http://plymouthlocalhistory.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/glenn-miller.html
I enjoyed reading Deryk's memories very much and I've reproduced his email here so everyone can enjoy reading them:
Hello Derek,
As it is now 70 years since I was lucky enough to attend the Glenn Miller concert at the Odeon Cinema in Plymouth on the 28th August 1944 you might be interested in my recollection of the occasion. At the time I was on a Engineering Cadetship course at the then Plymouth Devonport Technical College, prior to entering the Navy.
I had heard that the concert was open to armed services personnel
only, so rather in hope than expectation I donned my Home Guard
uniform and cycled from my 'digs' in Milehouse down to Frankfort
Street where I was fortunate to not only gain entry to the cinema
packed mainly with US soldiers and sailors but also to stand against a
side wall close to the stage and with an uninterrupted view.
After so many years my memory of the whole programme is now rather
vague but it was my first unforgettable experience of seeing a really
big and famous band in action. I believe the band's lead singer Johnny
Desmond and close harmony singers The Modernaires or an equivalent
group appeared, and at least one of my favourite numbers Tuxedo
Junction, featuring the unison, bite and precision of the brass
section was played, while the distinctive mellow harmony of the saxes
and clarinet was also well in evidence, but whether that good example
of the latter sound, At Last was included I can't recall. The whole
atmosphere was electrifying and the capacity audience clapped, stamped and roared their approval.
The concert finished in the early hours and I emerged from the cinema
to find that my bike had been stolen! - No matter! As I wearily
trudged my way back to Milehouse I reflected on the musical thrill of
a lifetime that I had experienced. I often wonder whether any other
civilians managed to attend too!
Kind Regards,
Deryk Maker.
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