TRIBUTES have poured in from musicians, friends and family following the death of a well-loved and much-respected drummer.

Keith Smith, known to many as "Bev" and who played alongside rock and blues legends Eric Clapton, Robert Plant, Stan Webb's Chickenshack and, more recently, Wyre Forest band, Shark Attack, died on August 8.

He was 50 and leaves behind his wife, Maggie, brother, Kevin and sister, Kerry.

Now an informal event for people wishing to pay their respects has been organised at the Stagborough Arms, Lower Lickhill Road, Stourport, beginning at 7pm, on Friday.

Mourners packed St George's Church, Kidderminster, for his funeral, with many more gathering outside.

He met his wife of nine years, Maggie, while touring with Chickenshack in Switzerland.

She said: "He was honest and good fun and he liked the wildlife, fishing and walking. We spent a lot of time walking together.

"I'd walked the dog and been out about half an hour but when I came back he was lying on the floor. It was a heart attack.

"At the funeral we did what he would have wanted. He always laughed and was cheering people up so we didn't want anything too sad.

"There were no hymns - he wasn't religious - so we decided on Shark Attack's Take Me To The River, because he loved walking by the river. He loved Peter Green ex-Fleetwood Mac - he was Bev's favourite, so we had Albatross."

Kevin Smith, brother, said: "He was just a good brother and looked after us all."

He added: "He was very good at socialising and I remember him having a barbecue, in 2005, and I think half of Kidderminster was there.

"You couldn't go round to his house and be miserable and if you did, he would soon cheer you up."

Sally Haines, Shark Attack's lead singer, said: "Bev's musical career and how he went about his business should be an inspiration to aspiring musicians.

"I'm sure years down the line people will still be talking about Bev Smith the drummer and, of course, the fantastic fun-loving person. I feel privileged to have been a part of his life."

Stan Webb, frontman of Chickenshack, which Bev played with for 15 years, from 1987, paid tribute to a "very good drummer".

He said: "I was living in Hampstead, in London, at the time but moved up here and went out with a few friends to see a gig in the Bull and Bladder pub.

"I saw Bev playing and offered him a job on the spot because I was very impressed.

"He loved fishing and when we were on the tour bus you'd look around and he'd have his head in a fishing magazine.

"One of my good friends was John Bonham - Bonzo - God bless his heart and I'd played with him, at Mother's, in Erdington. When you play in that company not a lot impresses you any more but Bev was in a league of very good drummers."

Bev had performed with several different bands during his career, starting with Wyre Forest group, Central Reservation, in 1974.

Former bandmates, Alan Weaver and Robin Rapo, remember how the group's future manager, Rob Williams, first heard Bev drumming as a boy.

Mr Weaver said: "Rob Williams met Bev in 1968. He was playing cricket in his garden and heard somebody coming down the alleyway playing a snare drum and it was Bev.

"He was in the Scouts and was coming home from that day's meeting. He had the drum hanging around his neck and was just playing it.

"About four years later, Bev kept telling Rob he wanted to play drums so Rob went and bought him a set of Gigster drums for £50. Rob told me later that Bev had paid him back every penny."

Alan, Robin and bass player, Phil Davis, toured around the West Midlands and South Wales, including the Comberton Inn and Millfields venue, in Wolverhampton, until they split, in 1976.

Their final performance was a one-off gig in 2000, at the Kingsford Club, Wolverley, following the death of the band bassist, Davis, in 2000.

Robin said: "It was brilliant because Bev was playing with Stan Webb's Chickenshack at the time and I thought he might not want to get back together to do this last gig but he did.

"We rehearsed for a week and were the last to play at the pub before they knocked it down."

After Central Reservation, Bev played with Final Edition and, soon after, began a friendship with Led Zeppelin's John Bonham, after meeting at the New Inn, where Bev and a few friends would regularly travel on their scooters.

Bonham took Bev under his wing and following trips to the rock legend's Cutnall Green home and sessions on his Ludwig drum kit, Bev's already accomplished technique improved.

He then joined up with Melvin's Marauders, featuring Melvin Gittus on vocals, which eventually became Billy Bowel and the Movements following Gittus's departure.

Bev also played sessions for In the Pink during this period and later, in the early 1980s, performed for Robert Plant's R'n'B band, the Honeydrippers. He also played the drumming tracks for use on several television advertisements.