Two Port Glasgow musicians regarded as pioneers of the electronic music scene are being honoured in a new exhibition

Thomas Wishart and the late Robert Donnachie, aka Thomas Leer and Robert Rental, will feature in 'From The Port to The Bridge' at the Beacon, which opens tomorrow and runs until October 28.

The pair left their home town in 1972 for London and were part of the emerging punk scene.

Thomas, who grew up in Whitecroft, and Robert, from Kelburn, would go on to lay the foundations for the synthpop and electronic music genres through their experimental sounds, recorded in their back room with whirring and clicks from fridges and TVs often heard in the background.

A documentary film - part of the free exhibition - will also be shown during the run and there will be a gig on October 12 in the Beacon.

It is all being organised by Skelmorlie man Simon Dell, 57, who is a big fan of the duo's work.

Simon said: "It tells the story of two working class guys from Port Glasgow who ended up in London being very influential on the post-punk/electronic music scene in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

"A lot of folk don't know about Thomas Leer and Robert Rental.

"It's important they get some recognition locally."

Robert died of lung cancer in October 2000 aged just 48.

Some of his family are coming up from Wales for the exhibition.

In later life, Thomas was associated with bands such as The The, toured Europe and penned major deals with labels like Cherry Red and then to ZTT Records as Act - a duo with German singer Claudia Brücken, who was in '80s synthpop group Propaganda.

The name of the exhibition is a nod to the duo's 1979 album 'The Bridge', which was re-released in 1992.

Thomas, 65, said: "It's great to be dug up and put on show.

"Initially I wasn't that crazy about the idea because you don't want to blow your own trumpet too much and you don't want to be a museum piece.

"Then I spoke to Simon about it and I thought 'this guy is okay'."

Thomas returned to Inverclyde in 2000 to care for his elderly parents and now lives in Greenock where he is still actively producing music.

The exhibition will feature an array of artwork, photos, artefacts and equipment from his personal collection.

He said: "I was just a singer in local bands for years in the '60s but I always wanted to be a composer and do my own stuff.

"I stopped being in bands and gave it up for a while until I met Robert, who was a music fan like me and had similar interests.

"We worked as gardeners - that was my first job - and all we did was stand and talk about music and 'did you hear John Peel's programme last night?'.

"We had this friendship that lasted for a few years then we went to London and started jamming around together and that's how it started.

"We went down there the year before the punk scene really took off and you had guys like Joe Strummer, Johnny Rotten and Siouxsie and the Banshees.

"After Robert, I did my own stuff and signed major record deals and worked with Claudia, which was great.

"It was all a highlight."