A POPULAR and inspirational hairdresser and musician who played with stars such as Natasha Bedingfield on Top of the Pops has died aged 34.

Dan Evelyn-Foot moved to Salisbury when he was four years old and first made a name for himself as founding member of the long-running music group Bass Connection.

He started playing guitar at the age of 14 and when neighbour Rose Gail heard that he was looking for a space to perform with his band she helped them find a venue at Grosvenor House.

From there his musical career took off winning a battle of the bands in Southampton in 1999 as his scar-punk group Uncle Brian took off in popularity.

Dan played in venues all over the UK including London, Glasgow and Manchester supporting big acts of the day including Wheatus who were famed for the smash hit Teenage Dirtbag. The lead singer of the group Brendan Brown even invited him to New York to 'chill out' and record music.

Often emailing bands to see if they were interested in playing with them, Bowling for Soup stayed at his parents house in Salisbury during their UK tour.

In 2000 the band released the album Barbecue Music with the record label Moon Ska Europe and fans besieged radio DJ Steve Lamacq with requests to play it. In the end he succumbed to the pressure later remarking that it was "the first time I have had to go out and buy a CD to play on the radio".

By 2005 however he was looking for a new challenge taking a cutting course at Salisbury College and landing a job at Illusions on Winchester Street.

Still enjoying his music he taught guitar to schoolchildren from around the area some of whom paid tribute to him describing him as an "inspirational" teacher.

Hairdressing became his passion, moving to Southsea, Portsmouth after marrying his wife Jess five and a half years ago - falling in love with the area and the sea-front view.

Working at Head Hairdressers in Southsea he became well renowned stylist and cutting the hair of Portsmouth footballers some of whom would still return to him even after leaving the club.

Dan Evelyn-Foot died on Friday, February 27 at Queen Alexandra Hospital with his wife Jess by his side after developing complications following treatment for ulcerative colitis.

After he died social media was flooded with tributes as people described him as a "charming" and "fantastic" guy.