Rolling out the smiles

It all adds up to a joyous and unforgettable musical journey through a feast of nostalgia featuring more than 65 songs to keep you singing all the way home, Terry says.

“We have been running for 11 years - a show based on early musical memories. It’s as simple as that. We are just trying to put a smile on people’s faces.

“People sing along. The songs are incredibly familiar. People will know every word and they will sing along from the moment we come on until we go off. The songs are so familiar that they just go for it. We are just trying to give people a bit of a lift.

“We have a couple of musicians with us, and there are a lot of costume changes. It’s like an old-fashioned street scene, and the costumes tend to reflect the year that we are doing.

“I come from the east end of London. I spent my childhood growing up around the piano. We didn’t have a TV. We had a piano. It sounds a cliche, but that’s how it was.”

And that explains why the memories go so deep with people.

“We can sing I’ve Got A Lovely Bunch Of Coconuts and you see someone that looks like they have come straight off the docks in tears because it means so much to them.

“A lot of the songs are from the war years, before the war or after the war. It’s a very very emotive time full stop. If you didn’t experience it, I don’t think you could possibly imagine. My mum and dad went through it and they came out the other end very sold.

“We get some fantastic letters from people. It’s incredibly moving. We had one particular letter where the daughter had taken her father to the show. Two or three years before he had been very ill and he had not spoken a word since. I think he had had a stroke. But when he came to see the show he sat there and he sang every word. The music means that much to people.”

For over 10 years this popular and uplifting show has been delighting audiences with a wonderful mix of music and memories. Terry Bradford and Sussie Arvesen present