19 SEPTEMBER 2024
ROBERT DAVIES, from Mansfield, performed the Club’s September concert, when a broad range of music made for a most enjoyable evening.
Few people would have known the name of the first item of the night – it being titled Non Stop – but would no doubt have remembered the tune, as it was the original ITN News theme music. However, the rest of Robert’s well-balanced programme required little or no introduction.
The concert continued with the Whitney Houston hit, Saving All My Love For You, which Robert followed with I Belong to Me, the beautiful soundtrack song of the musical ‘Elisabeth’ (portraying the life and death of Empress Elisabeth of Austria). Apache and Dance On (The Shadows) were probably known to all, as was Cilla Black’s You’re My World, but March of the Cobblers, the theme from the film ‘Brassed Off’, may have left a few people guessing.
A Brazilian samba, Mas Que Nada – the Sérgio Mendes signature tune, preceded Caruso, an Italian song written to honour the great operatic tenor Enrico Caruso, before The Carpenters and Petula Clark were respectively remembered with Yesterday Once More and Downtown, whilst Eye of the Tiger (from the 1982 film ‘Rocky 3’) completed the first half.
Music resumed thirty minutes later with the Theme from Love Story (Francis Lai) and El Bimbo, before If I Never Sing Another Song – a powerful song written by Don Black and popularised by such great vocalists as Shirley Bassey, Matt Monro and Joe Longthorne. After Glenn Miller’s Moonlight Serenade came two hits for Gerry and the Pacemakers – Ferry Cross the Mersey and You’ll Never Walk Alone, followed by When You Tell Me That You Love Me (Diana Ross).
Sadly, the concert was drawing to an end, but not before Robert had performed two more well-known hits – namely Unforgettable (Nat King Cole) and That’s What Friends Are For (Dionne Warwick).
15 AUGUST 2024
Celebrating its 250th concert, over a period of 22 years, it was appropriate that the guest artiste for this particular concert was NICHOLAS MARTIN BEM, from Leicester, who had helped to launch the Club by performing its very first concert (in Weyhill) in July 2002.
Nick, as he is known to his many fans, had prepared an excellent programme consisting of over 40 items, although time did not allow him to include them all. The concert opened with the Radetzky March, Tritsch Tratsch Polka and the beautiful Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana (which he dedicated to Elaine Dalgleish, a much respected and long-serving Club Committee member who had recently passed away).
Next to feature was Congratulations, The Anniversary Waltz – both deemed suited to the occasion – I Vow To Thee My Country and a medley which concluded with Abba’s The Winner Takes It All. Angel in Blue, a tune which had played a significant part in the Club’s formation, was next to be performed, followed by a pop selection consisting of Apache, You’re My World, The Night Has a Thousand Eyes, Walking Back to Happiness and You’ll Never Walk Alone. The first half concluded with Lehar’s Gold and Silver Waltz and the ever-popular film theme Warsaw Concerto.
Nick resumed the entertainment after the interval with The Birthday Cakewalk (Russ Conway), before reviving memories of the recent Olympic Games with a selection of French melodies – La Vie en Rose, Under Paris Skies, I Love Paris, Windows of Paris and the most memorable Hymne à L’Amour, the emotive Edit Piaf song which Celine Dion performed at the closing ceremony of the Games.
Then followed a selection of popular tunes such as March of the Toreadors ((from Bizet’s ‘Carmen’), two John Barry film compositions – Somewhere in Time and Dances With Wolves – Lara’s Theme from ‘Dr Zhivago’ (Maurice Jarre), 633 Squadron (Ron Goodwin) and the ever-popular Highland Cathedral. The keyboard then became a blur of fingers as Nick raced through Twelfth Street Rag in his inimitable style. The final item, replicating The Proms, was Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance March No.1 whilst the James Bond Theme was chosen for a well-deserved encore.
Postscript: Nick has two Autistic sons and in 2001, together with his wife Marianne, set up a charity titled ‘Miracles To Believe In’, supporting Children with Autism. Nick has been the main fundraiser and, for his amazing efforts, was awarded the British Empire Medal in the Queen’s 2015 New Year’s honours. A collection at the end of his Andover concert raised just under £100 for the Charity.
18 JULY 2024
IAN GRIFFIN from South Wales was the guest artiste for the Club’s July concert and a wide range of music made for a very enjoyable evening.
The show began with an appropriate tune, I’ll Go Where the Music Takes Me, which could apply to the number of artistes who travel the land to provide entertainment for music-lovers. Ian followed this with a medley of songs, including I Love How You Love Me (Bobby Vinton), This Time Tomorrow (Engelbert Humperdinck), Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye (Glen Campbell) and You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me (Dusty Springfield).
A brief Latin American section was followed by a beautiful piece titled Dreams Made to Last Forever, a massive hit for Belgian vocalist Dana Winner, and a swing medley which included Summer Wind and It Had to Be You. As Long As I Have Music could well have been Ian’s motto whilst Ring, Ring, Ring was the choice for the almost inevitable inclusion of an Abba item in the Club’s concerts.
The first half was concluded by a ‘magical’ selection from the musicals, consisting of such well-known songs as Tonight (from ‘West Side Story’), I Dreamed a Dream (from ‘Les Miserables’), If I Were a Rich Man (from ‘Fiddler on the Roof’), Some Enchanted Evening (from ‘South Pacific’), The Phantom of the Opera (main title) and As Long As He Needs Me (from ‘Oliver’).
In keeping with Ian’s usual concert programme, the second half was comprised entirely of requests submitted by the audience during the interval. A total of twenty-two items were selected by Ian and performed, non-stop – including such favourites as Mama Mia, Lady in Red, Apache, Nessun Dorma, You Raise me Up – and concluding appropriately with This Is My Life, a hit song for fellow Welsh performer, Shirley Bassey.
20 JUNE 2024
LEWIS SCOTT, from East Yorkshire, selected an appropriate beginning for the June concert with the song Another Opening, Another Show, from Cole Porter’s ‘Kiss Me Kate’ musical, followed by Eve of fhe War and Forever Autumn from Jeff Wayne’s musical, ‘War of the Worlds’.
Send in the Clowns, from ‘A Little Night Music’, a song popularised by Judy Collins, was quite unique in that it was played with the sound of bagpipes, whilst a further deviation introduced Dizzy Gillespie’s jazz number, A Night in Tunisia. Lewis clearly enjoyed performing a few relatively unknown tunes, examples of which were King Herod’s Song from ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’, Louise and Thanks for the Melody, a Temperance Seven recording.
Midnight, the Stars and You preceded a Latin American medley consisting of Quando Quando, Brazil and Tico Tico and a Big Band number Take the A Train (Duke Ellington’s signature tune), whilst the first half ended with the John Williams Theme from ET.
The entertainment resumed after the break with a popular WWII song, Wish Me Luck As You Wave Me Goodbye, and Sally (a Gracie Fields hit) before memories of Joe Longthorne were revived with If I Never Sing Another Song. The variation continued with a couple of Nat King Cole hits, namely Stardust and When I Fall In Love, followed by Elton John’s I’m Still Standing.
Bring Him Home (from ‘Les Misérables’) and Xanadu (Olivia Newton-John) preceded a selection of music from West Side Story – such memorable songs as Maria, One Hand One Heart, Somewhere and Tonight – to conclude the programme, apart from the inevitable encore, for which Lewis selected Barry Manilow’s Copacabana.
16 MAY 2024
The Club welcomed guest artiste DANIEL WATT from Shropshire to perform this concert and a wide range of music made for a very enjoyable evening.
Daniel opened with the theme from Raiders of the Lost Ark, followed by Somewhere from ‘West Side Story’ and continued with a wide range of music throughout the first half. The variations included Mr Saturday Night, Don’t Get Around Much Anymore (Michael Bublé), Smile (composed by none other than Charlie Chaplin), music from The Lion King and a couple of ABBA hits – Slipping Through My Fingers and Dancing Queen. By way of contrast, and as memories of a certain 70s bread advertisement came to mind – featuring a young lad pushing his bike up Gold Hill in Shaftesbury – Dvorak’s New World Symphony was performed. Fans of the Carpenters would have enjoyed For All We Know, whilst lovers of ballroom dancing must have recognised the Cha Cha rhythm of Doris Day’s Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps.
The second half commenced with Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik before moving to the 60s with Cilla Black’s You’re My World, to the 70s with the ELO hit Mr Blue Sky and the 80s for Rick Astley’s Never Gonna Give You Up. Daniel then introduced a song titled Rasputin, recorded by Boney M, before playing Red Roses for a Blue Lady in the style of the Bert Kaempfert Orchestra and Danke Schoen – a tune composed by Kaempfert.
The Moody Blues hit, Nights in White Satin – a song written by the band’s lead singer and guitarist Justin Hayward – was next in the programme, followed by the samba Mas Que Nada (Sérgio Mendes). To conclude the concert Daniel performed the popular and compelling Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana (Mascagni), in the style of James Last, whilst The Rhythm of Life (Sammy Davis Jr.), from the musical ‘Sweet Charity, was selected for the customary encore.
18 APRIL 2024
Attracting the Club’s highest attendance for eighteen months, MUSIC at HeART (sponsored by WEOS) enjoyed a successful debut at its new venue – for which thanks are due to the talented guest artiste TONY STACE as well as to the support and co-operation of the White Hart Hotel staff.
The evening began with a tune new to the Club – the Jockey Polka, composed by Josef Strauss (brother of the more famous Johann) – followed, in complete contrast, by a Disney selection comprising the Mickey Mouse March, Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo, It’s a Small World, Yo Ho (A Pirate’s Life for Me), Arabian Nights, Little Wooden Head, Step in Time and (deep breath!) Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!
A Matt Monro medley is always popular and Tony didn’t disappoint, performing such favourites as Portrait of My Love, Born Free, My Kind of Girl, I Will Wait for You and concluding with And You Smiled. This was followed by a novelty ragtime tune titled Nola, whichtook three minutes seven seconds to complete (yes – Tony likes to time his selections and to inform his audiences accordingly!). Moving forward to music of the 70s, examples included Can’t Give You Anything But My Love (The Stylistics), We Don’t Talk Anymore (Cliff Richard), Nobody Does it Better (Carly Simon), Clair (Gilbert O’Sullivan) and Video Killed the Radio Star (The Buggles).
By way of further variation, Tony then introduced a tune titled Sparks, composed by Kenneth Alford for xylophone – the sound of which he duly replicated on the keyboard – and the Pizzicato Polka (composed by Josef and Johann Straus Jr.). A selection of waltzes included the Blue Danube, Waltz of the Flowers, Roses from the South, Waves of the Danube, Tulips from Amsterdam and the Swan Lake Waltz to bring closure to the first half.
Following the interval, Tony performed an Italian selection consisting of the country’s National Anthem, Volare, That’s Amoré, Guaglioni and Funiculi Funicula, before continuing with a medley from the ever-popular musical, ‘Phantom of the Opera’ – songs such as the title song, Angel of Music, Masquerade, Point of No Return, Prima Donna, Think of Me, All I Ask of You and The Music of the Night.
