Simon Pegg pays tribute to musician dad John Beckingham

Actor Simon Pegg has described his jazz musician father John Beckingham as a "loveable man", following his death at the age of 77.

The Brockworth-born actor and screenwriter paid tribute to his dad on BBC Radio Gloucestershire earlier.

"Music was such an important part of my relationship with dad. I always marvelled at his passion," he added.

Mr Beckingham, who was a well-known and popular musician from Gloucester, died after a short illness.

His son, known for his roles in films including Hot Fuzz and the Mission Impossible series, said music had always been his father's passion and played a big role in both of their lives.

Mr Pegg, 53, said: "He was a face on the Gloucester music scene.

"He was such a loveable man, beloved by many.

"A lot of the time we would be listening to music, he'd introduce me to stuff.

"He played a song by Randy Newman to me once to show me how it felt having to leave me as a child, which I know was difficult for him.

"The way he'd articulate that was through a song.

"I remember bursting out crying. That's a song I will always remember."

The actor said one of the strongest memories he had of his dad was seeing him for the first time after he had separated from his mother.

"He picked me up for his first visit and I remember him coming up the side alleyway at my nan's in a blue-checked shirt and jeans with his arms open.

"I just really remember that. I'm 53 now and I was five or six then and I can just see it really clearly in my head," said Mr Pegg.

Mr Pegg told BBC show Desert Island Discs during a recent appearance that his father was once in a band called Pendulum, who made it to the final of the television show Opportunity Knocks in 1975, before losing out to eventual winner Pam Ayres.

"That was a huge deal, that night dad was on the show," Mr Pegg said.

"It meant something then, to be on TV.

"They were a show band, so they played That's the Way I Like It," he added.

Mr Pegg said it was amazing how many lives his father touched.

He recalled that his dad would often say "I've had enough and I'm going to quit" performing but would then sit for about four to six weeks "twiddling his fingers" before starting a new band.

"If anything positive has come out of this experience it is that everybody rallied around whilst dad was in hospital and there wasn't a bed that had more people around it than his.

"We all found ourselves back together and that has been really nice, it was as if we were never separated.

"He made us remember how much we love each other."

Mr Beckingham played in many bands over the years and was a regular contributor to BBC Radio Gloucestershire.

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