In 2016 Rye lost its wonderful "in-house" artist, John Izod. He was known by everyone, often sitting on the bench in front of Gramophone Records on the High Street or found in the various pubs he loved – and if there were jazz/blues music he was first one up to dance. But mostly he was known for his fun, ironic and satirical drawings of local people or events.
On Saturday May 4, Pat Hughes, who manages and fights for funding to keep the Rye & District Community Transport running, presented a gig in the community centre on Conduit Hill to celebrate John's birthday. He would have been 84.
Proceeds raised will go towards helping with the expenses of the of the various minibuses. John was very much loved and had many friends in the town, a lot of whom turned up to remember him.
The Fabulous Red Diesel Band entertained the audience and eventually got everybody up to dance. The music was a mixture of genres with varied instruments.
The four musicians were multi talented. Kat "Miss Katty" played the keyboard/flute and sang, having written many of the songs; Bea "Miss Behave" played double bass/tuba and trumpet; Will "Duke Boom" was on drums and lastly Simon "Rabbi Jaffa Delicious" played guitar/trumpet.
Simon explained that their band names stuck when listeners chose to give them nicknames. They were fabulous, interacting with John's friends throughout.
