Tuesday 27 September 2016

Burt Kwouk Memorial

Another moving chapter in our adventures in Memorial singing... and this one a bit of a reunion...

This time the man to be celebrated was the actor Burt Kwouk... he was a great fan of barbershop; and so for this gig we were not really the London Quartet as we had to be all-male (sorry, Sarah-Ann!)... also we were asked to be five-part by the arranger & old friend of Burt's, Kenny Clayton.
To add to the changes, Chris is at home awaiting the birth of his and Stephanie's firstborn (good luck!)...

Thus we were in fact a remarkable line-up of Cantabile - the London Quartet old and new...

Richard Bryan  counter-tenor
William Purefoy  counter-tenor (a member in the early 90s)
Steven Brooks  tenor
Mark Fleming  tenor
Michael Steffan  bass-baritone
...an ensemble that had never sung together before; although the music business being as small a world as any other, everyone knew each other!




We accompanied friends of Burt in a piece written by Kenny; friends including Barry Cryer, Harry Hill & Paul Ryan...

Of course, as with all such occasions, it was uplifting, moving, as well as full of joy... Burt's wife, Caroline spoke beautifully & his 'best bits' were also shown on film...

We may have spent some time in The Lamb & Flag afterwards... what larks!