Obituary: Steve Sykes, musician

Steve Sykes, who has died at 70, was chairman of the Holmfirth Arts Festival and a well known local musician.

Born in 1950, he attended Holme Valley Grammar and went on to study chemistry at Bradford University, before teaching science at Brooke School in Sheffield, Mirfield Free Grammar and Shelley College.

He retired in 2009 and was became a passionate advocate for the arts, lending his support to the creative community in Holmfirth and chairing the festival board from 2016. For 24 years he played saxophone and guitar with the local band Full English Breakfast and was a member of Xylosound, a musical group based in Slaithwaite, for adults with learning disabilities.

He also helped to raise thousands of pounds each year for the arts festival through bi-monthly events in venues across the Holme Valley, including three sell-out Burns Nights, a French Evening and a 1960s Night.

He is survived by Lesley, his wife of 48 years, and by his son Joe and his daughter, Ellen.