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Remembrance Day Singer

November 16, 2017 By Lisa Martin Leave a Comment

I had a busy weekend for last week’s Remembrance Day, performing my 1940s wartime show in Glasgow and Fife, Scotland.  It was a lovely sunny but briskly cold November weekend, and it was great to see such a large turnout for both events.

Remembrance Day, also known as Armistice Day, is a memorial day held every year on 11th November to commemorate the end of the First World War, when hostilities finally ended in 1918 at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.  It gives people the opportunity to honour the memory of the members of the Armed Forces who gave their lives in the line of duty.

My venue in Glasgow was the Kirkintilloch Rangers Supporters Club, a lovely friendly club with a really strong community spirit about it.  Everybody had turned out in force wearing their poppies with pride, and the band played a rousing selection of hymns and marches.

I sang my selection of old-time classics by Vera Lynn, Gracie Fields and many other wartime favourites, and it was great to hear everyone singing along.

At the end of the day a beautiful memorial bench was presented in honour of a local member of the community who had fought in the First World War.  What a beautiful gesture on a lovely occasion, and a privilege for me to be a part of.

On Remembrance Sunday I travelled across to Glenrothes in Fife to perform at the CISWO club.  Another fab club, CISWO host a broad selection of events for the local community to enjoy.  I was made very welcome by staff and customers alike, and enjoyed performing a wide range of music for the afternoon, beginning with my wartime show and ending with modern songs for dancing.

This will be my last opportunity to perform at this venue as they are moving next week to new premises across the road.  I wish them the best of luck, and look forward to returning to see the new club.

Battle of the Somme Centenery

July 17, 2016 By Lisa Martin Leave a Comment

battle of the somme

I recently visited the Corbridge Corstopitum Social Club in Northumberland to perform my wartime tribute show at their Battle of the Somme Centenery commemoration.

The Battle of the Somme represented a defining moment of the First World War, as it was the first major engagement in the history of the war, and caused a great deal of tragic loss and bloodshed.  2016 marks its centenary, so all across the UK there has been a big surge of interest in this historical period as people pay their respects to the brave soldiers who gave their lives.

It was a great pleasure to meet the lovely people at the Corstopitum Club.  They had made a big effort to transform the club into a cool vintage style, complete with sandbags, flags, and even ration tins of pickled onions.  There were some great outfits on show – one very glamorous lady in particular came up to me at the end of the night and announced that ‘she’ was really a he!

I love my wartime show as I have to admit the old songs from those days are among my very favourites.  Music from the First World War includes lots of cheerful sing-alongs – it’s easy to see why they needed cheering up, during such dark days.  I included ‘Bless em all’, ‘Pack up your troubles in your old kit bag’, and a few Al Jolson numbers that prompted many pairs of ‘jazz hands’ to start waving!

I received some lovely feedback posted on my Facebook page from audience members, such as:

‘Awesome night thank you’

‘The singer was amazing’

‘Fantastic night thank you’

‘Fantastic singer. Lovely lady definitely book her again. Thank you Lisa’

It’s great to know that everybody enjoyed themselves, and all for such a good cause.

Many thanks to Kate and her team for organising such a fabulous night, I’m looking forward to seeing everyone again soon 🙂

World War One Centenary Event in Scotland

September 25, 2014 By Lisa Martin Leave a Comment

Preston Pans Royal British Legion was filled with nostalgia this September when they paid tribute to the World War One Centenary on a sunny Sunday afternoon.

 

The club was very busy with people who had come along to commemorate the centenary.

 

A fabulous brass band started off the proceedings with their beautiful renditions of World War One classics such as ‘The sunshine of your smile’ and the rousing ‘It’s a long way to Tipperary’.

 

Vintage Retro Singer Scotland Lisa Martin

I continued on with the trip throughout the decades with my 1940s World War Two show, followed by some 1950s Rock n Roll numbers to get the audience up dancing.

 

The fantastic duo ‘Just John and Paul’ took us to the 1960s and really got the crowd going with their superb versions of The Beatles classics.

 

It’s always a pleasure to work with Just John and Paul as they’re so talented and enthusiastic about what they do, plus they’re both such lovely friendly guys!

 

Beatles Tribute ScotlandA great afternoon was had by all.

 

Big thanks to all at the club for organising and participating in such a fabulous day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are some videos of the day:

 

 

 

Lisa Martin Retro Singer

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About Lisa Martin

Lisa Martin retro singerLisa Martin is a professional singer based in Glasgow Scotland who specialises in classy vintage style shows.. Read More…

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