Latin American tunes were next to feature – Bésame Mucho, Carioca, Windmill Samba and Toca Toca – evoking memories of the late German organist Klaus Wunderlich, before the pop music of Elton John came to the fore with such numbers as Your Song, Song for Guy, Crocodile Rock and I’m Still Standing, giving Tony the opportunity to don his appropriately selected sparkling spectacles!
A tune which Tony had performed in his very early days on stage – Holiday for Organs – was the next item on the programme, whilst another polka – the Annen Polka (Johann Strauss Jr) – was chosen to conclude the concert, and a well-known singalong medley provided an encore to complete a most entertaining evening.
21 MARCH 2024
With his previous two bookings for WEOS having been cancelled, firstly due to the Covid lockdown and then illness, MARK THOMPSON certainly made up for lost time with an impressive performance for the Club’s March concert, its final show at the Fairground Hall in Weyhill.
The concert began with a selection of what Mark described as ‘happy music’, including piano solos, which he followed with a medley featuring the Hammond sound. The tunes that followed were all easily recognisable – namely Barry White’s Just The Way You Are, Ben E King’s Stand By Me and the Diana Ross hit, When You Tell Me That You Love Me.
A change of tempo brought Root Beer Rag (Billy Joel) and I’m Still Standing (Elton John), before Mark introduced a selection of tunes which were deemed to be favourites of the late Queen – including The White Cliffs of Dover and Cheek to Cheek.
John Barry’s beautiful film theme Somewhere in Time preceded a Latin American medley, including Perfidia, Mambo Jambo and Tico Tico, whilst a Rock’’n’Roll medley featured Twistin’ the Night Away, Rock Around the Clock and Blue Suede Shoes.
We’ll Meet Again was a fitting encore – as the audience would surely look forward to Mark’s early return, albeit at a different venue.
15 FEBRUARY 2024
Guest artiste for the February concert was STEVE HUBBLE from Broadmayne in Dorset and any doubts that the sounds emanating from his new instrument would not match up to those produced by the one he previously employed at Weyhill were instantly dispelled.
The opening selection of Barbra Streisand songs, including Somewhere, You Don’t Bring Me Flowers and Happy Days Are Here Again set an excellent tone, which was maintained by Frank Sinatra’s hit Come Fly With Me and the performance of John Barry’s delightful Out of Africa theme. The concert continued with Can’t Take My Eyes Off You, first recorded by Frankie Valli in the 60s, and Autumn Leaves – albeit out of season! – before the clarinet sound came to the fore when Acker Bilk’s Aria was introduced.
A medley of songs from ‘The Sound of Music’ met with hearty approval as the audience could be heard singing along to such familiar songs as Do-Re-Mi, My Favourite Things, Something Good and Climb Every Mountain. Italian composer Ennio Morricone is one of Steve’s favourites and a fine example of his music, For Love One Can Die, was next to feature, before Love’s Theme (Barry White and the Love Unlimited Orchestra). A relatively little known tune, Water Fountain, was next to feature but Help Yourself (Tom Jones) needed no introduction, whilst Maria Carey’s Hero brought the first half to a conclusion.
The high standard resumed after the break with War of the Worlds and the famous Blue Danube Waltz and Jerome Kern’s The Way You Look Tonight, before the work of another great film theme composer, John Barry, was performed – namely the memorable orchestral theme from Dances With Wolves. A couple of numbers from from ‘Grease’ – Summer Loving and You’re The One That I Want – preceded two more Ennio Morricone compositions – Deborah’s Theme from ‘Once Upon a Time in America’ and the theme from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.
A final selection included Herb Alpert’s trumpet tune, Rise, followed by Apache (The Shadows) and Frank Sinatra’s New York, New York. An encore was called for and Steve responded with one of Ennio Morricone’s most popular film themes – Once Upon a Time in the West. So ended yet another great performance.
18 JANUARY 2024
The concert programme for 2004 got off to an excellent start, thanks to the experienced ROD POOLEY from Bexhill-on-Sea, who, despite his limited sight, provided a wide selection of music and styles to suit all tastes, including several songs that were new to the Club. Equally satisfying was the fact that Rod seemed to enjoy the evening just as much as the audience.
The first half opened with La Serenissima (the theme from ‘Venice in Peril’), followed by Glen Campbell’s popular hit Wichita Lineman and Elton John’s Crocodile Rock – before a complete change of style with Nessun Dorma (from Puccini’s opera ‘Turandot’). Rod returned to the world of popular music with The Living Years (Mike and the Mechanics) and the Tony Hatch composition, Call Me, before introducing Lambada, a Bossa Nova often featured on ‘Strictly Come Dancing’.
The guitar sound was dominant for a U2 number with the long title of I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For, followed by the Bee Gees song, How Deep Is Your Love and A Thousand Years, for which the piano sound was foremost. The audience was then treated to a song from The Carpenters – I Won’t Last a Day Without You – and the first half was completed by the catchy Moog tune, Popcorn.
After the interval, the variation continued, commencing with the Peter Gunn Theme – a Henry Mancini composition – and the Country-style song, Lyin’ Eyes (The Eagles). The American R&B instrumental group, Booker T & The MGs, was then represented by Time is Tight, after which Rod performed an up-tempo arrangement of Roberta Flack’s Killing Me Softly With His Song. A guitar-based tune, More Than Words, was next to feature, followed by Queen’s Crazy Little Thing Called Love and the Beatles hit, Hey Jude.
A taste of jazz accompanied Rod’s performance of Never Knew Love Like This Before whilst Stevie Wonder’s Lately was very well received. Not only did Cher’s Do You Believe impress but it was even performed with the special auto-tune sound of the original recording. Billy Joel’s Tell Her About It was followed by a complete change of tempo – namely Ravel’s Bolero – to conclude the evening’s programme … except, of course, for the inevitable encore – yet another contrast in the form of Bill Haley’s Rock Around The Clock!
The proverb says, ‘Variety’s the very spice of life’ – but on this particular occasion the music certainly added a special flavour!
21 DECEMBER 2023
The December concert was performed by MATTHEW BASON – a versatile performer from Kettering – and, as would be expected, the evening had a distinct Christmas flavour. An excellent variety of entertainment was assured as, in addition to his electronic keyboard, Matthew brought along his electric piano and an accordion. His excellent tenor voice, together with his cheeky humour, delighted the audience throughout the evening and the concert continued past the normal two hours.
Matthew began his programme, performing on the electronic keyboard, with a Christmas fanfare – an arrangement of popular festive songs and carols – and continued the theme by singing O Holy Night. He then introduced a Dance Band selection comprising Blue Skies, Stompin’ at the Savoy, The Continental and Cheek to Cheek, followed by a Latin American medley consisting of Eso Beso, The Coffee Song, Manana and Tico Tico.
Moving to the piano, he then performed and sang What A Wonderful World – a UK Number 1 hit for Louis Armstrong in 1968 – before playing a collection of piano tunes from the 20s to the 80s, which he titled ‘Piano Pops’. The selection included Honeysuckle Rose (Fats Waller), Trudie (Joe ‘Mr Piano’ Henderson), Ballade pour Adeline (Richard Clayderman), Song for Guy (Elton John), Walk in the Black Forest (Horst Jankowski), Music Box Dancer (Frank Mills), Black and White Rag (Winifred Atwell) and an old-time singalong medley (Mrs Mills).
Returning to the vocal aspect of his programme, Matthew continued with Can You Feel the Love Tonight (from ‘The Lion King’), followed by a Rock’n’Roll-style festive medley of Let it Snow, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Jingle Bells, to wind up a very entertaining first half.
The concert resumed – in keeping with the Club’s annual tradition – as Matthew played four pre-selected carols to which the audience sang along – Hark! the Herald Angels Sing, Once in Royal David’s City, Silent Night and O Come All Ye Faithful. Switching to another genre of music, Matthew performed the toe-tapping Repasz March before introducing a well-known Italian medley – Come Back to Sorrento, O Sole Mio, Santa Lucia and Funiculi, Funilculà. Setting up his electronic keyboard as accompaniment, Matthew then picked up his accordion to play a couple of polkas – one Austrian and one Swedish. An additional reminder of the time of year, namely Dance of the Snowmen (from ‘The Snowman’) preceded another vocal in the form of Who Can I Turn To (from the musical titled ‘The Roar of the Greasepaint – the Smell of the Crowd’).
The accordion was put to use once more as Matthew played a trio of Rumba tunes, Perfidia, Come Prima and Bésame Mucho, followed by a Scottish selection, consisting of Mairi’s Wedding, The Bluebells of Scotland, Scotland the Brave, Comin’ Thro’ the Rye and the Bluebell Polka. Further variety was provided by a medley of Dixieland tunes, including Has Anybody Seen My Gal? and Sweet Georgia Brown, the latter including a pedal solo. Sadly, and all too soon, the evening’s entertainment had come to an end, except for an encore, loudly demanded by the audience Matthew willingly obliged by singing White Christmas and playing a New Year selection, consisting of Roses from the South (Strauss Jr), The Second Waltz (Shostakovich) and the famous Radetzky March (Strauss Sr.).
16 NOVEMBER 2023
The performance of SIMON WOODLEY, a popular pianist and vocalist from Christchurch in Dorset, was once again very well received. This was Simon’s second appearance for the Club and the deviation from the usual electronic keyboard entertainment was fully appreciated by the audience. With his extensive musical repertoire, he was able to present a varied programme and, although classically trained, provided music to suit most tastes.
The concert opened with a selection from ‘Phantom of the Opera’, including Music of the Night, before a complete change of style with Elton John’s Rocket Man. Simon then introduced and performed – Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, the composer of which, Nigel Hess, also wrote the delightful theme for’ Ladies in Lavender’. The audience then heard Simon’s fine baritone voice as he sang On the Street Where You Live (from the Lerner & Loewe Broadway musical ‘My Fair Lady’). Film music was next to feature, with the theme composed by Nino Rota for the 1972 film The Godfather.
Simon then bravely challenged himself to perform music associated with any country called out by the audience! He managed to provide eight pieces of music – ranging from Girl from Ipanema (Boss Nova) from Brazil to a Strauss waltz for Austria – before closing the first half by singing Elton John’s Your Song.
Returning to the stage after the interval, Simon delighted the audience with Gabriel’s Oboe, Ennio Morricone’s moving theme for the film ‘The Mission’. He followed this by performing a selection of songs from Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals – such familiar titles as I Whistle a Happy Tune, Three Coins in the Fountain, I Have Dreamed, Getting to Know You, Hello Young Lovers and Shall We Dance. Time for another vocal – and Tony Bennett’s I Left My Heart In San Francisco received great applause, before another well-loved Classical piece, Rachmaninov’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini demonstrated Simon’s love of Classical music.
