Coventry Singing Star Vince Hill Raises Over £1,500 For Belgrade's Charity Work

Multi-million-selling recording star Vince Hill made a triumphant return to the stage on Tuesday 4 June, heading back to his home city of Coventry for a special farewell concert at the Belgrade Theatre. As well as celebrating the singer's 85th birthday year, the Vince Hill and Friends midday variety show also helped raise vital funds for the Belgrade's charitable work in the community.

Over £1,500 was raised from the performance, via a combination of ticket sales and generous donations, from Vince Hill himself, the show's producers and from audiences who came to see the show. The money will aid us in nurturing creativity in the city, through our talent development schemes and our far-reaching youth, community and education work.

Singer Mark Andrews opened the show followed by the Coventry Consortium Big Band, musical theatre star Jane Horn and TV comedy legend Duncan Norvelle. Vince then kept audiences hooked throughout the second half with stories of his life, as well as performing some of his biggest and best-loved hit singles such as Take Me To Your Heart Again, Look Around, Roses Of Picardy and No.2 smash Edelweiss. Nolan Sisters Anne, Denise and Linda, who were regular guest performers on his seventies BBC TV series The Musical Time Machine, were also reunited with Vince on stage, and the show closed with Vince receiving a standing ovation.

Coventry's newly appointed Deputy Lord Mayor (elect) Councillor Ann Lucas surprised Vince on stage at the end of the show, paying tribute to his career over the last 6 decades in music, TV & radio, as well as his philanthropic work. The Deputy Lord Mayor also presented him with a commemorative disc in recognition of his sixties mega hit Edelweiss reaching a million sales worldwide.

Vince Hill said: "I feel so humbled by the love and support that I received. It was such a very special show for me and I will never forget it! I was also thrilled to support the Belgrade Theatre Trust and the wonderful work they do nurturing future Coventry stars."

Head of Development Helen Hotchkiss said: "We're extremely grateful both to Vince and his team for their fantastic support of the theatre, and to all the audience members who went the extra mile and donated money as well as buying tickets. All the money that we have received from the show will provide us with a much-needed boost to our ongoing work in the community as we begin to direct our fundraising efforts towards our 2020 Redevelopment Project to get us ready for 2021."

As a registered charity (number 219163), the Belgrade Theatre Trust is reliant on support from Members, donors, trusts and corporate partners. All the money given to, raised or earned by the Belgrade is not distributed as profit, but kept and reinvested back in to work. For more information, please visit www.belgrade.co.uk/support-us.

Photo credit: David Fawbert Photography

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