2006

PRE XMAS – As well as performing down the local church at a festive service with all the children taking part and also singing at the Colchester’s Rotary clubs Christmas dinner, we travelled up to Dronfield to take part in Glyn Maddens Xmas show which he holds annually to raise money for the local church. A full house enjoyed a great evening of music and Christmas song.

DEC 9TH – THE HELEN ROLLASON HEAL CANCER CHARITY – For the 2nd year running Angie was invited to be a special guest at their Winter Ball. This year it was held at The Intercontinental Hotel, Park Lane. The event was supported by the charity’s patron KBE the Lord Coe and plenty of other celebrities. The one thing we have learnt over the last 2 years is that the London hotels are truly special and this particular Charity really do know how to make a difference.

EARLY DEC – A trip over to Wales for a concert at the Slave Organ club, very bad weather was evened up by a warm reception and a good night was enjoyed by all. A big thanks to Tony & Margaret from the club for putting us up. Next it was a return trip to Little Burstead’s golf club to play for their Lady’s Xmas dinner, including the usual wine activities the evening turned out full of song as usual.

ANGIE’S XMAS SHOW – It had been 2 years since we last done a local Xmas show and the scene was set to be a full house and a really good night, and we were not wrong. During Pre-show we run 2 slide shows on big screen of our travels over 2005 & 2006, this created a lot of interest and started the evening off with a difference. With the stage decorated up to maximum Xmas effect Angie started the show in her normal Show Business Style. During both halves and all coming together for the finale Angie introduced 4 of her Vocal pupils to the stage for a chance to gain some audience experience, Jemma, Nichole, Lizzie and Virginia won the audience over with their charming ways and Angie promised they would be back at a future date. As well as introducing some of her songs that she will be moving onto with the country show and some Xmas music of course she delighted the audience with classics such as Nessun Dorma. All in all it was a 2 year wait but well worth it.

NOV 21ST / 24TH – “YOURS” Magazine holds varied LIVE events through the year and Angie was invited to take part in the recent one to promote her new CD as well as perform a couple of special guest slots at the event. It was held at the Butlins holiday camp, Bognor Regis. Together with other performers such as Mike Pender’s Searchers, Lionel Blair and the cast of “Mad About the Musicals” Angie performed for the first time on the main stage where 14 years ago she won a holiday princess competition. The audience really liked her act and she is looking forward to performing at more of the “YOURS” events.

NOV – Four organ clubs including a return trip to Weston (Whitton in West London) and first time visits to Wolverhampton, Verwood and Milton Keynes. It’s also the time of year for Christmas roadsows and light switch on’s. BBC Essex invited Angie to Chelmsford & Southend to take part in the proceedings. The day after it was are own turn in Colchester and Angie played and Sang a selection of festive songs outside the town hall to a high street full of people.

NOV 8TH – ANGIE’S 1ST COMMERCIAL ALL VOCAL CD LAUNCHED AT VIRGIN RECORDS, Brevan records of Colchester approached Angie to record a CD which captures the best of Musical theatre, Classical and a bit of Jazz. The result is a CD with 20 tracks available from Virgin records across the UK called “If They Could See Me Now” A big thank you to Ivan Trusler from the records company for his support.

THE STAGE – Angie took part in one of the industry’s biggest Show Cases called Showcall organised by the Stage paper. It was a 4 days event held in Bedworth which gives acts from all over the country a chance to perform for major bookers from all areas of the business.

OCT – Angie played her first concert in Europe, Jackie Rubi invited Angie to her Hammond Museum to perform a concert on a Yamaha Electronic organ in Orgelsurium, Zurich in Switzerland. This is a popular venue for artists to be invited to, playing a wide range of varied music. Next was a trip to Kirby In Ashfield to play for the Sutton & District organ society where Angie had a surprise visitor. Bonnie Knowles who performed with Angie in the “Stars In Their Eyes” final 2005 as Shakira came with her family to watch the show. One of Angie’s fan club member’s organised a charity event at the Methodist church in Lowestoft which was a huge success raising nearly £400, Angie played her usual set which was loved by all.

LATE SEPT – Four more organ Societies this month were St. Austell and Bideford where the camping gear came out again, weather ok apart from very windy on the last night (thought we were going to lose the tent). Followed by East Herts which was a great venue and a huge effort by the club to make the stage nice and also we had a return trip to Swale in Sittingbourne, Kent. September was finished off with a concert at Silver End not far from home organised by Bryon Coomer one of Angie’s fan club members. Bryon helps Angie where he can with some sponsorship towards her own variety shows at the West Cliff theatre in Clacton.

MID SEPT – A trip down to Porchester nr Portsmouth to play a charity concert for the Gurka Welfare Trust on a very hot Sunday afternoon, it was a good turn out despite the heat which made it well worth while. A harvest supper held at Fryening invited Angie to play at their local event, it was a very cosy setting with some great food to go with it, thanks for the hospitality.

