Past Concerts

'Love that Song'

When an award winning Elvis impersonator joins forces with a top barbershop quartet you can bet on a great evening. The two worlds met in 'Love that Song' our last big concert at the Banstead Community Centre.

What a night! For a start it was a sell out, and the audience were in the right mood to lift the performers. So, why be modest, it was fantastic.

Our star guests, 'By Appointment', were the four guys who win Silver Medals at National Barbershop Conventions. Franz Atkinson, Terry Bryant, Paul Cousins and Peter Kennedy are also well known internationally and so we were delighted to share a stage with them.

However, we were not the only ones to get in on the act as Matt Wakefield, playing Elvis, couldn't have wished for a better backing group when singing 'Love me tender'. His interaction with the quartet provided humour, and superb harmonising, as he stole Paul's role and then had a vocal dual with the 'By Appointment' lead man.

Add to this the lovely Helen Shaw, and a few of The Downsmen doing solos and duets, and the applause said it all.

May Fair

We took part in a May Fair in the Swan Shopping Centre in Leatherhead in aid of the Headley Court Patient Welfare Fund. Located between Leatherhead and Epsom, Headley Court is a rehabilitation centre for injured members of the British Army. The strategically placed buckets around town collected £2,300, which will go towards making life more bearable for the wounded veterans of the current conflicts.

Charity dinner at Tadworth and Walton Overseas Aid Trust

That very same evening we headed for The Church of the Good Shepherd in Tadworth to sing for our supper. The Tadworth and Walton Overseas Aid Trust had planned a charity dinner to make money for their African village projects. The Downsmen provided a musical break between the main course and the sweet, and then polished off the remaining puds at the end.

Music for Midsummer

More recently we headlined the Music for Midsummer event in St Paul’s Church, Dorking. The organisers, Learning Space, were donating all the takings to a children’s charity called The Rosemary Fund. It will be used to provide support grants to help improve the lives of local children and their families.