2024 REVIEW ...
The high point of the year was our sell out concert on the 14th of July at Milton Ernest Garden Centre. We were celebrating the 80th Anniversary of Glenn Miller’s first concert in the UK. The weather was perfect, we had vintage vehicles, dancers, stalls, the lot. The band and singers Katherine Mclean and Mel Peake were all on fine form and it was an honour to play Miller’s music within earshot of Milton Ernest Hall.
Sadly, this was to be Mel's final appearance with the band, when following a short and unexpected illness we tragically lost him. Many of you will remember our many projects together. Sinatra at the Sands, when we recreated the 1966 concert with Count Basie was a particular favourite of mine, but Mel was equally at home with the music of Elvis Presley, Tom Jones and many more. In 2023 he appeared on ITV’s Starstruck as part of “Team Tom (Jones)”. The band were so proud to have played a small part in his Video for that show, which we recorded at Bedford and County Golf Club. Mel was more than just our singer. He was our friend, our front man and so we felt it necessary to cancel our annual “Party on the Green” at the Golf Club. RIP Mel, we all miss you.
The show must go on, and the band returned to the stage on October 3rd to perform a concert at Sharnbrook Mill Theatre. This was our first theatre date since covid and our first performance without Mel. It was an emotional event, but one we all thoroughly enjoyed and given the opportunity, we look forward to repeating it in 2025.
We finished the year in style, with our annual Christmas Concert at Bedford and County Golf Club. A capacity audience enjoyed our seasonal selection which included our pièce de resistance, Les Brown’s version of “The Nutcracker”
NEW FOR 2025 …
This year will see the long overdue return of our themed concerts. The proceeds from these events have funded the band since it was formed 27 years ago. Covid brought the concerts, and the funding, to an end in March 2020, and the cost of restarting them with no guarantees that audiences would return was a risk we could not afford to take. Bedford and County Golf Club, who already provide us with the very best rehearsal facilities, have come to our rescue by generously allowing us the use of their fantastic facilities to relaunch these events in a cabaret setting. All we need now, is your support.
Collectively rebranded as "STT Clubhouse Thursdays", the first concert will be on Thursday 20th March when we will be presenting “An Evening with Count Basie and Ella Fitzgerald” You can book tickets online (see below).
For everyone who enjoyed our Glenn Miller anniversary on the front lawn at Milton Ernest Garden Centre last year, we will be returning once again on Sunday 20th of July with a “1940’s Day” celebration. Tickets are available on this site.
Finally, we will shortly be releasing the date for our 2025 “Party on the Green” here at the Golf Club. Watch this space….
