a spot of Hendrix-style gymnastics.