WATCH: Harmonica fanatics in search for new members

Stourbridge-based 'Well I'll be Blowed' was formed fives year ago by retired engineer Eric Houghton and they currently meet at Age Concern's Elton Centre on St John's Road.

But the group has been struggling for numbers attracting on average four to eight members each week.

Eric, aged 81, is keen for the group to flourish and is urging experienced players and novices alike to come along and join in.

"If you have got a good ear for music the harmonica is quite easy to play," he said.

"That is an important starting point but after that we can help people to play a bit better than they did before."

The retired engineer explained the sessions have a relaxed atmosphere with everyone getting a chance to play.

"We chat and see how practice has gone over the past week," he added. "Then we get stuck into a list of around 20 to 25 tunes we try to play each week.

"Half way through the session we have a break with coffee and biscuits and then for the final hour we set up a mic and an amp and members are encouraged to play whatever they want to do."

For Eric, of Lady Grey's Walk in Wollaston, the love-affair with the harmonica started as a teenager.

He said: "I started playing when I was 14. My brother brought one back from Germany during the war and one of my friends at school had one. We got together and started playing."

Aged 18 Eric joined the RAF and while based in Singapore performed on military radio.

But after leaving the force at 22 he didn't play for the next 54 years until founding 'Well I'll be Blowed'.

Eric believes the harmonica is a good instrument for all music lovers to take up.

"If you love music and have got an ear for music it is a lovely instrument to play," he said.

"It also keeps you breathing in and out which really is what life is all about."

The group meet on Wednesday evenings between 7-10pm.