Band of brothers: A tribute to Gosport's Dave Gilson and his brothers Tony and Kev, by Spike Edney

It was with great sadness that I learned of the passing of Dave Gilson, a native son of Gosport. Dave was the eldest of three brothers; the middle brother was Tony and the youngest was Kev. Together they formed a musical dynasty that dominated the southern music scene through the 60s and 70s - and even beyond.

I first became aware of the trio when I went to Portchester scout hut for a Saturday night dance in the late 60s. I’d heard about the band scheduled to perform that evening, they were called Blackout and there was a buzz about how they were the best soul band around.

I fancied myself as an aficionado of Tamla Motown, Atlantic and Stax so was more than curious to see if they measured up to my expectation. I approached the village hall and could hear the throbbing groove from many yards away down Castle Street as I approached. Upon entering I was immediately seduced by the pulsing Motown beat. The band were playing a blistering version of Junior Walker’s How Sweet it is to be Loved by You and I was taken aback by the quality of the sax playing and the joyous vibe that the whole band was giving off. The audience were already converts and enthusiastically bopped along.

At the end of the song, I heard the lead guitarist announce that the next song would be Eloise (Hang On In There) by William Bell. I found this to be a shockingly hip choice. I was a bit of a music snob and thought I was well ahead of anyone else with my cool knowledge and taste so didn’t think anybody apart from me knew about William Bell. I too was seduced and again the sax playing caught my eye and ears. The kid playing was just that, a kid who seemed no older than me - I was 16 - and he had a charisma about his movement and musicality that was riveting. I couldn’t take my eyes off him.

Dave was the lead singer and guitarist who had the cool command of the band. Tony was the handsome bass player with clear blue eyes and a smile that could melt female knicker elastic from across the room. Kevin was a superstar in training, a mix of Steve Winwood and Steve Marriott, yet totally unique.

By the end of the evening, I had danced myself into a sweaty mess and couldn’t wait to try and meet the band. There was a guy I had been introduced to sometime previously called Dave Houghton and I spotted him at the side of the stage so pushed my way through the throng to get to him. I was full of enthusiasm and questions: “Who were these guys?”, “Where were they from?”. Dave Houghton explained that they were three brothers from Gosport and ably assisted by John ‘Jock’ McLeod on keyboard, Jinks Jenkins on drums and the charming Bill Carlton on congas and occasional guitar. He explained that the brothers started out in a blues band called The Black Cats when Kev was only 12 and played harmonica. A few years on when Kev was 15 they morphed into ‘Blackout’ and by now Kev had taken up keyboards, guitar and sax. He could also sing and dance. The kid was obviously a prodigy.

I was mesmerised by the whole scenario. I was fascinated and jealous at the same time so I immediately set about finding a soul band to join. Although all the members were based in Gosport, their catchment area was wide, stretching from Hastings in the east to Bournemouth in the west and north as far as Hungerford. They even made it to the legendary Scotch of St James’ club where they thrilled such celebrities as Herman’s Hermits and Petula Clark!

Eighteen months down the line from the Portchester gig and Blackout were slowly disintegrating. Dave, the eldest was engaged and left the band to pursue married life. Kev the youngest took over lead vocals and Bill was promoted to full-time guitarist but the writing was on the wall. Kev was ready to move on musically from the soul scene and embrace the new psychedelic and progressive waves that were rippling through the UK culture. Bands like Traffic, Cream and Family were leading the new charge and Kev wanted to be part of that scene. Tony and John McLeod were happy to be part of the revolution but Jinks and Bill decided that the days of hiking along the south coast in their black ambulance were over and they too retired.

Kev was at St John’s College with Dave Houghton and heard him incessantly tapping a desktop with rulers and that was enough to determine that Dave had a great sense of rhythm, so Kev invited him to join the next phase of the band, even though he didn’t own a drum kit! It turned out that Dave Houghton, aka Daisy, was a natural rhythm machine which was proof that Kev had an innate sense of what would work musically.

