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It was two years ago that the Kingsmen toured USA and were hosted by one of the top Barbershop Choruses in the States, the Westchester Chordsmen. The two Choruses first performed together 30 years ago and have maintained a strong friendship ever since. The USA tour concluded with a concert titled ‘Our Special Relationship’ at White Plains, 25 miles from New York City.
The Kingsmen embarked on an adventurous and successful 12 day tour of the east coast of the USA after 18 months of fundraising which netted the grand total of £15K. This went toward paying for all the coach journeys and subsidies for some of the organised trips.
The Kingsmen Harmony Chorus are off on a 12 day tour of the USA at the end of May after an 18 month fund raising campaign to offset much of the cost of the tour. Thirty chorus members and their wives and children will be going.
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It's difficult to think of a better way to spend an evening than with the joy and harmony of song; enriched by the camaraderie, fun and friendship associated with being a member of a Chorus; and blessed by the sharing of precious moments with family and friends - all gathering to celebrate success; recognise and reward achievement; and mark significant milestones. But this is what the Kingsmen Barbershop Harmony Chorus https://www.kingsmen.org.uk/ has just done; and done in style. On display to greet attendees at the Awards Evening were items from the Club's archives, including an array of scrap books containing photographs and articles telling the story of the Club from the very first rehearsal attended by 12 guys at the Crabshell Pub in Kingsbridge in the Autumn of 1991; through tours (including 3 to the USA); results from competitions; and money (well over £100k) raised for various Charities. And inevitably, the page turning led to the sharing of stories, laughter and the recollection of happy memories. Chairman Paul Harvey opened proceedings with a warm Kingsmen welcome and handed over to Stu Newberry who took on the role as Master of Ceremonies. Stu guided attendees through the presentation and award of: the Harmony Award (recipient Kevin Hamer); the Jack Nation Trophy (recipient Chris Lambart); the Director's Award (recipient Ian Wooler); and the Barbershopper of the Year Award (recipient Kevin Hamer). Several Kingsmen also received Long Service Awards (the Club is a Member of the British Association of Barbershop Singers - https://www.singbarbershop.com/ ). 10 Year Badges were presented to Jim Stewart, Terry Weeks; Kevin Hamer and Ian Wooler (and will be to Charles Harrington, Geoff Sharps and Shaun Fewtrell - all of whom were unable to attend the event); a 20 Year Badge was presented to Gary Rowe; and 30 Year Badges were presented to Tim Wyatt and Steve Hancock. The evening culminated with the presentation by Chairman Paul Harvey of a special award - to Roy Hann, who founded the Chorus back in 1991 and who was the Musical Director for 30 years. The award was a glass trophy engraved with the words 'From your Brothers in Harmony. In celebration of your unwavering dedication, musical passion, and your 35 year milestone in founding the Chorus'. And you've guessed it - the celebrations continued at an Afterglow at a local pub, where more singing, fun and friendship was in abundance. Fancy having a go at singing? Want to join in the fun? If so, why not come along to one of our Rehearsals? You'll be guaranteed of receiving a big, warm Kingsmen welcome - and who knows, this time next year, you could be an award winner! For further information about the Kingsmen and Membership check out the following links: https://www.kingsmen.org.uk/become-a-member and https://www.kingsmen.org.uk/
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It's been Kingsbridge Fair Week recently and it was a joy to help kick things off to a great musical start. Dressed in our best and brightest Hawaiian shirts, the Kingsmen sang and entertained a lively audience from the Bandstand in the Town Square on an afternoon and evening of local entertainment, which ended with a firework display. If you were one of the men in the audience who enjoyed our performance and you like singing, then why not come along and visit us on a rehearsal night and join in the fun and camaraderie https://www.kingsmen.org.uk/become-a-member Kingsbridge is the hometown of the Kingsmen and we are celebrating our 35 anniversary this year. We like nothing better than supporting local events and charities; so keep an eye on the Upcoming Events link on our website to find out where we are singing and performing over the coming weeks and months. Hope to see you there! https://www.kingsmen.org.uk/ With thanks to Rebecca Rowe for taking these photos.
The communities of the South Hams have long, deep rooted ties with those organisations that serve to protect and save not only the sailors and fishermen local to these communities but also those visitors who pass by our shores or are staying here on vacation and enjoying our beaches and watersport facilities. With this in mind Heather Spencer, 2026 Ladies' Captain at Thurlestone Golf Club, organised a charity evening of fun, food, friendship and fundraising in aid of her chosen charity for her year, the new RNLI Lifeboat at Salcombe. The Salcombe Larks and The Kingsmen Harmony Chorus brought together an eclectic mix of songs from their repertoires, including music from The Beatles, Simon and Garfunkle, Neil Diamond (and many more) and entertained the packed clubhouse either side of a splendid buffet supper prepared by the TGC catering team. If you were one of the men in the audience who enjoyed our performance and you like singing, then why not come along and visit us on a rehearsal night and join in the fun and camaraderie https://www.kingsmen.org.uk/become-a-member It was a particularly poignant event for the many of the performers. The Salcombe Larks originate from the town of Salcombe and the Kingsmen hail from Kingsbridge, both groups are closely associated with the South Hams RNLI. Some have immediate family connections too. Gary Rowe, the Kingsmen Musical Director, is the son of Raymond Rowe who was 2nd Cox at Salcombe for many years. Raymond won a bravery award for his role in a hazardous resume of a distressed vessel, the Janet C, off Start Point. He also appeared in the TV Series Lifeboat in the 90's. Ian Wooler, our Assistant MD, also has close family connections to the Eastbourne RNLI station. One of his Great Uncles, James (Jim) Hall was a member of the Eastbourne Lifeboat Crew for 45 years and received several awards for bravery and long service. Jim's Niece (Ian's Mum) raised money for the RNLI throughout her life. The event raised several hundred pounds in aid of the charity and both chorus groups were more than happy to perform free of charge to help.
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