WESTON Brass received an emotional standing ovation from a packed Blakehay Theatre following their concert to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day.
On June 22 Weston Brass joined forces with the Royal British Legion at the Blakehay Theatre to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day.
Their presentation concert ‘D-Day 80’ used story, music, and song to tell the story of D-Day from the atmosphere in Britain before June 6, 1944, through to the journey to France, the fighting on the shores of Normandy, and the eventual liberation of northern France.
The story was brought to life by the superb Emma Britton, using first-hand accounts from those who were there.
The former BBC Radio Bristol presenter led the audience through an emotional journey evocatively brought to life by music from Weston Brass and poignant visual presentation.
Posting on Facebook, Emma said: “An event I will never forget… ‘D-Day 80’ presented by Weston Brass was an incredible evening. I was honoured to play the role of narrator.”
Accompanying the band was the wonderful Sally Holliday, aka Blitztime Sally, whose sultry voice added a truly authentic 1940s sound to the evening singing ‘It’s Only a Paper moon’ and ‘On the Sunny Side of the Street’. As a moment of reflection, the band premiered a new arrangement of music to accompany the words of the poem ‘On the Shores of Normandy’.
Originally written by Jim Radford who was aged just 15 when he served at D-Day, the poem was expertly read on the evening by 17-year-old Charlie Topp.
The band’s guest on the evening was The Mayor of Weston-Super-Mare, Cllr John Crockford-Hawley.
Writing on Facebook after the event, the Mayor said: “Weston Brass were on top form (great conducting and first-rate soloists).
“Emma Britton’s narrations, blitz time songs from Sally Holliday, and a moving poetic rendition from Charlie Topp added delightful variety to a thoroughly entertaining evening.”
The evening closed with Emma Britton’s narration concluding with the eventual liberation of northern France and the band leading a rousing audience sign-along of ‘Blue Birds Over the White Cliffs of Dover’ and ‘We’ll Meet Again’. The standing ovation from the audience was triggered by the emotional entrance from ex-servicemen from the Royal British Legion for a truly fitting finale.
A total of £166 was raised for the Royal British Legion on the evening.
Weston Brass will next be appearing at the Blakehay Theatre with their Christmas show, ‘Comfort & Joy’, on December 1. The show promises to provide a nostalgic look at British Christmas traditions. Tickets will be on sale at the Blakehay Theatre from July 22.
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