A while ago Hatfield soprano player Mike Kilmartin wanted to arrange a concert alongside some notable ‘legends’ of the banding world to help raise funds for the charity’s Breast Cancer Now and ‘Stephen’s Journey’.

The links are well known to the banding movement, with Mike able to contact Mark Walters, Alan Morrison, Steven Sykes and Kevin Holdgate to be featured in a wonderful event that eventually rose over £2,000.

Rousing

It opened with a rousing rendition of ‘Prismatic Life’, followed ‘Sing, Sing, Sing’ which featured Hatfield’s talented young percussionist, Joe Sykes.

The band was on excellent form all night, whilst the legends certainly lived up to their epithets: Mark, Alan, Steve and Kevin all rolling back the years, whilst in a wonderful surprise, Stephen Sykes delivered a sublime of ‘Stardust’, directed by his mother Jo, which brought the house down.

The band was on excellent form all night, whilst the legends certainly lived up to their epithets: Mark, Alan, Steve and Kevin all rolling back the years, whilst in a wonderful surprise, Stephen Sykes delivered a sublime of ‘Stardust’, directed by his mother Jo, which brought the house down.

Resonated

This was a night when the music resonated perfectly with the causes and personal circumstances: Mike Kilmartin’s arrangement of ‘Amazing Grace’, ‘I’ll Walk With God’, the signature tune for Boobs & Brass, the hymn tune ‘Manchester’ (which has raised nearly £2,000 itself for that particular fine cause) and ‘Nearer My God to Thee’, was music to raise spirits as well as see a tear or two come to the eye.

Humour

With some lovely humour interspersing the music and heartfelt reminiscences, some great ensemble features (including whiplash renditions of ‘The Acrobat’ and ‘12th Street Rag’) and some wonderful additional fund raising (tasty cakes, masterclass lessons, photography) it was a night of celebration all the way to ‘MacArthur Park’ and the encore ‘Don’t Stop Believing’.

It was a simply brilliant night for simply brilliant causes.

Margaret Curran