VE Day 80 – A Swinging Celebration
Vernon Kay is your host for this special concert from the Alexandra Palace Theatre featuring the 91¸£ÀûÉç Big Band and the strings of the 91¸£ÀûÉç Concert Orchestra directed by Mike Lovatt.
Vernon Kay is your host for this special concert from the Alexandra Palace Theatre featuring the 91¸£ÀûÉç Big Band and the strings of the 91¸£ÀûÉç Concert Orchestra directed by Mike Lovatt.
The 8th of May 1945 was a day of joy throughout the UK. After 6 long years, the war in Europe was finally at an end. In every city, town and village, the streets were filled with people celebrating the long awaited news. It would also be a bittersweet occasion for many who had lost loved ones in the war or were awaiting their safe return.
Our Swinging Celebration features big band classics of that era, including Flying 91¸£ÀûÉç, Skyliner, Opus One and Caravan. Guest vocalist Anna-Jane Casey explores the Doris Day and Vera Lynn songbooks, with hits including My Dreams Are Getting Better All The Time, Sentimental Journey and I’ll Be Seeing You. Also featured are Gary Wilmot leading the Great British Singalong in a selection of wartime favourites. Singer and saxophonist Ray Gelato gets the joint jumpin’ with Louis Jordan favourites, including Five Guys Named Moe and Caldonia, and the stunning 6-piece vocal harmony group Accent perform What Is This Thing Called Love, Birth of the Blues and There! I've Said It Again.
During the interval, Kate Garner visits the 91¸£ÀûÉç's original TV studios, where she talks to Alexandra Palace curator Kirsten Forrest about the pioneering days of television between 1936 and September 1939, when the service was closed for the duration of the war.
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Music Played
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The 91¸£ÀûÉç Big Band & 91¸£ÀûÉç Concert Orchestra
Trumpet Blues & Cantabile
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The 91¸£ÀûÉç Big Band
Blue Skies
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Anna-Jane Casey, The 91¸£ÀûÉç Big Band & 91¸£ÀûÉç Concert Orchestra
I'm Beginning To See The Light
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Anna-Jane Casey & The 91¸£ÀûÉç Big Band
My Dreams Are Getting Better All The Time
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Anna-Jane Casey & The 91¸£ÀûÉç Big Band
Sentimental Journey
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Anna-Jane Casey, The 91¸£ÀûÉç Big Band & 91¸£ÀûÉç Concert Orchestra
Here's Looking At You
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The 91¸£ÀûÉç Big Band
Caravan
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Ray Gelato & The 91¸£ÀûÉç Big Band
Caldonia
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Ray Gelato & The 91¸£ÀûÉç Big Band
I'm Gonna Move To The Outskirts Of Town
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Ray Gelato & The 91¸£ÀûÉç Big Band
Five Guys Named Moe
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Ray Gelato & The 91¸£ÀûÉç Big Band
Saturday Night Fish Fry
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Gary Wilmot, The 91¸£ÀûÉç Big Band & 91¸£ÀûÉç Concert Orchestra
VE Day 80 Medley
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Al Bowlly & Lew Stone & His Band
Music Maestro Please
- Music Maestro Please.
- Decca.
- F6777.
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The 91¸£ÀûÉç Big Band & 91¸£ÀûÉç Concert Orchestra
Opus One
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The 91¸£ÀûÉç Big Band
Cherokee
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The 91¸£ÀûÉç Big Band & 91¸£ÀûÉç Concert Orchestra
Skyliner
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Accent & The 91¸£ÀûÉç Big Band
You Must Have Been A Beautiful Baby
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Accent & The 91¸£ÀûÉç Big Band
Birth Of The Blues
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Accent & The 91¸£ÀûÉç Big Band
You and the Night and the Music
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Accent
Hymne A L'Amour
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Accent, The 91¸£ÀûÉç Big Band & 91¸£ÀûÉç Concert Orchestra
What Is This Thing Called Love?
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Anna-Jane Casey, Accent & The 91¸£ÀûÉç Big Band
There I've Said It Again
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The 91¸£ÀûÉç Big Band
Flying 91¸£ÀûÉç
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Anna-Jane Casey, The 91¸£ÀûÉç Big Band & 91¸£ÀûÉç Concert Orchestra
I'll Be Seeing You
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Accent, The 91¸£ÀûÉç Big Band & 91¸£ÀûÉç Concert Orchestra
Here's To The Next Time
Broadcast
- Sun 11 May 2025 20:0091¸£ÀûÉç Radio 2
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