SEPT 1ST / 4TH – A very busy weekend to start off September, on the Friday night was Angie’s brother Shane’s 16th birthday party, held at the Brightlingsea community centre a mixture of bands plus some rock disco took to the stage including Angie’s show band and Shane’s own band called Riot. Saturday Angie joined the South Wooden Ferrers male voice choir and the Essex Police band for a concert for the Rotary club of Chelmsford, she had her own solo slot in each half of the program and was greatly received. Sunday it was down to Peacehaven nr. Brighton to play for John Pyarts 60th birthday, together with fellow performer Ian Griffin it was a good night. John was in the audience at the Lyme bay festival where Angie and Ian both played earlier in the year. Monday was back on the organ circuit again to play for the Shirley Club in Beckingham

AUG – A return trip to Colchester organ society was first which is only a 15 minute drive away. A nearly full house enjoyed Angie’s music and of coarse her singing, as to them she is their local girl. Something with a difference was next for Angie as she enjoyed a music and vocal workshop at Loughborough University, meeting new friends and experiencing what student life was like. The week ended with a stage performance of Titanic which was very interesting and different from the film. Our second mini summer tour was next as we made our way down to Melksham to play for their club. The venue was huge and everyone made us really welcome, special effort was made in making the stage look really nice. We stayed at a campsite just up the road at a place called Lacock, the village was something really special. We found out at that Lacock Abbey was used in parts of the Harry Potter films and the village was also used to film Pride & Prejudice and Moll Flanders. The second leg of our trip took us back for a return visit to Riddings & Leabrooks club in Derbyshire. The first time we went in 2004 we were rained on and this time was even worse with storms as well while we were trying to set our camping gear up. Still the concert was good and at least we had a dry night. All good fun I suppose.

JUL 29TH – “LAST NIGHT OF THE PROMS” The last weekend in July is the time when Colchester has it’s Party In The Park. It is made up of 2 nights of contrasting music, on the Friday night it is the rock night where tribute bands to Abba, Madness & Queen take to the stage. On the Saturday night it is a classical night, and this years line up included Angie as the special guest star. She had a solo slot between the Orchestra’s and entertained the crowd for around 25mins with songs such as Nessen Dorma and Time To Say Goodbye. The night was rounded off with Land Of Hope And Glory, Flag waving and a huge firework display. A big thank you to Don Quinn and everyone involved with the Snake in the Grass team who organised the event.

JULY – 3 organ society’s during a really hot period, firstly down to Sidmouth to play for the East Devon club, a lovely part of the coast line including Seaton & a lovely little fishing village called Beer. Because of the distance we decided to camp over which is always an adventure depending on the weather. On the way back home on the third day we had a return visit to the East London club at Wanstead, a very friendly bunch and we had a great night. Our next trip was also a return visit, this time it was up to Hull. A good size club in a nice venue, we were again kindly put up by Dolly and looked after. A cabaret evening at the Holiday Inn, Ipswich made a nice change, together with a local theatre group and a stand up comic. Angie headlined the evening with some lively tunes on the organ and some songs. A Sunday afternoon with a difference was next. Firstly a church service in which Angie, Brother Shane and Shane’s friend Josh played some up tempo hymns as part of the last Sunday School gathering for this term and was followed with a super buffet. In the afternoon Angie was asked to be the Empress at a Chariot Race event. It was part of a military weekend in Colchester.

JUN 29TH / 30TH – “Pirates Of Penzance” was the latest production put on by the Colchester Operatic Society. Performed at the Officer’s Club in Colchester Angie had her first main role as Mabel.
JUN 10TH – The Helen Rollason Cancer Appeal Trust Summer Ball – After appearing for the Trust at the Dorchester Hotel in London last year Angie was asked to sing at this years Summer Ball. It was held at the Portlands Hotel in Gt. Baddow, nr Chelmsford. Also appearing as compare and general entertainer was Michael J Fitch, It was ball gowns all round for a great evening especially after winning a week end for 2 in Monaco.

MAY / JUN – After the huge success of the variety show it was back to business as usual. An invitation by BBC Suffolk to sing at the famous Suffolk Show on their outside broadcasting stage made an interesting afternoon with other local performers. A Veterans re-union afternoon at Flixton’s aviation museum in Suffolk was next with a performance in one of the hangers amongst the aircraft. Concerts at Organ clubs and society’s including Boxhill, Sussex, Kent / East Sussex and Chelmsford were also taken in along the way.