More variation was to follow as the theme to Somewhere in Time was performed, followed by a selection from ‘Mary Poppins’ – songs heard included A Spoonful of Sugar, Chim Chim Cher-ee, Feed the Birds and Let’s Go Fly a Kite. Simon then sang Younger Than Springtime, from ‘South Pacific’ and played The Loveliest Night of the Year (a song usually associated with Mario Lanza). A final vocal – Hoagy Carmichael’s Georgia on my Mind – preceded the final selection of music, comprising a wide selection of tunes: Misty (Erroll Garner), Mack the Knife (a tune refashioned from the theme of The Threepenny Opera) and Richard Addinsell’s Warsaw Concerto (written for the film Dangerous Moonlight).
Naturally, an encore was demanded and Simon made an excellent choice in bringing the evening to a close with Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody. So ended a thoroughly enjoyable evening with music in its purest form.
19 OCTOBER 2023
Much enjoyment was derived from the concert performed by DAVID LAST,from Ipswich in Suffolk, as the evening was filled with music for all generations and included a wide variation of styles; in fact, over forty different pieces were performed – possibly too many to mention individually.
The concert began with a Disney medley, including When You Wish Upon A Star, which was followed by I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) – a hit for The Proclaimers – and a flavour of the Caribbean with Holiday Fortnight (The Specials). In keeping with the variety of the Club’s entertainment, David then introduced a piece of Classical music, Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, before switching back to the world of popular music and Abba’s Hasta Mañana.
Next to feature in the programme was The Prince of Denmark’s March (more commonly known as the Trumpet Voluntary), with a classical organ sound, after which the ongoing variation was provided by Rasputin (Boney M) and Schubert’s Ave Maria, complete with choir voices. David then returned to Disney music with Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah (from ‘Song of the South’), It’s a Small World, Beauty and the Beast and I Wanna Be Like You (from ‘The Jungle Book’).
A Club favourite, Highland Cathedral, was well received before David continued with the Wiener Waltz (also known as Good Old Vienna), followed by Wonderland by Night – a first hit for the Bert Kaempfert Orchestra. The sound of the theatre organ was then employed for the Sidney Torch composition, On a Spring Note, whilst the variation continued with Silver Lady (David Soul), Let the Heartaches Begin (Long John Baldry), Night Birds (Shakatak), One Day in Your Life (Michael Jackson) and – rather appropriately – Here Comes That Rainy Day Feeling Again (The Fortunes) … by which time the interval had arrived.
David opened the second half with a novelty tune titled Poodle in the Park before, in complete contrast, introducing the popular Classical piece, Mascagni’s Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana. The extensive range of musical entertainment continued with a Latin American number, Beso de Fuego (Kiss of Fire) – a song recorded by Connie Francis among others – and Beautiful Island of Somewhere (Jo Stafford). Bringing the music more up to date, David then performed Video Killed the Radio Star before another Classical piece titled Meditation (Massenet) from the opera ‘Thais’.
More variety was provided by an Irish hornpipe tune, The Dance of the Honeybees, and The Living Years (a hit for Mike and the Mechanics), to which David added a Sousa march, High School Cadets. Another musical genre was then inserted into the programme with a couple of Country songs – namely When I Dream (Crystal Gayle) and On the Road Again (Willie Nelson), before the tempo changed with All in an April Evening (complete with the sound of voices) and a James Last arrangement of Mantovani’s signature tune, Charmaine.
An increase in tempo was provided by Dolly Parton’s Nine to Five, before the James Last composition, When the Snow is on the Roses (featuring orchestral and guitar sounds), Billy Joel’s Root Beer Rag.and Brahms Hungarian Dance. Such a concert was worthy of a memorable encore – and David duly obliged with a fine performance of the song popularised by Elvis Presley – An American Trilogy.
21 SEPTEMBER 2023
An enjoyable evening of music was anticipated – and nobody was disappointed, as guest artiste, ANDREW NIX, from Selby in Yorkshire, kept everyone well entertained.
The evening began in lively fashion with marches from a couple of films – A Bridge Too Far and The Great Escape – before switching to a complete contrast in Erroll Garner’s Misty (a memorable Johnny Mathis recording). The accordion sound was employed for Dean Martin’s That’s Amore, before a medley of Harry Warren dance tunes from the musical ‘42nd Street’.
Andrew then introduced two lovely ballads, Because We Believe (co-written by Andrea Bocelli) and The Impossible Dream (from the 1965 musical ‘Man of La Mancha’). Memories of The Beatles came flooding back as a selection of the group’s hits followed – Can’t Buy Me Love, All My Loving, Yesterday and Hey Jude. The genre changed once again as the theme moved ‘Out West’ with film themes including The Good, The Bad and The Ugly and The Magnificent Seven.
A particular Weyhill favourite, Highland Cathedral, was next on the programme – a tune with a Scottish sound, although composed by two German musicians for a Highland Games event held in Germany in 1982. To conclude the first half, Andrew performed what he called his ‘Smile’ medley – consisting of tunes such as You’re Never Fully Dressed Without A Smile (from the Broadway music, ‘Annie’), Smile (a Charlie Chaplin composition) and When You’re Smiling.
Returning to the stage, Andrew resumed his performance with a selection of the many Shadows hits, followed by a selection of music from ‘Les Miserables’ – At the End of the Day, Master of the House, Bring Him Home and I Dreamed a Dream. Then came a medley of songs from ‘Grease’ – Summer Nights, Hopelessly Devoted To You and We Go Together – followed by You Raise Me Up (notably recorded by Josh Groban and Westlife).
Music from The Carpenters is always enjoyed and Andrew’s selection included Sing, We’ve Only Just Begun and Top of the World, whilst fans of the James Last sound welcomed such tunes as Orange Blossom Special (with trumpet sound to the fore), Games That Lovers Play and Happy Music. The concert was nearing its conclusion but there was still time to hear the winning 1976 Eurovision Song Contest entry – Save Your Kisses For Me (Brotherhood of Man) – preceding Elvis Presley’s Always On My Mind, Rockin’ All Over the World (Status Quo) and YMCA (Village People). An encore was inevitable and Andrew had the audience clapping along as he performed a couple of Rock’n’Roll numbers – Johnny Be Good and At The Hop. The audience is certainly well aware that Andrew’s concerts are always guaranteed to be happy occasions – and Andrew accepts that his long journey south was appreciated.
17 AUGUST 2023
The concert provided a wide range of entertainment to suit most musical tastes, as PHIL BROWN from Derby, made his seventh appearance for the Club.
The entertainment got off to a rousing start with Fanfare For The Common Man (popularised by Emerson, Lake and Palmer), followed by The Sky Boat Song, incorporating Amazing Grace, with the sounds of bagpipes, piano and orchestra. Phil then revived memories of the BBC snooker programme, ‘Pot Black’ with Winifred Atwell’s Black And White Rag.
A slower tempo with the sounds of classical guitar and violin were introduced for Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez before, in complete contrast, a medley of well-known ABBA hits – consisting of Dancing Queen, Voulez-Vous, Mamma Mia, Super Trouper, Money, Money, Money, Does Your Mother Know and Waterloo. Pan pipes could then be heard as James Last’s Morning In Cornwall was performed, followed by Phil’s own more rapid arrangement, albeit with the authentic haunting sounds, of Ennio Morricone’s theme for the film, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.
Greek singer Demis Roussos was then featured, with two of his recordings – Forever And Ever together with Happy To Be On An Island In The Sun, followed by a couple of tunes associated with popular French pianist Richard Clayderman – namely Dolannes Melodie and Ti Amo. The first half was completed with a collection of marches – Blaze Away, Washington Post, Funiculì, Funiculà (a Neapolitan song surprisingly effective as a march), 633 Squadron and The Dambusters March.
Phil resumed proceedings by performing Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, before introducing a lively medley of well-known pop songs – Is This The Way To Amorilla (Tony Christie), I Only Want To Be With You (Dusty Springfield), Sugar, Sugar (The Archies), Rivers Of Babylon (Boney M), Rhinestone Cowboy (Glen Campbell) and Never Can Say Goodbye (Jackson 5).
Returning to the Classical genre, the next item was Puccini’s O Mio Babbino Caro (Oh My Beloved Father), preceding what could be termed as Phil’s ‘party piece’ – Duelling Banjos from the film ‘Deliverance’, featuring the sounds of banjo and acoustic guitar. Further variations in style saw the introduction of a Samba, Amor, Amor and a medley of Big Band music based on ‘Hooked On Swing’ (Larry Elgart And His Manhattan Swing Orchestra). The selection included In The Mood, Cherokee, American Patrol, Little Brown Jug, Opus One and String Of Pearls.
Possibly the highlight of the evening was Phil’s performance of music from Phantom Of The Opera, featuring the sounds of cathedral organ and voices – which would surely have met with the approval of Andrew Lloyd Webber himself! A complete contrast followed with a selection of Rock’n’Roll – such as Rock Around The Clock, Green Door, See You Later, Alligator – following which Phil demonstrated the versatility of his instrument with a drum solo, using the keyboard and pedalboard individually. The evening concluded serenely with Phil performing Missing – the memorable Vangelis theme from the film of the same name.
20 JULY 2023
The audience attending the July concert was treated to a fine musical evening – but with a difference, The guest artiste DAVID HARRILD, from near Ipswich, introduced variations to many of the compositions he performed and it was indeed interesting to hear tunes played in less familiar ways.
For example, the evening opened with the haunting sounds of the bagpipes, which subsequently became The Sky Boat Song, before continuing with the Tom Jones hit, Help Yourself. The contrasts continued with the Spanish song, Marie Elena, followed by You’re The One That I Want from ‘Grease’ and Paul McCartney’s Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da.
The Big Band sound was represented by Take The ‘A’ Train, recordings of which have been attributed to Duke Ellington and Glenn Miller, whilst the acoustic guitar sound seemed appropriate for Ralph McTell’s Streets of London. Unique African rhythms preceded David’s arrangement of Elton John’s Circle Of Life from ‘The Lion King’, whilst pan pipes could be heard for the performance of James Last’s popular tune, The Lonely Shepherd.
A further change of style brought Country music to the proceedings – by way of Buffy Sainte-Marie’s I’m Gonna Be A Country Girl (or Boy) Again and She’ll Be Coming Round The Mountain (which encouraged a few audience members to join in). To conclude the first half of the concert, David performed a disco-style of the John Williams’ Star Wars theme – something different to surprise the audience!
Resuming the entertainment, David opted for Cole Porter’s Begin The Beguine, followed by the Andy Williams song, Music To Watch Girls By, and his own arrangement of Secret Love. The Sound Of Silence – a hit for Simon and Garfunkel – was next to feature, before the seldom-heard Oxygene (Jean-Michel Jarre) and FBI, a vintage number by The Shadows.Swedish Rhapsody, a folk melody popularised by both Percy Faith and Mantovani, provided a change of tempo, whilst the Rita Coolidge hit, I’d Rather Leave While I’m In Love, was a tune that was possibly new to the audience. The Big Band sound was re-introduced with In The Mood (Glenn Miller) and China Town, before a medley of Ragtime music to conclude proceedings … well almost, as the traditional encore was required, for which David selected a James Last arrangement of Hava Nagila.