Before Blackout played its last gig, the new formation Gold Dust was already rehearsing. When I saw this new line-up, I was filled with FOMO. I loved how Kev was now fully unleashed and could jump between guitar, organ, sax, and flute whilst also being the lead singer and front man! I was desperate to find a way to ingratiate myself into the line-up, so I mentioned to Daisy that when Kev was playing all these instruments, there was a gap where the guitar should be and that I could fill that gap! Thankfully Daisy agreed and suggested to the others that they should let me have a go.

The next gig was a club date at The Cobweb club in Hastings. It was decided that I could play guitar in the last two numbers of the first set. My heart was in my mouth as I climbed onstage unannounced and proceeded to play rhythm guitar as Kev played sax and then organ. During the intermission it was smiles all round and they asked me to join in the songs I knew for the second set. On the way back home, I was over the moon when they asked me to come along on the next gigs and within a week I was totally integrated and a fully-fledged member.

Now Gold Dust was a five-piece. Weeks passed and it became John’s turn to retire so once more we were back to being a quartet. The band had changed its musical style significantly, so it was time for another name change. It was Tony who told a funny story and said that when he first heard it, he found himself “Smiling Hard” and so we had our new band name. During the early 70s we became the new darlings of the Portsmouth and Gosport scene, playing regularly at The Tricorn Club.

During this period Dave Gilson was part of a self-build system and whilst building his house, he caught his left hand in a door handle and the wedding ring ripped his finger off. The finger had to be amputated and the news of this horrific accident caused me to give up wearing jewellery from that moment to this very day. Once recovered, Dave valiantly tried to learn to play the guitar left-handed but found it too awkward and decided to switch back to right handed saying that if it was all right for Django (Reinhardt) then it would be ok for him! He was able to perform equally well with only three fingers on his left hand.

We turned professional in 1972 when Kev and I were 20 years old (our birthdays were six days apart in December) Our first pro gig was a residency at The Top Ten club in Hamburg. The Beatles had played there 10 years before so it was a holy grail for us. From there we toured around Europe and even made it as far as Australia. In spring 1974, after Australia, Tony decided that he too needed to have a more normal simpler life, so quit the band and got married. He went back to his old occupation, a fitter at Fleetlands but he carried on playing the bass and performing for many years after that.

I worked with Kev until 1978, all the time playing shows, writing songs and waiting for the record companies and the wider world to catch up with us. It nearly happened but it was not to be. I have a collection of the recordings we made between 1974 and 1979 and what strikes me the most is his unique style of writing. I could only manage stereotypical third party lyrics, songs about other people in imaginary situations. Kev on the other hand wrote almost exclusively about his own life and personal experience which constantly surprised and inspired me.

Kev settled down to married life and parent-hood in Amsterdam and ended up working in and being the musical director for a band set in a mental institution. The Crazy Orchestra was said to be the most beautifully chaotic musical ensemble ever to grace a stage and Kev was perfect as its leader.

Now that the Gilson Brothers’ musical dynasty has finally come to an end, I am reminded that Dave, Tony and Kev were three bright stars whose talent was blindingly obvious to all who saw them play, yet they were incredibly humble and not at all flashy.

Dave and Tony continued to play semi-professionally and both regularly joined Nick Hug in his Deaf Boy Hug and The Hearing Aids line-up, a much beloved blues band that remained popular in the south for many years. I managed to get Kevin out of Amsterdam for a few weeks in the early 80s to join me in Dexys Midnight Runners for a European tour. However, his heart was now in Amsterdam and that’s where he spent his final years.

Dave passed away last week and both Tony and Kev died last year. Now that we’ve lost all three we who knew them can fully reflect on how talented they really were, how lucky we were to have known them and what a privilege it was to witness their extraordinary talent in action. The Gilson brothers will be sorely missed.

Copyright © Spike Edney - April 2026. After playing in many bands around Portsmouth, Spike Edney later joined Queen - playing with them at Live Aid - and became their musical director. He has also performed with the Rolling Stones, Duran Duran, the Boomtown Rats, Dexys Midnight Runners, Bucks Fizz and Haircut 100. He was inducted into Portsmouth Guildhall’s Hall of Fame in December 2015.