[3] He toured worldwide with the group, backing a number of jazz stars, and settled in Europe, where he played with several bands including Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames in 1964, playing on several of their hits.

He also performed with Georgie Fame and another friend of Rico Rodriguez in the BBC 4 Session: The Birth of Cool.

[4] In the late 1970s and early 1980s he was part of the horn section for Aswad, as well as playing with King Sounds.

[5] Since 2008 he has played with the band Kitty, Daisy & Lewis and has featured on most of their albums.

In February 2015 and autumn 2017, Thornton joined Kitty, Daisy & Lewis on their European tour accompanying a number of songs as a guest artist.