15 JUNE 2023
Yet another great evening of music – and despite the warm temperature, the audience remained engrossed throughout with the entertainment provided by the versatile and extremely talented guest artiste PETE SHAW from Winsford in Cheshire.
Pete had his all-round musical talents put to great use several years ago when he worked as Musical Director for Granada Television’s ‘Tour of Talent’ roadshow, following which he received an invitation to play for a choir at the National Eisteddfod of Wales in Bala …. and now Weyhill had the pleasure of hearing him.
The range of songs and tunes performed was extensive and the variety of sounds produced by Pete’s instrument were little short of amazing. The concert began with a Status Quo number titled Burning Bridges (On and Off and On Again), followed by Pete’s own arrangement of the Simon & Garfunkel hit The Sound of Silence and, displaying his fine vocal talents, he then performed Frank Sinatra’s I’ve Got You Under My Skin.
Pete then introduced a simple yet beautiful ‘New Age’ tune titled Song from a Secret Garden, a song originally recorded by the musical duo of Norwegian composer Rolf Løvland and Irish violinist Fionnuala Sherry (under the name of Secret Garden), who rose to prominence through winning the 1995 Eurovision Song Contest. The Irish connection was continued with Runaway – a song recorded by The Corrs – before Pete played and sang How Do You Keep the Music Playing, by the prolific French pianist and composer Michel Legrand, and Jerome Kern’s All the Things You Are.
The audience, or at least those with good memories, then had the opportunity to sing along as Pete performed a selection of popular songs from the 60s, such as I’ll Never Find Another You – a hit composed by Tom Springfield (Dusty’s older brother) for Judith Durham and The Seekers – You’re My World (Cilla Black), Aquarius (from the musical ‘Hair’), Silence Is Golden (The Tremeloes) and Penny Lane (The Beatles). To complete the first half Pete played You Got It – a Roy Orbison hit single released a month after his premature death in 1988.
Resuming the music after the interval, Pete performed Barry Manilow’s Copacabana, followed by a vocal rendition of A Million Dreams, from the film ‘The Greatest Showman’. He then introduced one of his own compositions, titled Virginia Water, before a complete contrast by way of the Thunderbirds Theme. Maintaining the variation, the recognisable sound of pipes accompanied The Londonderry Air (Danny Boy), complete with the sound of traditional Uilleann pipes.
Fans of The Drifters would have enjoyed Pete’s version of When My Little Girl Is Smiling, whilst Barbra Streisand’s arrangement of Somewhere from ‘West Side Story’ is always popular and lends itself well to the electronic keyboard. Bringing the music up to date, Pete then performed and sang Ed Sheeran‘s The Joker and the Queen, following on with Concerto for a Rainy Day (Jeff Lynne and the ELO) and Xanadu (written by Jeff Lynne and recorded by Olivia Newton-John). Closing a pleasurable evening, Pete encouraged the audience to sing along to When You’re Smiling and provided an encore with what currently seems to be the unofficial anthem for England sports fans – Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline – with the audience spontaneously joining in. The concert proved to be an ideal way to mark completion of the Club’s 21st year of providing the community with melodic, easy listening music.
18 MAY 2023
The loud applause at the end of the concert said it all … the audience had experienced a veritable masterclass of music performed by the extremely talented guest artiste CHRIS STANBURY, the holder of various prestigious musical qualifications from the London College of Music, including Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees. As with all of the Club’s concerts, the music included an excellent range of music and Chris more than satisfied the expected high standards.
The evening began with At The Sign of the Swinging Cymbal – signature tune for the BBC radio show, ‘Pick of the Pops’ – followed by the popular Katie Melua song, Closest Thing To Crazy. With a change of tone, the next piece was the Thunder and Lightning Polka (Johann Strauss Jr), before Chris introduced a brief Rock ‘n’ Roll medley including Rock Around The Clock (Bill Haley) and Let’s Twist Again (Chubby Checker). Continuing the variation, Chris then selected a beautiful song from the musical, ‘Sunset Boulevard’ – As If We Never Said Goodbye – before switching to the Big Band sound and The Swinging Shepherd Blues.
No doubt a few memories were stirred as the next selection consisted of old radio signature tunes, such as Coronation Scot (the ‘Paul Temple’ theme), and Devil’s Galop (the ‘Dick Barton – Special Agent’ theme), followed by a medley of Max Bygraves recordings, such as You’re a Pink Toothbrush, The Ballad of Davy Crockett, Fings Ain’t Wot They Used T’Be and Tulips From Amsterdam. Chris then introduced a couple of songs which he performed in rumba style – namely I’m In The Mood For Love and More. With the interval fast approaching, the audience was treated to a familiar selection of songs from ‘The Sound of Music’, beginning with the opening theme, and followed by Do-Re-Mi, Edelweiss, My Favourite Things and Climb Every Mountain. The first half was completed by the brisk Brazilian tune, Tico Tico.
After the break, Chris resumed with a lively march tune, namely Raiders Of The Lost Ark (John Williams), before introducing On A Clear Day (Matt Monro) and a selection of popular Sixties tunes – such as Apache (The Shadows), Telstar (The Tornados), Pretty Woman (Roy Orbison), A Whiter Shade Of Pale (Procul Harum) and Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head (the Burt Bacharach/Hal David composition for the film, ‘Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid’).
Buglers Holiday provided another style of music before Chris introduced a Dusty Springfield medley (as arranged by Bobby Crush). The instrument’s piano sounds were used to perform such hits as I Only Want To Be With You, Island Of Dreams, Goin’ Back and You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me. The piano sound continued with orchestral backing for the ever-popular Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody, whilst two Big Band numbers, Hot Toddy and East Of The Sun – both in the style of the Ted Heath Band – brought the entertainment to a conclusion.
The inevitable encore consisted of hits from the BBC TV show, ‘Juke Box Jury’, beginning with the aptly-named programme theme, the John Barry Seven recording titled Hit And Miss. The selection included Bobby’s Girl (Susan Maughan), Poetry In Motion (Johnny Tillotson) and Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen (Neil Sedaka).
20 APRIL 2023
Guest artiste for the April concert was DAVID THOMAS from Thetford in Norfolk, making his sixth appearance for the Club. As was clearly evident throughout the evening, David’s ability as an electronic keyboard player is supplemented by his skill in creating additional screen graphics.
Next to feature was David’s arrangement of Erroll Garner’s popular Misty,before the Hammond sound was employed for Somewhere Over the Rainbow and The Lady is a Tramp. The first session of the evening was concluded with Mr Tambourine Man, Acker Bilk’s Stranger on the Shore, complete with the familiar clarinet sound, and Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen (to me you are beautiful) – performed in Traditional Jazz style.
The second half opened with a march – David’s own composition – followed by the Petula Clark hit, Downtown, Fats Waller’s Ain’t Misbehavin’, with a demonstration of different guitar sounds, Tommy Dorsey’s I’ll Never Smile Again, a number incorporating the keyboard’s backing vocal sounds, plus Gilbert and Sullivan’s Poor Wandering One (from ‘The Pirates of Penzance’).
A wide selection of dance music included Cara Mia and Has Anybody Seen My Gal, following which David performed Glenn Miller’s popular Moonlight Serenade. The audience then enjoyed video films of monkeys dancing in line and babes on roller skates to the rhythm of Van McCoy’s The Hustle.
David then introduced his ‘party piece’ – a duet with an on-screen Bing Crosby! With the aid of technology and excellent timing, he sang and spoke the part of Frank Sinatra with Cole Porter’s Did You Evah, from the film ‘High Society’. To conclude the programme, he selected the John Miles award-winning composition, Music, which contained the following meaningful lyrics: “Music was my first love and it will be my last – music of the future and music of the past”.
The popular Bert Kaempfert hit, Bye Bye Blues, was selected for an encore, cheekily incorporating Show Me the Way to Go Home. As David clearly demonstrated, the electronic instruments of today are capable of providing a much wider selection of musical entertainment and sounds than can ever be produced by the more conventional organs – as the Weyhill audiences are fully aware.
16 MARCH 2023
The Club was pleased to welcome JAMYMA HANSON, a young lady from Sussex, who was making her first visit to Weyhill. The unusual significance of the evening was that her special guest, combining with her on stage to perform a couple of solo spots and duets, was none other than her well-known tutor Michael Wooldridge – a player who himself had performed at the venue on several occasions. Jamyma had only joined the circuit within the last few years but her relative inexperience was certainly not evident: indeed, the audience was extremely well entertained with a wide range of easy listening music.
The programme opened with a selection of Irving Berlin compositions, including Top Hat, White Tie And Tails, Play a Simple Melody and There’s No Business Like Show Business, before moving on to a medley of ABBA hits – Money, Money, Money, Mamma Mia, Dancing Queen, I Had A Dream and finishing off with Thank You For The Music. Jamyma then switched the theme to the world of musicals with a selection from ‘Annie’ – Tomorrow being the most recognisable of the songs performed. She then invited Michael to the stage to perform a collection of familiar George Gershwin numbers on electronic piano – songs such as The Man I Love, Fascinating Rhythm, Summertime, They Can’t Take That Away From Me and I Got Rhythm.
Jamyma returned to the stage and the two players joined together to perform a duet with Embraceable You followed by a Classical medley in the style of Liberace. With the interval fast approaching, Jamyma Introduced Offenbach’s famous Orpheus in the Underworld overture. However, perhaps understandably (and no doubt with much relief), nobody in the audience accepted the invitation to demonstrate the ‘Can Can’ dance !
The second half began with a selection of memorable 60s hits recorded by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass – Spanish Flea, A Taste Of Honey, The Lonely Bull, So What’s New? and Tijuana Taxi, before moving on to a medley from ‘Les Miserables’, much to the approval of the audience. The songs chosen from the musical were At The End Of The Day, I Dreamed A Dream, Master Of The House, Do You Hear The People Sing? and Bring Him Home. The Blue Danube preceded Trumpet Voluntary before Jamyma returned to the musicals with a few songs from ‘Mack and Mabel’ – based on the true story of silent movie director Mack Sennett and his romantic relationship with Hollywood comedienne Mabel Normand – the best known of the tunes being I Won’t Send Roses.
16 FEBRUARY 2023
Making his sixth visit to the Fairground Hall was STEVE HUBBLE from Broadmayne in Dorset – and after very cold evenings for the previous two concerts the temperature was higher, no doubt much to the relief of the supporters who attended.
