MOTORCYCLE lover, drummer and rock’n’roll trucker Micky Kight was given a roaring send-off to “Harley Heaven” today when a cortege of more than 70 bikers escorted his funeral car.

Leather-clad motorcyclists revved their way along the A420 from Swindon to Bourton near Shrivenham as they bade farewell to “one of our own” in a fitting tribute to the popular 61-year-old former motorbike racer.

The noisy armada clogged the tiny lanes of picturesque Bourton, where Micky grew-up, as it snaked its way to the village’s Victorian church following an emotional, seven-mile ride from Swindon.

As the convoy arrived at St James church, one of Micky’s biker pals Dave ‘Panky’ Pankhurst, from Portsmouth said: “He would have absolutely loved this. He’d have been blown away. It’s bloody awesome.

”Everyone turned up to say goodbye. He would have appreciated it. He was a great friend. It was a pleasure to have known him.

”It’s a bit difficult riding with tears in your eyes, though.”

Harley-Davidson fan Micky was well known in Swindon during the late Seventies and Eighties as a drummer for local bands The Humans, Rich and Famous, Lazer, After Midnight and Thrash The Rabbit.

He later became a long distance roadie hauling equipment across Europe for the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Michael Jackson, Neil Young, Rod Stewart, Genesis, Duran Duran and many others.

He was also landlord at several pubs including The Park and Jacob’s Ladder in Swindon and drove for Barnes Coaches, Stagecoach and Thamesdown Transport.

In 2012 Micky underwent surgery after contracting high-grade non-Hodgkins, t-cell lymphoma, one of the most virulent forms of cancer.

He thought he had beaten the disease after chemotherapy but it returned earlier this year and he died at Great Western Hospital on August 27.

Micky’s white coffin, signed by dozens of friends, was borne into the gothic revival church to the strains of The Who’s Baba O’Riley while Pink Floyd’s Breath and Comfortably Numb and Eric Clapton’s Further On Down the Road were played during the service.

Micky was buried with his biker’s helmet and jacket and his drum sticks.

His close friend Mandy Neate, who was holding his hand when he died, said: “Micky was an amazing, cheeky character with a big heart.

“Even though he was beaten down by his illness every day, he transmitted energy with his smile and his spirit.

“He never gave up on his big dreams and goals. We will all cherish the memories.”

Canon Richard Hancock captured the mood of the occasion when he read A Biker’s Prayer…..“May the Great Spirit in Harley Heaven keep you safe on your ride today.”

Swindon Advertiser:

Micky Kight in action on the drums