Sixties chart topper Howard ‘Lem’ Lubin has left the big smoke and moved to Pewsey to be close to his first grandchild.

The 70-year-old, who played bass in a number of bands including Unit 4+2 and Christie, moved into the new Radcliffe Homes development in Whatley Drive with his wife, Mary.

The couple moved into the Thatcham-style home five weeks ago and they now live just a stone’s throw away from their daughter Tamara Spencer, her husband Nick and their grandchild Jessica who moved to Knowle eight months ago.

He said: “It’s lovely here because it’s not too busy and the people are really friendly and helpful which makes a nice change to London.

“We had a look at a few places, but my wife really liked it here and I think we were quite lucky to get it because it was one of the last ones left.

“We have a few friends round here and we’d visited Longleat so we knew Wiltshire is a beautiful place.”

Mr Lubin also played with The Shadows and Zoot Money before he left the music industry to spend more time with his family and became a diplomatic driver with the Foreign Office.

His other claim to fame is co-writing the theme tune for the film adaptation of the BBC TV series Porridge with his friend Ian La Frenais, one of the writers behind the comedy.

Before the move, the couple were living in Pimlico, but Mr Lubin is is quickly settling into village life and looking forward to community events like the famous Pewsey Carnival.

He said: “Whatley Drive is a great location and the traffic is fabulous – there’s hardly any. It’s such a massive contrast to London. I went back recently and couldn’t believe I had put up with it for so long.

“Prices back in Pimlico are quite ridiculous.

“People are moving out as Russian and Chinese investors buy up everything in sight and yet they don’t even live there.

“But it also means ordinary Londoners don’t get a look in and are having to move further and further out.”