The family of a musician who lost his life to cancer and was well known for his lifetime of touring with Beach Boys tribute bands and for his mobile DJ sets will be paying tribute to him this weekend.
Ian Baker died in June at the age of 61 from a second round of lung cancer, surrounded by family at Beccles Hospital.
It had followed an inspirational health struggle as Mr Baker had lived with rheumatoid arthritis for over 15 years and successfully beat his first bout of lung cancer in 2020.
Mr Baker, from Ormesby St Margaret, near Great Yarmouth, was in the Beach Boys-inspired band Gidea Park as a keyboardist and vocalist performing with his brother Adrian Baker.
They also performed Four Seasons and Frankie Valli hits.
The band toured around the world, had been on many television shows and recorded their own version of California Girls which was used at the beginning of the James Bond movie A View to a Kill, Roger Moore’s final film in the role.
Their Beach Boys Gold medley was a chart hit they performed on The Top of the Pops in the 80s.
Mr Baker also created, musically directed and performed in his own tribute band, UK Beach Boys, which performed around the world and featured on Radio 2.
Mr Baker, who also appeared on stage with the Beach Boys, was also well-known at venues across the region for his Sunset Disco mobile DJ sessions and private events.
On Sunday as a tribute to the father-of-two and his musical legacy, his family has organised a family fun fundraising event at Scratby's All Saints Parish Hall on Beach Road.
The event will add to their fundraising target and Mr Baker’s wish to fund new, larger televisions for the palliative care rooms at Beccles Hospital.
The rooms are run in conjunction with St Elizabeth Hospice.
Running between noon and 4pm there will be a children's Christmas disco, a Santa's grotto and a festive tea room for adults to enjoy as youngsters dance the afternoon away.
The event is called Crazy Carrie's Christmas Party, named after Mr Baker's daughter who is running the disco, and will alongside mum Tracey, sister Nicky and brother-in-law Matt be raising funds for St Elizabeth Hospice which had cared for Mr Baker.
Paying tribute to the father, Carrie Ann Baker, 35 and who lives in Ormesby St Margaret, said: "My dad was one of the kindest souls I’ve ever known. He was a real people person.
"He would do anything for anyone.
"He was a really big family man. Family and music was his life.
"Our tribute to him is living on as he would. The show must always go on."
Describing why her father loved the Beach Boys, Miss Baker said: "Just the complexity of how the records were written and performed, the complexity of the vocal harmonies and the beautiful sounds of clever chord arrangements and melodies.
"They found it both fascinating, and musically challenging, my dad and his brother. Music was in his blood."
The Beach Boys are one of the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful bands of all time, with over 100 million records sold worldwide.
Between the 1960s and today, the group have had over 80 songs chart worldwide, 36 of them in the US Top 40 billboard.
Mr Baker grew up in Essex and moved to Ormesby in 1991.
He leaves wife of 35 years Tracey and daughters Nicky and Carrie Ann and grandchildren Maisie and Mila.
Entry to Sunday's event is £5 per child. All children must be accompanied. It is a cash only event.
For more details search for Crazy Carrie's Christmas Party with Sunset Disco on Facebook.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here