The evening began in lively fashion with the Vangelis theme Pirates of the Caribbean, followed by Frank Sinatra’s hit I’ve Got You Under My Skin. Steve is rightly acclaimed for his excellent sound productions and he employed both piano and saxophone for the popular Erroll Garner composition Misty, before introducing a rarely-heard but catchy number titled Soul Coaxing (a Raymond Lefèvre Orchestra recording). An Andy Williams hit, Can’t Take my Eyes Off You, was then featured, followed by an excellent interpretation of Ennio Morricone’s Gabriel’s Oboe from the film ‘The Mission’ – for which, quite naturally, Steve employed the delightful sound of the oboe.
The hall then became alive with The Sound of Music as Steve performed a selection of tunes from the film, commencing with an orchestral crescendo as one imagined Julie Andrews appearing amidst the Austrian mountains. The theme then moved to Spain – and thoughts of warmer temperatures – with Bésame Mucho, followed by a Big Band number titled Orange Coloured Sky. The unmistakable sound of the clarinet was selected for Acker Bilk’s Stranger on the Shore, which was followed by Palladio – a Karl Jenkins Classical composition. The first half of the concert was concluded by the 1971 hit song If (a Picture Paints a Thousand Words) – composed by David Gates for his group Bread – and the popular Glen Campbell number Wichita Lineman.
The entertainment resumed with an excellent selection of Barbra Streisand songs, including People and Somewhere, preceding the Bette Midler hit, Wind Beneath My Wings – featuring the clarinet sound. Steve continued with Stevie Wonder’s 1976 composition, Sir Duke, after which he performed Some Enchanted Evening, from Rodgers and Hammerstein’s 1949 musical ‘South Pacific’. Benedictus – another Karl Jenkins composition – slowed the tempo for a few minutes before a selection from the 1978 musical film ‘Grease’, which included Summer Loving and Grease Lightning. New to the Weyhill audience was the Stardreams theme (as performed by Charlie Spivak and his Orchestra) but the following Cha Cha – Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White – was more familiar.
Arguably the most impressive rendition of the evening was Ennio Morricone’s evocative theme for the film Once Upon a Time in the West, with such authentic voices that it was easy to believe it was the original recording! Fans of The Shadows would have been pleased to hear Apache, before Traditional Jazz was represented by Muskrat Ramble, with the trumpet sound to the fore. For his finale, Steve selected One Moment in Time – a massive hit for Whitney Houston – during which the saxophone sound was heard. The ovation from the audience signalled an encore – duly answered with Somewhere from the musical ‘West Side Story’.
19 JANUARY 2023
Another bitterly cold night – but that failed to deter the audience from attending and welcoming ANDREW VARLEY, who was making his eighth appearance for the Club. Andrew, who resides in Southsea, is particularly well-known to quite a few members of the audience through often playing for dances a few miles away in Andover.
The evening began with the rousing theme from Star Trek followed by a selection of the many tunes composed, mainly for Broadway musicals, by Jule Styne. Andrew then introduced one of his most popular items, namely the main theme for the 1970 film ‘The Railway Children’ (composed by Johnny Douglas), complemented with a few typical train station noises! What may not be too well-known is that the tune (with lyrics) was titled More Than Ever Now and was subsequently recorded by Vince Hill. A Latin American medley was followed by the delightful theme from an emotive 70s Italian film (dubbed in English) titled The Last Snows of Spring.
An increase in tempo heralded two numbers by The Beatles – She Loves You and Can’t Buy Me Love – before another film theme was performed, namely Conquest of Paradise (Vangelis), the film portraying a version of the travels to the New World by Christopher Columbus. The theme for the TV series Game of Thrones was followed by a couple of Brian Sharp compositions – a pleasant melody titled House of Dreams and a lively tune by the name of In The News, whilst a rarely-heard waltz, Gramophone, brought the first half to a close.
The entertainment resumed with a number bizarrely named The Tune With No Title – an improvised item, with sounds reminiscent of Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass in the 60s. Andrew always endeavours to play a few relatively unknown tunes during his concerts and the next item, Randy Newman’s delightful One More Hour fitted into that category. By way of a complete change, Andrew then introduced and played a medley of hits from the 50s, including such songs as Love Me Tender, Que Sera Sera, Blueberry Hill and Fly Me To The Moon.
A further collection of Jule Styne showtime compositions preceded Paintings (James Last), before the finale – a selection of 60s’ hits – including Downtown, I Only Want To Be With You, Sweet Caroline, It’s Not Unusual, What a Wonderful World and My Way – all of which, from what could be heard, appeared to be very well remembered by the listeners. For the inevitable encore Andrew performed Jeff Wayne’s popular version of The War of the Worlds – and a contented audience gradually departed the hall to face the cold world outside.
19 DECEMBER 2022
A freezing cold December evening – but that did not deter the stalwart audience! – and their efforts were well rewarded with an excellent concert of melodic, easy listening music, including a generous sprinkling of Christmas songs and carols. Performing for the Club’s 230th concert was the popular NICHOLAS MARTIN BEM, from Markfield near Leicester; in fact, it was Nick (as he is known to his many fans) who helped to launch the Club by performing its inaugural concert in July 2002 and this evening marked his 11th appearance for the Club.
The opening medley set the tone for the evening – with Sleigh Ride, It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year, The Christmas Song, The Holy City and Snow Coach (a Russ Conway hit). Film theme music always meets with approval at Weyhill and Nick’s performance of Ennio Morricone’s Gabriel’s Oboe (from ‘The Mission’) was no exception. A brief Samba medley included Cavaquinho, In The Bleak Midwinter, Tea For Two, Mary’s Boy Child and I Could Have Danced all Night, with the two Christmas numbers blending in surprisingly well.
Nick’s next contribution aroused memories of July 2002, at least for those who were at that very first concert, by way of the Warsaw Concerto, Richard Addinsell’s famous theme for the film, ‘Dangerous Moonlight’. Another festive medley included It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas, I’ll Be Home For Christmas, Snow Waltz and The Skaters Waltz, whilst the concluding pieces chosen to end the first half were March of the Toreadors (from Bizet’s ‘Carmen’), Thank You For The Music (Abba) and Twelfth Street Rag – one of Nick’s well-known rapid ‘party pieces’.
Keeping with tradition, the second half began with the audience singing along to four pre-selected carols – namely O Come All Ye Faithful, Once In Royal David’s City, The First Noel and Hark! The Herald Angels Sing – after which Nick’s programme resumed with Merry Christmas Everyone, the Radetzky March (Srauss Sr) and two Strauss Jr compositions, The Blue Danube and the Tritsch Tratsch Polka. The concert continued with Have Yourself a Very Merry Christmas, an appropriate novelty item titled The Robin’s Return, the well-loved O Holy Night and Winifred Atwell’s Snow Bells, before Nick introduced the Masquerade Suite – a waltz composed by Khachaturian.
Another brief festive medley included We Wish You a Merry Christmas and Good King Wenceslas (alias the Duke of Bohemia). before Nick concluded his programme with a special dedication to Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and by performing Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance March. Calls for an encore were answered by a rousing performance of the James Bond Theme, to bring the Club’s 2022 concerts to a fitting conclusion.
17 NOVEMBER 2022
CHRIS JONES rescued the Club’s November concert by deputising at the last minute for Mark Thompson, the scheduled artiste, who was taken ill and unable to perform. Chris, from Orpington in Kent, was making his fifth appearance at Weyhill, having previously performed for the Club earlier in the year. Despite the late arrangements, Chris managed to amend his previous concert programme and the evening was enjoyed by all present.
The evening began with The Muppets Theme and an early Petula Clark recording, The Little Shoemaker, before the mood was changed completely with Puccini’s O Mio Babbino Caro. The entertainment continued with The Breeze And I, followed by Wheels Cha Cha. Memories were stirred as the theme for ‘Owen MD’ – a 70s BBC TV series – was revealed to be titled Sleepy Shores, whilst ITV was not neglected as the Poirot Theme featured next.
Wartime music continued the wide range of entertainment with Ron Goodwin’s 633 Squadron and The Dambusters March (Eric Coates) – both well-known film themes, followed by a trio of past favourites: Twilight Time (The Platters) – with suitable ‘sleepy-time’ sounds – preceded If I Only Had Time (John Rowles) and The Impossible Dream (from the musical ‘Man of La Mancha’).
It’s more than likely that most minds switched to images of Torvill and Dean skating to World Championship victory in 1982 as Chris played a selection from Jerry Herman’s Mack And Mabel music scores, concluding with I Won’t Send Roses, before demonstrating his vocal talents with The Sunshine Of Your Smile. As the interval approached, the audience accepted the invitation to join in with a medley of traditional British songs, including such as Amazing Grace, Jerusalem, There’ll Always Be An England, We’ll Keep A Welcome, It’s A Long Way To Tipperary and Loch Lomond.
The concert resumed with a medley of popular songs – Yellow River (Jeff Christie), Figaro (Brotherhood of Man), A Time For Us – or the Theme from Romeo And Juliet (Henry Mancini) and Feelings (Morris Albert). A couple of television series were then recalled with themes from The Thorn Birds (also a Henry Mancini composition) and Eye Level, the theme from ‘Van der Valk’. Chris then introduced a medley of songs from the musical ‘The King And I’ – namely I Have Dreamed, Hello Young Lovers and Shall We Dance – and the audience was enticed to sing and clap along to another selection of well-known songs – Deep In The Heart of Texas, Amarillo and Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da – before another ‘sing-along’ selection of old-time songs, including The Lambeth Walk, White Cliffs Of Dover and We’ll Meet Again.
Time had passed rapidly but there was still enough time for Chris to perform a Dixieland medley with You’re The Cream In My Coffee, Yes Sir, That’s My Baby and Alexander’s Ragtime Band. Then, after being thanked for his valiant efforts in ‘saving the day’, he responded to calls for an encore from the audience by performing a couple of Ethel Merman songs – I Got The Sun In The Morning and Doin’ What Comes Naturally. Thus a possible disaster was turned into success and satisfaction – plus a strong feeling of relief!
20 OCTOBER 2022
Performing for the Club’s well-attended October concert was DANIEL WATT from Telford in Shropshire, who was making his sixth appearance for the Club, having first visited Weyhill in 2006.
Daniel began the evening with the Andy Williams 60s hit, Can’t Take My Eyes Off You and Simon & Garfunkel’s popular 1970 ballad, Bridge Over Troubled Water, before introducing the Big Band genre in the form of the Frank Sinatra hit, Come Fly With Me. In contrast, the tempo slowed with Smile – a tune composed by none other than Charlie Chaplin in 1936, with lyrics added in 1954 – and a visit to the world of musicals with Circle of Life (from ‘The Lion King’), a song produced by Elton John and Tim Rice.
