Chris Cox – Lead Vocals / Acoustic Guitar / Mandolin

Chris first picked up a double bass during a school music lesson when he was 11 years old. Once the music teacher took it out from under his chin and turned it the right way up, he was away, and has never looked back.

He has played double bass in all sorts of bands and all sorts of music, Blues, Country, Bluegrass, Jazz, Rock, Western Swing – everything except Rap and Heavy Metal (so far).

An accomplished acoustic guitarist/singer and mandolin player, Chris is arguably also the best Jazz mandolinist on the inside ring of Home Close in Abingdon, though some critics do in fact argue that this should not include the bit at the top end near the Co-op.

Chris has also been writing songs for as long as he can remember, with 4 albums of recorded material to his credit; a fifth ‘Even the Willows are Weeping’, which sounds like the bastard love child of Brian Wilson and Loretta Lynne was released (or did it perhaps escape) a few years ago.

In ‘The Missing Persians’, Chris has found a home for a number of unused songs that have been hiding in his yellow folder for a while, and gets to sing lead and play acoustic guitar for a change.

John Keston-Hole – Electric Guitar / Backing Vocals

John has played in numerous rock, blues, contemporary and traditional folk and jazz groups since his inaugural gig in 1978. Hailing originally from Ashford in Kent, he has been based in Oxford for 25 years.

His guitar of choice is a 1974 Gibson Les Paul deluxe except when touring overseas – when the insurance is  prohibitive. In that case it’s a tasty little Hamer that gets to see the light of day (well, dead of night actually but – hey).

He once asked the sound engineer at a gig to turn down the volume of his on-stage back line – apparently the first time this particular phrase has been heard issuing from the mouth of an electric guitarist, anytime, anywhere.

From time to time The Missing Persians play an unplugged set – when it’s an Ibanez Macaferri style guitar that gets to come out to play.

Chas Maguire – Electric Bass / Stick Bass / Backing Vocals

Chas Maguire has been playing bass guitar since he was found in the school music room one lunchtime pretending he knew how to play an instrument. As punishment, the teacher made him stay behind every Friday to become the bass player for the school band. This suited Chas as it meant he had something to do on Friday evenings when more popular kids would be playing with their friends.

In the several years between leaving school and the present day, Chas has mostly been found standing slightly to the left of drummers, a position he holds on to thanks to a combination of bribery and van ownership.

Chas likes pretty much all types of music including: alternative, blues, classic rock, cheesy pop, boogie, funk, progressive and disco, to name but the first eight genres he could think of. He really doesn’t like a band beginning with O, and also dislikes two singers beginning with B.

He grew a beard when he broke his thumb and hasn’t figured out whether he likes it yet (the beard, not the thumb).

Chas moved recently to The Netherlands in disgust at Brexit, the Government, the lack of paid gigs and the price of Diesel and Chips (amongst many others). Though not easily available for weekly rehearsals, he is still involved in band recordings and is available for European Tours with the band!

Nick Clack – Drums

Nick feels like he has been playing for centuries, having drummed with loads of bands, encompassing numerous styles.

Until recently, he was involved with other bands, but is now dedicated to assist The Persians to ‘Move On’

In his time he has played everything from Zappa, Beefheart, Ceilidh, Punk to Goth along the way. Never one to stand still, he can regularly be seen sitting behind a kit at gigs all over the country (!)