TO Looking Back comes an intriguing echo from East Lancashire's big-band era recalled last week when the Rawtenstall Astoria ballroom's award-winning Jimmy Heyworth orchestra of the 1950s was featured - from the man who was playing the drums in our picture of the band.

Indeed, he was the man who arranged for the picture to be taken - nowadays, 70-year-old Brian Duff, of Plane Tree Close, Burnley, but back then a photographer with our forerunner, the Northern Daily Telegraph, and later for almost 30 years with the Daily Express in Manchester where he was chief photographer for 18 years.

He tells me the photograph was taken at Ashton-in-Makerfield Baths during the regional contest in1953 for the Melody Maker newspaper's National Dance Band Championship, in which Jimmy and his band ended runners-up and which they won the year after.

But what really struck a note with Brian, who played drums with the Astoria orchestra for 10 years and in 1984 formed his own 17-piece band that played various spots in East Lancashire, was my mention of the discs cut by Jimmy's band after they won the top award - and that they must be collectors' items today. For Brian has two of the band's old-time platters which must be unique - a pair of single-sided 78s that were presented to him by Decca Records as thanks for doing the publicity work for the band's records.

The tracks on Brian's treasured discs are Zing Went The Strings Of My Heart and Aren't You Glad You're You? , both of which went on to their 1955 extended-play record, along with April In Paris and I Get A Kick Out of You which they had released earlier on those oh-so-fragile old 78s after the numbers helped them win the Melody Maker title.

"Mine are demonstration discs, marked 'Not For Sale' and they were probably sent to people like DJs," said Brian.

"The thing is, because 78s were so easily broken, the majority of those featuring Jimmy Heyworth and his band will have been destroyed years ago, whereas mine are in pristine condition as well as being most unusual."

Real collectors' items, then, for big band buffs. But just how much of one?

Drop me a line if you have any idea, or e-mail me at eleaver@lancashire.newsquest.co.uk

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.