The audience was hushed – and images were most likely revived of the famous 70s TV advertisement, with a boy pushing his bicycle up the steep Gold Hill in Shaftesbury to deliver a loaf of bread – as Daniel performed Dvorak’s New World Symphony. Such a concert as this would hardly have been complete without a film theme and John Barry’s composition You Only Live Twice was more than appropriate. Another variation followed, by way of a Latin American tune, Mas Que Nada (Sérgio Mendes), followed by Don’t Know Why and Cilla Black’s You’re My World. Michael Bublé’s Don’t Get Around Much Anymore was next in the programme and to conclude the first half – which seemed to have passed so quickly – Daniel selected Hans Zimmer’s overture from Pirates of the Caribbean.
Resuming after the interval, the audience heard the main theme from the 1960 film ‘Exodus’, followed by Hoagy Carmichael’s Skylark and the emotive, yet rarely-heard, Through The Eyes of Love, from the ice skating-based film, ‘Ice Castles’. Daniel then introduced a trio of songs from the 60s – Daydream Believer (The Monkees), Downtown (Petula Clark) and Nights in White Satin (Moody Blues) – plus Mr Blue Sky (ELO) from the 70s. The instantly-recognisable Abba song, Dancing Queen, continued the pop medley before the Big Band sound was re-introduced with Fly Me To The Moon. Another Andy Williams hit, Music to Watch Girls By, preceded the final item of the programme – the Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves (from Verdi’s ‘Nabucco’). Unsurprisingly, the audience called for an encore, for which Daniel selected the Sammy Davis Jr. hit, Rhythm of Life, from the musical ‘Sweet Charity’, performed in the style of James Last.
15 SEPTEMBER 2022
‘I’ll Go Where Your Music Takes Me‘ was an appropriate opening number performed by guest artiste, IAN GRIFFIN,making his sixth appearance for the Club and, as with his previous concerts, the evening was filled with an extensive range of music, especially during the second half in which, as is Ian’s custom, audience requests were invited.
A selection of songs from the 60s and 70s, with orchestral sounds, then followed. with such tunes as I Love How You Love Me, This Time Tomorrow, Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye and You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me, after which a brief Latin American selection was introduced – Mambo Jambo and Brazil. Ian then introduced a lovely song titled Dreams Made To Last Forever (as recorded by popular Belgian vocalist Dana Winner), preceding a Swing medley comprising Summer Wind, L-O-V-E (with piano sound) and It Had to Be You.
The tempo slowed for As Long As I Have Music before memories of Matt Monro were stirred – with Born Free, Portrait of My Love and Softly As I Leave You – all performed with the soothing sound of strings. To complete an enjoyable first half Ian performed a selection of well-known show tunes – I Could Have Danced All Night, Some Enchanted Evening, If I Was a Rich Man, Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again and As Long As He Needs Me.
Numerous request slips were handed in during the interval, leaving Ian the difficult task of preparing a programme for the second half of the concert. The list was whittled down to around thirty different tunes – far too many to mention all – proving that musical tastes varied considerably. However, it was clear that light Classical music was favoured, as were themes from shows and films, whilst popular music from the 50s to the 70s was still enjoyed. The selection performed included Rodrigo’s Concerto de Aranjuez, I Dreamed a Dream, Once Upon a Time in The West, Somewhere in Time, Wonderful Land, Rhinestone Cowboy and It’s Only Just Begun.
Ever since his first television appearance at the age of twelve – on BBC’s ‘Crackerjack’ Young Entertainers – and performing his first keyboard club concert at the age of thirteen, Ian still gets a thrill playing on stage in front of a live audience. His progress since those young days are a tribute to his obvious musical talents, as witnessed by everyone on this particular evening.
18 AUGUST 2022
Making his debut for the Club’s August concert was LEWIS SCOTT from near Driffield in East Yorkshire – a player who quickly dispelled any doubts that his relatively brief time on the circuit would be revealed in his performance. An apt beginning was selected, Cole Porter’s Another Opening, Another Show (from the musical ‘Kiss Me Kate’), before the introduction of a tune which was new to the audience, namely music from Murder on the Orient Express, for which Lewis employed the theatre organ sound. Kenny Ball’s 1961 hit, Midnight in Moscow was next in the programme, whilst a trumpet featured in jazz number, A Night in Tunisia (Dizzie Gillespie and Charlie Parker).
Continuing the variety, Lewis then performed a march, the Theme from Colditz, before playing a Big Band medley – Take The A Train, Lullaby of Birdland and Perdido – followed by the well-loved I Dreamed a Dream from ‘Les Miserables’. Another variation – a Latin American selection – was next on the agenda, with Quando Quando, Brazil and Tico Tico, the third item being repeated with a faster tempo for good measure. A lovely ballad from ‘Miss Saigon’ – SchÖnberg’s I’d Give My Life For You – was performed with piano and orchestral sounds before the Carousel Waltz produced a full orchestral experience. To round off the first half, Lewis selected the very popular John Williams Theme from ET.
After the interval Lewis introduced I’m Still Standing (Elton John), although he himself was seated (!), before a couple of songs associated with Nat King Cole – Stardust and When I Fall In Love. He followed up with his version of Telstar, a 60s instrumental hit for The Tornados. Although recorded by a number of vocalists, it was Joe Longthorne who Lewis had in mind when he played Don Black’s composition, If I Never Sing Another Song, but Sir Duke and My Cherie Amour could only possibly be linked to Stevie Wonder. Another song from ‘Les Miserables’, namely Bring Him Home, was well received by the audience before Irving Berlins’ Cheek To Cheek was played.. Home and Be Our Guest (both from Disney’s ‘Beauty and The Beast’) came next, the latter song including an accordion sound. A selection of memorable songs from ‘West Side Story’ was then heard, with songs such as I Feel Pretty, Maria, One Hand One Heart, America, Somewhere and Tonight. As the concert drew to a close, Lewis performed Barry Manilow’s Copacabana, and selected Five Foot Two, Eyes Of Blue for his encore. The audience made their way home in the certain knowledge that they had been in the company of yet another fine entertainer.
21 JULY 2022
The Club’s July concert featured ELIZABETH HARRISON from near Preston in Lancashire, making her sixth appearance at Weyhill. The warm evening possibly dissuaded a few people from attending, in which case they missed a most enjoyable concert, with an excellent selection of music, interspersed with interesting tales of some of Elizabeth’s numerous interests.
Appropriately perhaps, considering the high temperature, the evening began with You’ve Got Your Troubles – a 60s hit for The Fortunes – followed by There Will Never Be Another You(a Harry Warren composition), utilising the theatre organ sound, and Now I Know, with the authentic James Last style and sound. Elizabeth then announced that she had recently been appointed to the Blackpool Tower Wurlitzer team – only the sixth lady to have received the honour – and continued by playing a traditional medley associated with the familiar sound of that instrument. The Carpenters were represented by This Masquerade, recorded in 1973, before a Big Band number titled Skyliner was performed.
A tango serenade, Bella, Bella Marie, provided another variation before the scene moved to Scotland for an orchestral version of Loch Lomond, with the inevitable inclusion of the sound of bagpipes. Another familiar medley of songs – including The Streets of London, Raining in My Heart, Magic Moments and Pennies from Heaven – left sufficient time for the Latin American tune, The Karaoke.
The music continued after the interval with the Andy Williams hit, Can’t Take My Off You, followed by a rarely-heard Dionne Warwick number, Yesterday I Heard the Rain (but not in Weyhill for several weeks!). A change in style was achieved with a march – Sons of the Brave – after which Elizabeth performed a Frank Sinatra number, You Make Me Feel So Young, before launching into a medley of well-known tunes in Wurlitzer style, accompanied by a little singing from the audience. Adele’s popular ballad, Make You Feel My Love was played in a slow Bossa Nova tempo whilst Irving Berlin’s Cheek to Cheek provided a mix of Big Band and orchestral sounds. Dionne Warwick was re-introduced – always a welcome addition to a concert – by way of I’ll Never Love This Way Again and a Bert Kaempfert hit, Zambesi, provided another memory of the early 60s.
Henry Mancini’s composition, I’m Always Chasing Rainbows, preceded an Edmundo Ros tango, La Rosita, and The More I See You (Chris Montez). The evening had reached an all-too-soon conclusion … but not before Elizabeth had made time for an encore with We”ll Meet Again. Her sixth concert at Weyhill – and possibly her best to date.
16 JUNE 2022
Guest artiste for the June concert was the popular TONY STACE from Northallerton, making his seventh appearance for the Club, attracting one of the best attendances since the Covid lockdown. As is always the case with Tony, the audience received full value for money as over fifty different tunes were included in his programme.
The evening began in lively fashion with the Jockey Polka (Josef Strauss), followed by a medley of hits from the 60s – including Devil Woman (Marty Robbins), Puppet on a String (Sandie Shaw), In the Summertime (Mungo Jerry) and Spanish Flea (Herb Alpert) – before another Polka, this one a combined Josef and Johann Strauss II composition titled Pizzicato Polka. Tony then introduced Holiday for Organs – a challenging piece composed by Harold Smart – which he had played to win a competition at the age of fourteen. He then performed a well-received selection of hits from The Carpenters; undoubtedly, everyone could recall such popular tunes everyone could recall such popular tunes as Only Yesterday, Sing, Close To You, Jambalaya and Top of the World.
In recognition of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee year, Tony then performed a couple of Winifred Atwell numbers – the Jubilee Rag and the Coronation Rag – before switching to light Classical mode with Romance (from The Gadfly), a Shostakovich composition, the Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana (Mascagni) and Borodin’s Nocturne. Tuba Tune (C S Lang) was next to feature and, as the interval approached, Tony employed the Theatre Organ sound to play a familiar medley, consisting of Fascination, Always, Answer Me, Boo Hoo, Bye Bye Blackbird, Lucky Day and Baby Face.
The second half opened with a trio of waltzes – Petite Waltz, First Waltz and Cuckoo Waltz – followed by a popular 70s selection, including I Can’t Give You Anything But My Love (The Stylistics), We Don’t Talk Anymore (Cliff Richard), Nobody Does it Like Me (Shirley Bassey), Clair (Gilbert O’Sullivan) and Video Killed the Radio Star (The Buggles). A change of style, by way of Sousa’s Stars and Stripes March, preceded a selection of Tom Jones hits – A Boy from Nowhere, I’ll Never Fall in Love Again, Help Yourself and It’s Not Unusual.
Louis Clark, an English music arranger, was best know for his work with the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) and Hooked on Classics, the latter being a successful fusion of Classical and Rock music involving the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Tony based the next part of his programme on this format, performing a selection of Tchaikovsky Classical pieces. The collection included Swan Lake, Dance of the Reed Flutes, Romeo and Juliet Fantasy, Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy and the Chinese Dance (from the Nutcracker Suite). As a fan of the late Klaus Wunderlich, Tony paid tribute to the maestro by playing a selection of his recordings – The Lion Sleeps Tonight, I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing and Son of my Father.
