[1] The son of James Eyden and Ivy (née Tiller), his first professional gig was in 1952 with the Ivor and Basil Kirchin Band.
When the Couriers folded in 1959, he went on to play with the Vic Ash-Harry Klein Quintet, supporting Miles Davis on his first British tour in 1960.
[2] He joined the Dick Morrissey Quartet, replacing Phil Seamen, and did session work for various rock and R&B groups, including Procol Harum on their seminal hit "A Whiter Shade of Pale."
Eyden also played or recorded with Dizzy Reece, Jimmy Deuchar, Dickie Hawdon, Harry South, Ian Hamer, Keith Christie, Terry Brown, Bobby Wellins, Jimmy Skidmore, Joe Mudele, Roy Fox, Harry Roy, Long John Baldry, Alexis Korner and others.
During the 1980s he was a member of Bill Le Sage's Bebop Preservation Society and until the onset of a lengthy illness he played in quintets led by Jack Honeyborne and Ken Baldock.