On Saturday night March 29th we once again packed the super modern Bridge Church, just a mile from our Bolton bandroom and complete with its state-of-the-art, multiple video screens (more added since our second sell-out concert there last Spring). Everyone enjoyed a third great concert there to another sell-out Eagley audience and all in the presence of Mrs Diane Hawkins, Lord-Lieutenant of Greater Manchester and her husband. Such was the attendance again that we completely sold out of the glossy programmes and raffle tickets, and the atmosphere in the hall was superb throughout all evening.

Our MD Chris Wormald chose the theme of our 2025 Bridge concert to be pieces, songs or works composed, published, first performed or honoured in years ending with the number five, and with a founding member of our Community Band, Cornet player Gwynneth Nightingale, celebrating her 90th birthday the following day with a special lunch at Bolton School Arts Centre where Chris conducted Eagley at Sir Ian McKellen’s star-studded 80th birthday in May 2019, our latest Bridge concert included a number of pieces from Gwynneth’s birth year of 1935, such as Smile by Charlie Chaplin and Cheek To Cheek from the movie Top Hat. Other pieces we performed included Bohemian Rhapsody (1975), Something Good from The Sound of Music (1965, currently celebrating 60 years since its release that March), the James Bond song Thunderball (also 1965 and conducted by our Bass Trombonist Dec Cullen at the invitation of our MD, as was Smile in the first half) and the highlight of the evening was a spectacular performance of Wicked, recently featured and honoured at the 2025 Oscars.

The concert began with a crackling performance of the march Knight Templar featuring Cornet players Lynsey Hayes (Principal) and Hollie Lancaster, and this was immediately followed by Bohemian Rhapsody, remarkably celebrating half a century since its 1975 release and record breaking stay at No.1 in the charts. Excellent contributions by Deb Lyons (Horn), Janet Walsh (Flugel), Laura Hemmings (Euphonium) and our superb percussion section (Leo Turner-Patel, Dom Patel and Sophie Dunlevy) were rightly rewarded by the audience and the concert moved straight into two more 1975 hits, Barry Manilow’s Even Now and I Write The Songs. Even Now featured our Flugel Horn quartet of Lynsey Hayes, Sarah Ferguson, Hollie Lancaster and Janet Walsh who all played superbly as ever in another brand new arrangement made especially for the concert by our MD.

As always, our Community Choir contributed superbly throughout the whole evening and after the interval, our Community Band joined the full Eagley Band throughout, with ever-present Tenor Horn player Tom Fraser now an amazing 95 years of age in our concert celebrating years and the number five. It is remarkable to think that such a good Horn player as Tom is was born in August 1929.   

Lord-Lieutenant Mrs Hawkins and her husband were thrilled with the concert and delighted to have been invited and able to accept. At the request of Community Choir members, a rousing performance of the 1975 Abba song Dancing Queen was performed as an encore to send everyone home in buoyant mood.