A Lees folk musician has marked more than 50 years of making music with a concert in Uppermill.

Ian F Ball, born in Stockport and now living in Lees, performed 'A Feast of Folk' at Uppermill Methodist Church on Friday 14 August. Dozens of supporters sang along as Ian and friends retold three centuries of industry and heritage through song, including his new piece 'The Great Derbyshire Lead Rush', inspired by the rise and fall of the region's lead mining industry.

Ian bought his first guitar from Boots at the age of 14. His love of music was sparked by his father, who played in a skiffle group called Bullock Smithy. As a four-year-old, Ian used to sit on the stairs when he should have been in bed, listening to his dad play guitar, piano and accordion.

'The Great Derbyshire Lead Rush' has deeper roots. In the 1970s, BBC North West broadcast a six-part series called 'Ballad of the North West'. Ian's father's band provided the music for one episode, and Ian still has the original BBC scripts. He adapted the material with friends he met at the Moorgate Theatre.

Ian first performed the show at the Millgate Arts Centre in Delph, where about 60 people watched in the bar area. He then moved it to the main stage, which was nearly full.

Over the years Ian has played in a variety of groups, including for a women's Morris team in Stockport, and moved into barn dances and theatre with the Saddleworth Players. He became a multi-instrumentalist, adding melodeon and harmonica to guitar and singing.

In 1988 he visited Moscow with fellow Morris players for an international dance festival and wrote the tune 'Trip to Moscow'. The tune was picked up by around three American bands, who recorded it without knowing who wrote it. Ian contacted them and they sent him the CD with credit for the tune.

His first book of tunes, 'Better Late than Never', was handwritten and photocopied in the days before Windows. He sold about 20 or 30 copies. A friend later placed a copy in the Library of Congress in the United States.

During the Covid-19 lockdown, Ian recorded live-to-camera performances on Facebook for 70 days. He also set a poem by Philippa Atkins, from the Halifax area, to music and sent her the video. She loved it, and the pair have since done other collaborations.

The 'Feast of Folk' tour continues to Stalybridge in September and Glossop in October. Ian is also working on a second book of tunes, 'Another One Too Many', which he hopes may be available next year.