Published: 28 Jan 2026

Now that the dust has settled, we’re reminiscing about the wonderful tour we had – the music, the spotlights, the people, the towns. Join us on a trip down memory lane…

Rehearsals

It all started in Bristol, in a village hall we just about managed to squeeze the full orchestra into. This included some new faces, most disconcerting of all being the small inflatable doll version of pianist Alex who arrived in the van with tour manager Hannah and trumpeter-logistics-everything-guy Tim.

Cardiff

We then kicked off the tour proper in one of our favourite cities, Cardiff, at the gorgeous Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama.

About 12 seconds before we went on for the matinée, conductor-arranger Mike surprised us all by introducing an "audience requests" element to the show. This led to the orchestra dusting off trumpeter-arranger Simon’s arrangement of "Nature Boy", sung by Lydia, who managed to remember the lyrics from the last time we did it, about four years ago. Guitarist Tom had never played it at all (bad news for him: acoustic guitar features heavily).

It was also bad news for Nice Chris From The Venue when vocalist Marvin emerged to perform some Nat King Cole and accidentally smacked him in the face.

In Cardiff, we reunited with old friends — namely, the delicious Welsh cakes bought by violinist Jordan.

King’s Lynn

Next up was our first ever visit to King’s Lynn, and its Alive Corn Exchange, where the new Audience Requests section saw Marvin take on Nat King Cole’s "Let's Face the Music and Dance" (arranged by Billy May). Though Mike's response to the many requests for “My Way” was a succinct “No way,” we felt very loved by our new audience who showered us with glowing feedback and merch sales.

Ipswich

We were then back in Ipswich and its beautiful Corn Exchange. Percussionist Ben was very happy to celebrate his (2)6th birthday in Ipswich on tour, even if he did get locked in the building later that night after going back in to retrieve the rest of the cake we bought him.

Guildford

Another new venue, in another new town for us! Guildford saw our biggest audience on the tour up till then, and very welcoming they were. The night's performance highlight had to be Marvin’s "Old Man River", also one of the highlights of our Sammy Davis Jr tour last summer.

Folkestone

What’s that: another new tour stop? Yes! And how delightful was Folkestone, giving us a perfect view of the sea off-stage! It was also an evening brimming with top-notch requests, such as Lydia’s scatting à la Ella for “Blue Skies” and Marvin embodying Sinatra with “You Make Me Feel So Young”. 

But it was perhaps vocalist Elise’s “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” that stopped hearts that night. Never before performed by Down for the Count, the song was sight-read by the orchestra while Elise, au fait with Judy Garland, helmed the performance. Magical.

Aberdeen

After a few days off, we returned to our usual shenanigans, and one of our favourite cities: Aberdeen, with its sumptuous Tivoli Theatre! There seemed to be extra magic in the air this time, what with a rendition of Nat King Cole's "Stardust", last played several years beforehand by the orchestra. The song is very special to Mike, as it was playing when his baby girl was born.

Stage manager Estela also made his night more special by draping his customary whisky in a wintry scarf and Santa hat.

The show also marked the return of vocalist Saara to our tour family. She even defrosted that ol' Mariah Carey classic for the encore.

We were happy to welcome a new member of the team here: a tour coach to ferry us between venues! Most of us could now feel even more like insufferable superstars with a chauffeur (on this leg, lovely Stephen).

Edinburgh 

As always, it was a blast to be back in wonderful Edinburgh, and The Queen’s Hall. Not only was it St Andrew's Day, but it also marked TWO Down for the Count celebrations: Jordan Murray Day, in honour of the time percussionist Jordan got his van stuck in mud outside a garden centre, and reedsmith Chris' birthday. We celebrated the latter with drinks at goth local Banshee Labyrinth.

Since we all love Edinburgh so much, Mike tries to ensure we have a day off in the city. Some of us met up with local friends, some went up Arthur’s Seat, and some of us even came back down Arthur’s Seat. At the end of the day, we reunited for a delicious curry.

 

 

Newcastle

Once again, Newcastle Cathedral came swinging with its hospitality. Even though pianist Alex had to be relegated off-stage and to the side out of public view for a second time, he seemed happy enough.

Dumfries

Something was going on in Dumfries; we had many requests for "Santa Baby", which Saara obliged. Lydia also got to perform "Secret Love" from "Calamity Jane", though it's strongly suspected that one of the orchestra may have snuck that in...

As pleasant as we find Easterbrook Hall, this time it looked as though we might struggle to leave. A scarcity of taxis after the show meant half our crew faced the possibility of walking 45 mins to the Travelodge with all their stuff – or stay overnight in the rather remote Hall. It was all sorted in the end, so we (sadly) didn’t get to revive “Most Haunted”.

Glasgow

Look. Performing in the iconic Glasgow Royal Concert Hall is one thing, but to play and sing to such a big, warm, lively crowd is quite another. This year’s show was easily one of our personal favourites ever!

Though we didn't indulge a request for a second helping of "Mr Bojangles" (the show's already quite long!), we did do "Summer Wind" and "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)" — which sparked some backstage frenzy, as our ink supply ran out while we scrambled to print the sheet music. A glimpse into the WhatsApp chat: "The trumpets are just gonna have to improvise, lol." But, to quote vocalist Lydia: "That's jazz."

We also got this glorious review of the show afterwards!

Harrogate

Harrogate's Royal Hall: what a beauty! Over the years, its stage has hosted legends such as Charles Lawton, Tallulah Bankhead and Gary Cooper, not to mention the big man himself: Louis Armstrong. 

As the venue was celebrating its 125th year, we were asked to sign our poster for their records — what a way to make our heads bigger! And to inflate our egos even further, we got another lovely review.

