My father, Don Craine, who has died of lung cancer aged 76, was leader of a British R&B band, the Downliners Sect, which was influential in the early 1960s London music scene. Although it did not achieve big commercial success – apart from a No 1 in Sweden – David Bowie told Q magazine that he was influenced by the band and Van Morrison referred to them in a book about his life.
The Downliners Sect signed with Columbia Records and produced several albums, and played at many of London’s influential venues, including Eel Pie Island hotel and the Flamingo Club.