MAY 20TH / 21ST – ANGIE’S VARIETY SHOW IS A REAL HIT. It was variety show time again for Angie and her cast to return to the West Cliff Theatre in Clacton. Together with special guests and Presenters Magician – Michael J Fitch, BBC Essex presenters – Steve Scruton and Ian Wyatt, Angie together with her especially selected cast put on a show fit for the West End Stage. The show was completely Produced, Directed and Choreographed by herself, with dance routines from Sweet Chariety, The Blues Brothers, Dirty Dancing, The Phantom Of The Opera, a Michael Jackson Set, Girls Aloud, Grease and a wonderful Rock and Roll finale. Angie’s musical ability was shown with her own style of Electronic Organ playing, plus her own show band, they played originals by Angie plus her friend Craig Sullivan who also gave the audience something to talk about with a superb Guitar solo in each show. To round the variety up was of course Angie’s solo vocal performance, with a selection of songs including I Could Have Danced All Night, On The Street Where You Live, Prima Donna, Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again and Nessen Dorma. A big thank you to everyone who supported the show, the crew at the West Cliff Theatre who were fab as usual, all the cast for their hard work, Michael J Fitch and wife Helen for also entertaining the audience with their special magic and illusions, Steve and Ian for their continued support in Angie’s career.

MAR / APR – This has been a very busy period this year with 6 first time visits to organ societies up and down the country, including Banstead, Warsop, Derby where we were kindly put up by Clive and Margaret Highfield, Hastings (Bexhill), Sutton Coldfield and Pinner a lovely village in London. Plus we had a return visit to Thanet always a good night. Once a year we go to Honing and Crosswright village hall to perform for the local people who always make us so very welcome, the following week end was a return to the Elizabeth Orwell Hotel in Felixstowe playing background piano in the restaurant. The last week end in March was all go again with a Cabaret evening for the Silver Threads club of Marks Tey, also including local performer and friend Vince Rayner. Saturday afternoon Angie sang at the Ramada hotel in Colchester for Mr Mullen’s 90th birthday. Sunday afternoon was another performance at the West Cliff Theatre in Clacton with Bob & Reg Young where on the 20th / 21st May she will be putting on her own variety show, ticket available from the box office 01255 433344. April 1ST was back with Vince performing a guest slot in his Cabaret evening. Basildon Rotary club asked Angie to perform after dinner at their annual charity dinner, together with Comedian Geoff Mackey a lovely evening was had by all held at the local Holiday Inn. Two more afternoon clubs were next, one for the Co-op club and one at Gt. Bromley. To help promote Angie’s big Varity show Colchester United who have just won their place in the Coca-Cola Championship next season invited her to sing before the game on Easter Monday attended by the Colchester Mayor and Mayoress. One more highlight of this period was a trip to Nottingham to visit fellow performer Brett Wales and his family, we had a great afternoon of music and song, thanks Brett.

MAR 7TH – Off to the seaside resort of Skegness to play at the Crown hotel for their Organ society. What a great venue and a really friendly club. Angie treated the members to a fantastic night of entertainment and as members of the committee said it was not just a concert but a musical journey. Also a big thank- you to the hotel management for the hospitality.

MAR 4TH – Chelmsford Cathedral was the venue to hold the regional final of the Rotary Young Musician of the Year. After all seven contestants had played their piece it was time for the judges to make a decision. Before the result was read Angie was one of three performers who all have had a long history in Rotary events to entertain. The winner who was a clarinettist will now go on to the national stage of the competition.

FEB 25TH – It was the Rotary club of Harlow’s 50TH year and to celebrate they had a lovely evening meal at Woodland’s (a local church). Angie provided the after dinner entertainment and a good crowd sang along and waved flags for a Land of Hope & Glory Finale

FEB 18TH / 19TH / 20TH – Another busy week-end started on the Saturday night at the Elizabeth Orwell Hotel in Felixstowe playing background piano in the restaurant, a very happy management invited Angie back for the following month. The Sunday afternoon was to sing at Wivenhoe Park Hotel, University of Essex for a 80TH Birthday party. On the Monday morning it was off to Redditch to play for their Organ Society, it was our 2ND visit but in a different venue. A good evening was enjoyed by all even though it was a really cold winter’s night.

FEB 10TH / 13TH – Lyme Bay Organ & Keyboard Festival. Twice a year there is a week-end festival at the seaside resort of Seaton. Players from all over the UK come together to entertain the resident audience who enjoy every minute. This particular festival was slightly aimed towards Singers as well so Angie was in her element. Playing for 50 minutes on the Sunday afternoon and singing some songs in the evening Cabarets Angie made lots of new friends and admirers. While we were there we also managed to get a great picture for the front cover of Angie’s new CD called “On The Move”. Just to round off a great week-end we stopped off at Stonehenge on the way home. A big thank you to Cled Griffin and family plus every one involved for making our stay very enjoyable.

JAN / EARLY FEB – 2006 Started with several performances at the Mercury Theatre in Colchester. Firstly Angie was asked by Illusionist Michael J Fitch to be a special guest in his magic show, using a large smoked filled compartment Michael turned himself into Angie and then she sang 2 Sarah Brightman numbers including Think Of Me which she sang on “Stars In Their Eyes”. After Angie had finished her performance she went into the same chamber and turned back into Michael. Michael J Fitch will be taking part in Angie’s Theatre show at the West Cliff, Clacton in May. Angie’s next performance at the Mercury was in “My Fair Lady” performed by the Colchester Operatic Society, this ran for 11 days and was a sell out on most nights