Prolific songwriter Roderick “Roddy” Marshall — a member of two of the Island’s most popular rock bands at the time — has passed away.

Mr Marshall, who was 68 when he died last Tuesday, was one of the founders of The Savages and also performed with a band known as The Gents. He was known for his wild character and large stage presence.

His songwriting talents even impressed international artists including the Drifters and Anthony and the Imperials. His younger brother Jeff said that Roddy was a caring brother and his first musical mentor.

“He was always looking out for us and he was very defensive of his family,” he recalled.

“He was a good-hearted person and he was eccentric as those talented people often are — they have a tendency to live on the edge.”

Mr Marshall said that music ran in the family.

He said: “We have a long heritage of musicians in the family. Roddy got introduced when he was a young boy at my grandfather’s house — he would sit around with my uncles on a Sunday, sing and drink rum. I have quite a few of his songs written down and I will be trying to record some of them. We did do one album of his songs — Electric Wings in the late 90s. He was a prolific songwriter.”

Howard Rego was in The Savages with Mr Marshall and they played in some high-profile clubs in New York including Steve Paul’s Scene. It was there they were on the line-up with rock giants Jimi Hendrix and The Doors.

Closer to home, Mr Rego recalls performing at Bermuda’s Guinea Discotheque almost every night to packed audiences.

“Both of the bands played six or seven days a week. We made a good living. The years went by and he joined a band called Burning Ice which toured Canada. This guy was a very relevant player to the pop music scene and rock and roll.

“He was quite an inspiration and a character who burnt a bit of a trail here. He was Bermuda’s Keith Richards so to speak.

“The Drifters met us through our management company and were impressed with his songwriting to the point of wanting to record some of his music. Also Little Anthony and the Imperials — a giant name in the R&B business back then — met us and they were taken with him.”

Tony Brannon performed with Mr Marshall in a band called The Promise which used to perform at the Elbow Beach Hotel.

Mr Brannon said: “Roddy was an amazing and talented musician. He thought about music in a much more complex way than most of us children growing up on Rock n Roll.”

He leaves behind two other brothers Edward and Allan and two sisters Norma and Joanne.