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Legendary clarinettist, Acker Bilk, died yesterday afternoon (2 Nov) at Bath’s Royal United Hospital. He was 85.

The trad jazz star will be best remembered for his worldwide smash hit “Stranger on the Shore,” which would become the biggest-selling instrumental single of all time.

Born Bernard Stanley Bilk in Pensford, Somerset on 28 January 1929, he acquired the name Acker (Somerset slang for friend) while in the army. It was also while in the army that he began playing the clarinet seriously. After demobilisation, he began playing with jazz bands in Bristol and would form the Chew Valley Jazzmen band in the early 1950s. After playing the London jazz circuit, the band, now renamed the Bristol Paramount Jazz Band, toured Germany for six months and acquired their distinctive image, with bowler hats and striped waistcoats.

Bilk’s first chart success came in 1960 when “Summer Set” reached #5 on the UK singles chart. The song, co-written by Bilk and Dave Collett, was the first of 10 Top Forty UK hits.

“Stranger on the Shore” was written by Bilk for his daughter and originally titled “Jenny”. The song was renamed when it was chosen as the title track of a BBC television series in 1961. “Stranger on the Shore” was the UK’s biggest selling single of 1962 and the first British song to hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US.

“Stranger on the Shore” – Acker Bilk

Acker Bilk was awarded an MBE in 2001 for services to the music industry. Other honours included the 2005 BBC Jazz Award and a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Parliamentary Jazz Awards in 2012. The star played his last show in August 2013 at the Brecon Festival.

Bilk leaves his wife Jean, daughter Jenny and son Pete.