Last modified on Thu 25 Feb 2021 04.05 EST John Pilgrim, who has died aged 87, achieved fame, if not fortune, as the washboard player with the Vipers during the brief mid-50s skiffle craze. The Vipers were among the most popular and exciting of British skiffle groups, and, as the first resident band at the 2i’s coffee bar in Soho, London, helped set the ball rolling for British rock’n’roll, with many early stars emerging from the 2i’s cellar. They toured widely and had chart success, notably with Don’t You Rock Me Daddy-O, released on Parlophone in 1957, which reached No 10, and then with Cumberland Gap and Streamline Train.