During the week I was searching for information on line about a guitarist for the segment of the book I am currently working on. Google gave me a link to an article from New Zealand Musician which I almost ignored until I saw the photo at the top of this item. There was Tommy Adderley at a mike blowing a harmonica, with a handful of other musicians behind him. That got me intrigued.

The article was about the late Ray Columbus: his reflections of the past. The photo had been taken at Ray’s 50th birthday celebration in a pub in Auckland back in November 1992. In the article he talked about what might have happened to Ray Columbus & the Invaders if he had replaced Billy Kristian & Jimmy Hill when the pair left the Invaders in 1966 & went to Sydney to join Max Merritt’s Meteors. That’s a Sliding Doors moment where there are 2 options but you can only choose one.

But the reflection that I was most interested in was the fact that when the media called him (Ray) after Tommy died unexpectedly Ray said he hung up. Yet he had previously provided sound bites to the media about the deaths of a number of great musicians like John Lennon.

Ray admitted Tommy’s death hit him hard. He wasn’t alone with this. Tommy’s death affected many people deeply. For Ray; despite his appreciation of Tommy’s great talent & of the man himself, Ray had never told him, so after Tommy’s death he vowed to tell people he cared about them while they were alive.

Reference: Moments Like This: Trevor Reekie on Ray Columbus published in New Zealand Musician – date unknown.

Photos: Ray Columbus from the cover of Teen Beat May 1966// Tommy Adderley – photographer unknown – date unknown