The evening began with a polka – and Tony opted to conclude proceedings with a polka – his selection being titled Hot Points Polka. However, he had pre-empted the inevitable encore and had set aside a number of tunes which, the audience was informed, were particular favourites of Her Majesty. The varied selection consisted of Praise, My Soul, The King of Heaven, The Lord Is My Shepherd, The White Cliffs of Dover, Leaning On a Lamp Post, Milanollo (Coldstream Guards Regimental March), Oklahoma and Land of Hope and Glory …….. a suitable finale to a thoroughly entertaining evening!
19 MAY 2022
Guest performer for the May concert was BRETT WALES from Nottingham, making his ninth appearance for the Club … ‘appearance’ being the operative word as he stepped on to the stage, wearing a confusingly colourful jacket! However, the concert began in a poignant manner as Brett remarked upon the sad death, just two days earlier, of the iconic Greek composer Vangelis. Although the talented musician was perhaps better known for his film theme ‘Chariots of Fire’, Brett decided to perform another of his compositions Conquest of Paradise as his personal tribute.
A medley then followed, consisting of On The Street Where You Live (from ‘My Fair Lady’),Mack The Knife (originally the ‘Theme from The Threepenny Opera’) and the Perry Como hit, And I Love You So. A drumbeat rhythm heralded the arrival of Africa, a big hit for the American rock band Toto, before Brett introduced – in complete contrast – Puccini’s aria O Mio Babbino Caro (Oh My Beloved Father).Since a very young age, Brett has been a fan of the late German keyboard player Klaus Wunderlich and it was therefore appropriate that he should introduce a medley of songs in a similar style, including More and I Could Have Danced All Night. Perhaps such a concert would be incomplete without the familiar sound of Abba – Knowing Me, Knowing You was selected on this occasion – before another film theme, Hans Zimmer’s Pirates of the Caribbean. With the interval approaching, Brett’s music then turned to the theatre world with Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera, whilst the pop music genre was represented by Take on Me (A-ha) and Romeo (a lesser-known Petula Clark song of the early 60s).
Brett returned to the stage for the second half, wearing a ‘Mr Blue Sky’ suit (with a few fluffy clouds) and resumed the entertainment with a Rock’n’Roll selection – such as This Ole House and Rock Around the Clock, prior to providing another dramatic change of mood, by way of Mozart’s Rondo Alla Turca, followed by Khachaturian’s lively Sabre Dance. It was at this point in proceedings that he proudly announced he had become a grandfather for the first time, at the beginning of April, and dedicated his next piece – Roy Orbison’s delightful ballad, A Love So Beautiful, to his wife and young grandson.
Rock band Queen was next to feature, with It’s a Kinda Magic, followed by André Rieu’s arrangement of In A Persian Market (Ketèlbey), augmented by orchestral strings. The wide variation of music continued with Folsom Prison Blues (Johnny Cash, The Sound of Silence (Simon and Garfunkel) and Can’t Help Falling In Love (Elvis Presley), a song which always seems to have the audience joining in. The evening had passed so swiftly but Brett still found sufficient time – and energy – to take on the challenge of Rimsky Korsakov’s Flight of the Bumblebee, concluding, most fittingly, with the beating sound of ELO’s Mr Blue Sky. Quite understandably, the audience called for an encore and Brett duly responded with Duelling Banjos, a blue grass tune from the film ‘Deliverance’.
A member of the audience remarked, “We could not have had a better evening if we had gone to a top London show. The friends who came with us said what a wonderful concert it had been. We hope we get to see Brett again in the future.”
21 APRIL 2022
The Club’s April concert welcomed the return of CHRIS JONES from Orpington in Kent, making his fourth appearance for the Club. The most notable feature of the entertainment was the extensive variety of music performed, covering so many different genres and styles.
Chris opened with a medley of show tunes including ‘Hello Dolly’, ‘Stepping Out With My Baby’ and ‘Putting On The Ritz’, followed by the television and film themes for Miss Marple and The Railway Children. ‘Wheels Cha Cha’ preceded ‘Sleepy Shores’ (the theme for the 70s televison series Owen MD) and a well-prepared and realistic version of ‘The Belgian Detective’ the theme for ITV’s Poirot. Further changes of style came in the form of a march titled ‘Imperial Echoes’ – popular with many military bands – and ‘Entry of The Gladiators’ (frequently used as a circus theme). The tempo slowed for ‘Twilight Time, recorded by The Platters, and ‘If I Only Had Time’, a worldwide hit for New Zealander John Rowles. Fans of ice skating would automatically recall Torvill and Dean’s brilliant 1982 World Championship victory as Chris played the memorable ‘Mack and Mabel’ tune but few will have previously heard his next selection, titled ‘Tyrolean Whistler’.
The occasion of the Queen’s 96th birthday, coinciding with the date of the concert, was duly recognised by Chris – not only by his Union Jack tie and socks (!) but by his final medley of the first half, consisting of music from the four countries of the United Kingdom and concluding with ‘Land Of Hope And Glory’.
Suitably refreshed by the 30-minute interval, Chris returned to the stage to perform a Rock’n’Roll medley, including ‘Rock Around The Clock’ (Bill Haley) and ‘Oh Boy’ (Buddy Holly), before introducing ‘If I Ruled The World’, a song from the musical Mr Pickwick, for which Harry Secombe was famed. The Eurovision Song Contest was represented by ‘Save Your Kisses For Me’ – the Brotherhood Of Man winner for the UK in 1975 – whilst a well-loved Classical composition, Massenet’s ‘Meditation’, was performed with the associated violin sound. Continuing the variation, the next piece of music to feature was ‘By The Sleepy Lagoon’ (the theme for the BBC Radio programme Desert Island Discs), remarkably produced by the very same composer responsible for ‘The Dambusters March’, namely Eric Coates.
Chris then performed a Big Band medley, followed by a selection of songs from The King And I, before the audience was encouraged to participate in a trio of lively songs – ‘Deep In The Heart Of Texas’. ‘Amarillo’ and ‘Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da’. In another change of tempo, he then played ‘Someone To Watch Over Me’ and ‘Time After Time’ before a sing-along collection and a further variation with ‘You’re The Cream In My Coffee’ and ‘Yes Sir, That’s My Baby’ (in Dixieland style). The evening had reached it’s conclusion, except for the customary encore, for which Chris selected a couple of songs from the show Annie Get Your Gun – ‘Doing What Comes Naturally’ and ‘I Got The Sun In The Morning’.
17 MARCH 2022
Another good attendance at Weyhill’s Fairground Hall welcomed ANDREW NIX, from Selby in North Yorkshire, for the March concert – and the audience was rewarded with an enjoyable and entertaining evening. A well-chosen and varied selection of music, combined with Andrew’s cheeky humour, ensured that everyone went home afterwards in a happy and contented mood.
The concert opened with the ‘Tenth Regiment March’ (‘Death Or Glory’), as featured in the 1996 comedy-drama film, ‘Brassed Off’, followed in complete contrast by Bob Dylan’s 1997 composition, ‘Make You Feel My Love’, as more recently made popular by Adele. Music recorded by The Shadows was next to be played – such tunes as ‘The Savage’, ‘Theme For Young Lovers’, ‘Let Me Be The One’ (with which the Group represented the UK – gaining second place – in the 1975 Eurovision Song Contest), ‘Wonderful Land’ and ‘Riders In The Sky’ (this particular song evoking a few ‘Yippie-yi-o, Yippie-yi-yays’, at the appropriate time, from the back of the hall!
Andrew then introduced the much-loved tune, ‘Highland Cathedral’ – commonly associated with Scotland, although composed by two German musicians in 1982 – followed by a selection of popular songs recorded by The Carpenters: ‘Sing A Song’, ‘We’ve Only Just Begun’ and ‘Top Of The World’. The haunting sound of the pan pipes could be heard for James Last’s well-known composition, ‘A Morning In Cornwall’, before a medley of tunes with a ‘smiling’ theme – ‘You’re Never Fully Dressed Without A Smile’ (from the musical, ‘Annie’), Charlie Chaplin’s ‘Smile’ and ‘When You’re Smiling’. Then, to round off the first half, Andrew performed a familiar Samba, ‘Amor, Amor, Amor’ (as recorded by, among others, Julio Iglesias and Dean Martin).
With everyone suitably refreshed, the second half began in recognition of St Patrick’s Day – with Andrew performing a selection of Irish songs – ‘Londonderry Air’ (‘Danny Boy’), ‘When Irish Eyes Are Smiling’, ‘If You’re Irish’ and a traditional Irish jig. Andrew followed this with a medley associated with James Bond films: ‘The Main Theme’ preceding ‘Live And Let Die’ and ‘You Only Live Twice’. A quartet of tunes from the 60s and 70s proved to be popular with the audience, the titles being ‘Telstar’ (The Tornados), ‘Walk, Don’t Run’ (The Ventures), ‘Rockin’ All Over The World’ (Status Quo) and ‘YMCA’ (Village People) – as did a medley of Beatles’ numbers – ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand’, ‘Norwegian Wood’, ‘Ticket To Ride’ and ‘Let It Be’.
Andrew then challenged the audience to determine the connection between the following pieces – assuming, of course, that the titles could be identified – ‘Take Five’ (Dave Brubeck), ‘It’s Four In The Morning’ (Faron Young), ‘Three Coins In The Fountain’ (from the film of the same name), ‘You’ve Got To Pick A Pocket Or Two’ (from ‘Oliver’) and the emotive ‘One Moment In Time’ (Whitney Houston).
All too soon, finale-time had arrived, for which another selection of popular songs were performed – ‘I Saw Her Standing There’ and ‘With A Little Help From My Friends’ (both recordings by The Beatles), ‘Do You Want To Know A Secret’ (Billy J Kramer), ‘How Do You Do It’ (Gerry & The Pacemakers), ‘I’m Telling You Now’ (Freddie & The Dreamers) and ‘Save The Last Dance For Me’ (The Drifters) – whilst a lively Latin American selection provided a suitable encore.
17 FEBRUARY 2022
Following the inclusion of an excellent percussionist in the January concert, the Club once again dispelled the perception that it’s all about ‘organ’ music by engaging the services of pianist, SIMON WOODLEY, for the February event. In fact, the monthly entertainment usually involves versatile electronic keyboards, occasionally complemented by vocals and a little comedy, so this was yet another successful venture.
Performing on his digital piano, Simon enthralled the audience with his faultless playing and his range of music, especially with the Classical pieces he included in his programme. The attendance of 91 – the best since the concerts resumed in October – was very satisfying, and the music even more so, beginning with The Sound Of Music Overture, followed by a selection of songs from the musical, and concluding with Climb Every Mountain.
The first example of Simon’s obvious love of Classical music was Debussy’s Arabesque, after which the audience was invited to name the films that included the themes he then proceeded to play: these included Tara’s Theme from the film ‘Gone With The Wind’, the main theme from Ladies in Lavender and the Warsaw Concerto from ‘Dangerous Moonlight’. The Beatles song, Here Comes The Sun, was next to feature, followed by a Mozart Piano Concerto and a medley of George Gershwin songs – Someone to Watch Over Me, Embraceable You and I Got Rhythm – and all too soon, the first half had ended.
