To his family, friends, and the local blues communities he was a titan. Robert was the founder and artistic director of The Ealing Blues Festival, the longest running event of its type in London.
He was also a self-deprecating “bluesmaster, funkateer, global groover and raconteur.”
When tenor saxophonist Terry Marshall And Friends assembled to record Terry’s debut album for charity, Living The Blues, they would never have predicted or desired chart success. However, it has already risen rapidly to Number 3 in the Independent Blues Broadcaster’s Association (IBBA) Top 40 Most Played Album.
Sadly, the elation has subsided dramatically since the passing of Robert Hokum, one of those ‘resident’ musicians who played guitar on most tracks.
Robert died less than a week after the album release. As my review indicated, this was not a vanity project for superstars but a collection of highly talented independent blues artists working hard to pursue their dreams, often with little remuneration.
Robert was regarded as one of those unsung heroes, but to his family, friends, and the local blues communities he was a titan. Robert was the founder and artistic director of The Ealing Blues Festival, the longest running event of its type in London. He was also a self-deprecating “bluesmaster, funkateer, global groover and raconteur.”
The reality is that Robert was a fine musician who made his own legacy as a vocalist and guitarist who recorded solo and with a variety of bands.
One of Robert’s last recordings is “Phone Booth” written by Robert Cray and arranged and sung by the exceptional Emma Wilson. Her smoking, soulful vocals are complemented by Terry Marshall’s mournful tenor saxophone tones and Robert Hokum’s ‘late night’ sounding guitar licks.
Robert jamming at the Swanage Blues Festival with Hugh Budden, another star from the Living The Blues album, and the late Steve Darrington.
The man who founded the Ealing Blues Festival and told the story of the Ealing Club has died aged 74.
Bob Salmons, aka Robert Hokum, had not long retired from performing having been involved in music since the early seventies. As a curator of rock heritage, he did more than anyone to highlight the special place of Ealing in this country’s music history.
His family said, “We wanted to let his friends know as he was loved by many and made such a big contribution to the blues music scene in Ealing. We will miss him dearly.”
Tributes have poured in from leading figures in the local music scene and the venues were he regularly played.
Bob was born in Perivale Maternity Hospital in 1951 and brought up in Hanwell and West Ealing. After attending Ealing Grammar School, he studied for an HND diploma in Business Studies at Twickenham College of Technology where he first became involved in music by becoming Social Secretary of the Student Union.
As recently as 2023 he released an album of a compilation of his original songs from 1989 to 2015 of which Blues in Britain said, ‘A welcome retrospective collection from a largely unsung UK blues stalwart with decades of pedigree action behind him………. impressive songcraft, great guitar work and warm, rich vocal.’
He was also involved in the film industry and was a featured interviewee, soundtrack contributor and researcher for Suburban Steps to Rockland – The Story of the Ealing Club which detailed the influence on the venue on the British Rock and Blues scene. His adolescent years in west London were also featured in the film ‘Rock’s Diamond Year’.
As a director of The Ealing Club Community Interest Company, he was partly responsible for the Heritage Plaque to Alexis Korner & Cyril Davies at the Premises of the former Ealing Blues Club and mounted exhibitions on Ealing’s music heritage at Pitzhanger Manor and The University of West London.
In 2019 he was invited to the House of Commons to give his view about how live music venues could be protected and in 2022 the UK Blues Federation presented him with the ‘Blues Unsung Hero Award’ for his work with The Ealing Club C.I.C. and Ealing Blues Festival with Paul Jones describing him as a “tireless promoter of the west London blues scene.”
He founded the Ealing Blues Festival as a free event in Walpole Park in 1987 and remained as Artistic Director until this year. It remains London’s longest running blues festival.
He was also a regular performer at the Hanwell Hootie which he helped found in 2013.
His funeral service will be held at 2pm on Friday 15 November at Pembroke Lodge, Richmond Park. It is taking place in the Belvedere, a private room on the ground floor of the Georgian Wing, with an open terrace and panoramic views and a maximum capacity of 120. Formal funeral attire is not necessary.
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