Vintage Funk and Soulful Jazz Coming to St Mary's Acton
World-class musicians reunite to form the Bush All-Stars
The band members have performed with some of the most recognisable names in British soul including The Real Thing here performing on Top of the Pops
June 2, 2026
A friendship forged on the road in the 1970s will take centre stage in Acton this month, as guitarists Vic Linton and Dave Plotel reunite after fifty years to perform as the Bush All-Stars at St Mary’s Church on Friday 26 June.
The concert marks a rare coming-together of two musicians whose careers have criss-crossed some of the most recognisable names in British soul. Linton, who toured the world with Billy Ocean throughout the 1980s – including the Suddenly and Tear Down These Walls eras – shares the stage with Plotel, the guitarist who replaced him in The Real Thing in the mid-1970s. The handover sparked a friendship that saw them tour behind David Essex in 1975 and later back soul legends including Ben E. King, Percy Sledge, Eddie Floyd, Arthur Conley and Jimmy Helms on UK dates.
Now, after decades of separate musical paths, the pair have formed a new quartet, the Bush All-Stars – their first sustained project together since the 1970s. Their set leans into vintage funk, soulful jazz and smooth soul, built around the interplay of two seasoned guitarists rather than the chart material of their earlier careers.
Linton returned to London in 2023 after years living in the Caribbean, where he continued to work with artists including Total Contrast and on the Caribbean House Party albums. Plotel, a long-time Shepherd’s Bush resident, led a jazz-fusion trio in London and has released a string of solo records into the 2020s. Earlier in his career he played in the psych-rock band Icarus, contributing the guitar solo on “Spiderman” from the cult album The Marvel World of Icarus.
They are joined by bassist Nick Gordon, a Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama graduate with credits at the Wales Millennium Centre, Brecon Jazz and BBC Introducing, and drummer Terry Tetteh-Martey, whose musical grounding began in church.
The concert forms part of St Mary’s LIVE, the Friday-night series curated by Artistic Director Luca Wetherall, which has quickly established the church as one of Acton’s most welcoming new spaces for live music. Doors open at 7pm with a licensed bar, and the performance runs from 7.30 to 8.30pm.
Tickets are £10, or £8 for students and under-18s, plus a £1 booking fee. Book your tickets here.
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