The second half opened in similar fashion to the first, with songs from a well-known musical, in this case ‘My Fair Lady’ – featuring On The Street Where You Live, Wouldn’t It Be Loverly and I Could Have Danced All Night. Simon then introduced Beethoven’s beautiful Moonlight Sonata before performing the Love Theme from The Godfather (subsequently lyricised into Speak Softly, Love and recorded by Andy Williams). Another Classical piece presented to the audience was Edvard Grieg’s Wedding Day at Troldhaugen,followed, in complete contrast, by Elton John’s Your Song.
Re-engaging the audience by asking for the names of favourite musicals, Simon proceeded to play a song selected from each, commencing with Oh What A Beautiful Morning from ‘Oklahoma’ and continuing with On My Own from ‘Les Miserables’, Maria from ‘West Side Story’, Some Enchanted Evening from ‘South Pacific’ and Singing In The Rain from the musical of the same name. Minds were then turned towards Italy as Simon performed Come Back To Sorrento (a Dean Martin favourite), La Bohème, Cavalleria Rusticana and O Sole Mio (with the audience amusingly singing along with words associated with ice cream!).
Regretfully, time for the finale had arrived, for which the Waltz Of The Flowers from Tchaikovsky’s ‘The Nutcracker’ was chosen. However, there was no way that Simon could be allowed to leave the stage until he had played the customary encore – on this occasion, Scott Joplin’s ragtime theme The Entertainer from the film titled ‘The Sting’. Undoubtedly, the concert had been a great success, certainly justifying the decision to introduce entertainment that was a little different – and an evening in the presence of a very talented and dedicated musician.
20 JANUARY 2022
Everyone who braved the bitterly cold weather to attend the Club’s January concert was very well rewarded with an evening of top class entertainment. The rare inclusion of a superb percussionist to supplement the skills of an extremely talented and experienced keyboardist did not disappoint – in fact, the combination drew the wholehearted approval of the entire audience. MICHAEL WOOLDRIDGE, from Littlehampton, was the keyboard player, making his eighth appearance for the Club, whilst GARETH THOMPSON, from Camden in North West London, provided ideal accompaniment with his array of drums and other accoutrements.
Michael opened the concert and, after performing The Blue Danube (Johann Strauss II), introduced Gareth, who immediately demonstrated his capabilities with a strong contribution to the performance of The St Louis Blues March in the style of the Glenn Miller Band. The duo continued with a medley of Miller’s popular tunes – At Last, Little Brown Jug, In The Mood and Moonlight Serenade.
An apt reminder of the season was Snow Coach (composed by Trevor Stanford, alias Russ Conway), followed by Mornings At Seven (James Last) and Pop Goes Bach (the theme for the TV ‘Ski Sunday’ programme. Love Me Or Leave Me was played to a cha-cha rhythm, before Michael introduced a couple of songs – Somewhere Over The Rainbow and Blue Skies – utilising the theatre organ sound. Eric Delaney’s Hornpipe Boogie gave Gareth another opportunity to shine, whilst Michael introduced the Classic Organ sound to perform the BBC Songs Of Praise theme and a selection of Gospel songs in Hammond style. The first half ended with a tribute to the late John Miles with a performance of his well-known 70s hit, simply titled Music.
The second part of the concert began in rhythmic style – Fascinating Rhythm and George Gershwin’s I Got Rhythm – before Michael introduced the Bluest Kind Of Blues (Django Reinhardt), for which he utilised the xylophone sound. Sing, Sing (Benny Goodman) gave Gareth another opportunity for a stirring drum solo before, in complete contrast, Michael took the audience into the world of opera with Giacomo Puccini’s O Mio Babbino Caro, followed by Funiculi, Funicula – a Neapolitan song written to commemorate the opening of the first funicular cable car on Mount Vesuvius – with the sound of Gareth’s drums to the fore.
In a lighter vein, the audience enjoyed a selection of Disney songs, including such familiar numbers as Chim Chim Cher-ee, Heigh Ho, I Wanna Be Like You and When I Wish Upon A Star. Michael then played a rarely-heard song, Midnight, The Stars And You (used in Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 film ‘The Shining’). The tone changed once again for Sleigh Ride, with a little audience participation – and, of course, Gareth with his jingling bells! The two performers combined for their finale, with a medley of Elvis Presley hits – including Blue Suede Shoes, Hound Dog, Wooden Heart, Can’t Help Falling In Love, and the emotive showstopper, American Trilogy.
Such was the acclaim of the audience that a request for an encore could not be denied – for which Billy Joel’s lively Root Beer Rag was chosen – and performed with much gusto Yet another successful and very enjoyable evening was completed, demonstrating once again that the word ‘organ’ in the Club’s title is hardly appropriate.
16 DECEMBER 2021
Despite the unwelcome advent of the Omicron variant, the attendance at the December concert was only slightly below that of the November event. In such uncertain times it was pleasing that a very good number visited the Weyhill Fairground Hall to welcome STEVE HUBBLE, from Broadmayne in Dorset, to perform the Club’s Christmas-themed concert.
Steve, who was making his fifth appearance at Weyhill, provided a delightful and varied selection of music throughout the evening, concentrating his Christmas selections in the second half of the concert. The performance was opened by the distinctive voice of Richard Burton, introducing Jeff Wayne’s Eve Of The War (from War Of The Worlds). This was followed by the ever-popular Wind Beneath My Wings (a Bette Midler hit) and the late Glen Campbell’s Wichita Lineman.
A change of style was then introduced by way of George Gershwin’s ‘S Wonderful and a Joe Loss Cha Cha titled Poppa Yo Quero, before a Swing number, Sway, in the style of Michael Bublé. Then, arguably, came the highlight of the evening, at least judging by the applause ….. Somewhere (Bernstein and Sondheim) from West Side Story, for which Steve utilised Barbra Streisand’ arrangement.
Big Band music was represented by Splanky, in the style of Count Basie, before Steve demonstrated his love of John Barry’s compositions by performing the theme from Dances With Wolves. To bring the first half to a close, the audience was entertained with three more tunes: The Look Of Love (Burt Bacharach), The Impossible Dream (from the musical Man Of La Mancha) and New York, New York (a well-known hit for Frank Sinatra).
After the interval, Steve accompanied the audience with a few traditional Christmas carols before continuing with a wide-ranging medley of popular festive tunes, too many to mention but most of which were easily recognisable. However, two tunes could possibly be deemed unfamiliar, namely the theme Somewhere In My Memory from the film Home Alone and Barry Manilow’s Because It’s Christmas, both of which were well received. For his finale, Steve played a few more carols and, although the concert had gone over time everyone stayed to hear an inevitable encore – O Holy Night, as performed by Celine Dion.
Steve certainly made sure the audience had an excellent start to the Christmas period, and it is hoped that the excellent standard of entertainment would be allowed to continue into 2022.
18 NOVEMBER 2021
Another good attendance of around the 80 mark greeted guest artiste MATTHEW BASON from Kettering at the November concert – and a successful evening was filled with a varied selection of musical entertainment. Not only did the audience hear performances on electronic keyboard, but also on electronic piano and accordion, as well as a few vocals.
Matthew opened the show on his electronic keyboard with The Best Of Times Is Now (from the musical La Cage Aux Folles) followed by In Love For The Very First Time (from the film An Alligator Named Daisy). The music continued with Three Times A Lady (a hit for Lionel Richie) and No Matter What (from Whistle Down The Wind). After a performance of the Chorus Of The Hebrew Slaves (from the opera Nabucco) Matthew moved over to the electronic piano to perform a feline-based medley of tunes, including Memory (from the musical Cats), The Alley Cat Song and Hold That Tiger. The audience was then able to sample another of Matthew’s talents as he sang Oklahoma and Fly Me To The Moon, completing the first half with the rapid Circus Renz on piano.
After the break, the entertainment resumed with Twelfth Street Rag, performed on keyboard. Matthew then picked up his accordion to perform a selection of lively polkas before returning to his keyboard to play a medley of pop songs – such as YMCA, Can’t Stop The Music (both Village People numbers), Tragedy (Bee Gees) and Beautiful Sunday (Daniel Boone). In complete contrast, the next piece of music was Ennio Morricone’s beautiful theme, Gabriel’s Oboe (from the film, The Mission). Misty and Lady In Red were performed in a laid-back style, followed by the dramatic Nessun Dorma (from the opera Turandot). As the evening drew to a close, another vocal – Bring Him Home, from Les Misérables – was very well received, before the piano was again employed for Nut Rocker and the ever-popular Radetzky March, with the audience clapping along.
21 OCTOBER 2021
Considering it had been twenty months since the Club’s previous concert, the attendance of 85 on its return to action was a pleasant surprise. Guest performer was PHIL BROWN from Derby, who provided the audience with an evening of varied music on his multi-electronic keyboards – an ideal resumption of entertainment that had obviously been missed by many people.
The music began with Jeff Wayne’s War of the Worlds, followed by James Last’s arrangement of Beethoven’s Romance for Violin and Orchestra and The Second Waltz (Shostakovich). The tempo increased withDizzy Fingers before Phil performed a Scottish medley, consisting of theSkye Boat Song, Mull of Kintyre and Amazing Grace, followed by a Latin American selection – Amor, Amorada, El Cumbanchero,Mas Que Nada and Brazil.
Puccini’s O Mio Babbino Caro provided another Classical piece, in complete contrast to the next item – the theme to the Spaghetti Western film, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (composed by Ennio Morricone). The first half of the concert was completed with Mornings at Seven (James Last) and a collection of five well-known marches – Blaze Away, Washington Post, Funiculi Funicula, 633 Squadron and the Dambusters March.
After a 30-minute break, the second half commenced with a medley of pop songs, including Amarillo (with audience partition), I Only Want To Be With You, Sugar Sugar, Rivers of Babylon, Rhinestone Cowboy and Never Can Say Goodbye. A selection of romantic songs was then introduced, comprising such favourites as Love Letters, My Foolish Heart, Unforgettable, When I Fall in Love, Theme to Love Story and Unchained Melody. Another film theme followed, by way of The Great Escape, and Phil continued with Time Is Tight (a hit recording for Booker T & The MGs) and Verdi’s Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves, from the opera Nabucco.
Further variation was provided by a mix of familiar Rock‘n’Roll tunes, such as Rock Around the Clock, This Ole House, Green Door and See You Later Alligator. The ‘magic’ of the keyboard instrument was then demonstrated with a pedal and drum solo – the latter being performed through the electronic keyboard. The evening had passed all too quickly but Phil was happy to perform a couple of encores – firstly, the delightful theme from the film Missing (Vangelis) and the faster tempo of Circus Renz.
Phil commented that he was so pleased with all the comments he had received during the interval and at the end of the concert. It was certainly a great way to resume the entertainment at the Fairground Hall after such a lengthy delay.