Percussionist Ben, however, was humbled. Like the more youthful Ben before him, he found it quite the struggle to run around the venue in a beard during “Zat You, Santa Claus?”

Watford

Our last stop on this leg of the tour was another new one: Watford, whose Colosseum was disappointingly free of lions and gladiators. But it was our first time in town, so we were still excited to be there. The whole venue had had a makeover, so we were lucky enough to see it all scrubbed up beautifully.

Sadly, the end of a leg also saw the end of our brief time with trumpeter-vocalist Max, who lives in Spain, which we hear is not unlike Watford. At least Max got to sing "Mack the Knife" with Lydia, a song which Mike wishes people would stop requesting as the band has played it approximately 83,000 times.

Coventry

The next leg of the tour began with yet another new stop: Coventry, and the spectacular Warwick Arts Centre. It also marked the return of vocalist Callum, who brought his customary high kicks to "Ain't That a Kick in the Head", and newbie Grace, who graced “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve” with her sublime vocals.

Leave it to Callum to supply the booze and playlist for our coach trip to Liverpool after the show. That’s right: no sooner had the proverbial curtain come down on our Coventry show than we were boarding the coach and vans to the next stop — there's no business like showbusiness. 

All in all, a terrific first Christmas show in Coventry, with a spectacular audience – and another glowing write-up! We already know we're coming back to the Warwick Arts Centre with Celebrating Nat King Cole in the summer and we're counting down the days.

Liverpool

For the brave crew, our Liverpool date demanded an early load-in on little sleep. But routes to our venue, the stunning St George's, were blocked for the Christmas market, so it felt a bit like… what’s the term for an inverse escape room?

Thankfully, we did manage to get in eventually, and it was another wonderful night with warm and friendly local jazz fans.

Middlesbrough

Next up was Middlesbrough – that’s right, another new stop on the tour! – and its impressive Town Hall. Our small audience was, to our total joy, one of our mightiest. What with singing along and dancing at the front during the encore, it was high spirits all around.

The orchestra were also in a fun-loving mood, and pulled off a thoroughly planned prank on Mike, who believed he was introducing Glenn Miller's "Pennsylvania 6-5000", only to be faced with a blast of "In the Mood", a piece he hates. 

There were some beautiful moments amid the shenanigans, not least Callum's moving take on "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square".

It was back to japes at the Travelodge bar, where the Down for the Count Swing Orchestra turned into the Down for the Count Acrobats. This sort of thing only happens when Callum is around. And maybe the enormous pints at the venue had something to do with it. (Actually, was that a big pint, or is Mike just really small?)

 

Huddersfield

It was another packed house in Huddersfield, where our annual tradition of performing in Lawrence Batley Theatre's panto set continued triumphantly.

There was a sense of giddiness in the air, possibly because we'd reached that stage of a long tour, or maybe it was down to another tradition: drummer James finding inventive implements to poke bassist James with during "Rhythm of Life". This time, it was a pair of chopsticks.

Manchester

Manchester, as always, was not just a joy but a double joy, what with two shows in one day. Instead of staying in for "Strictly" or perusing the Christmas Market, or even going across the road to watch Disney On Ice, our lovely audiences even came bearing dogs for us to coo over.

One of the day’s highlights was "Moon River", sung by Grace with a trumpet solo by Ted. Another had to be the bombastic “Sway”, sung by Callum with a sax solo by one Alex and the tubular bells (have to get our use out of them!) by another Alex.

Sadly, this was Callum's last show of the tour. But you wouldn't even believe that he was so unwell he had to drink something called water. A tour full of new experiences.

Cheltenham

After a brief time off, vocalist Marvin rejoined us for our Cheltenham show at the majestic Town Hall… and he performed Nat King Cole’s "Unforgettable"!

Continuing in the tradition of orchestra birthdays, saxophonist Alex turned a grand old age we won't disclose. Owing to fire regulations, we couldn’t light the candles on the cake we got her, so tour manager Hannah improvised with a bit of card and a pair of scissors. We think she deserves a Blue Peter badge.

After the show, we sadly waved goodbye to Grace, who got off at this stop. We will always be thankful for the time she brought back a load of free muffins from the Morrisons in Middlesbrough.

Worthing

After a day off, we were back at it! In Worthing’s Assembly Hall, we welcomed returning vocalist Elise from America, trumpeter-vocalist Max from Spain and cellist Sophie from, uh, England. After a long campaign, Max finally got his Christmas wish: Mike relented and let him have "Me and My Shadow", which he got to perform with Marvin to an audience that included his and his brother's (drummer Hugo) parents. We knew we could break Mike eventually. All it took was emotional manipulation.

It wasn’t all good news, however; due to an "extreme leak", we could no longer stay at our booked Travelodge in Worthing, so we had to relocate the 30-piece orchestra to Brighton for the night. The trials of touring!

Bath

"What a wonderful world," sang Marvin and, in the spectacular Art Deco space of the Bath Forum, we couldn’t agree more.

Joining us on this show was harpist Catrin, who added a little more magic to Elise's performance of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas".

All in all, another brilliant night in one of our favourite venues.

Cambridge

Now for a slight change to the motif: Cambridge is not a new city for us, but the venue is! And the Corn Exchange is not new to Cambridge, as it was celebrating its 150th year when we got there. 

We welcomed back vocalist Lydia (temporarily), and got to the bottom of a crime that had rocked – well, baffled – the orchestra this tour: the chicknapping of pianist Alex’s rubber mascot, Gordon. To our shock and horror, it turned out that sound guy Jack was the mastermind behind it all.

Sadly, there was other shady behaviour among the orchestra — drummer James, who has been finding increasingly creative ways to poke bassist James during "Rhythm of Life", found a Nerf Gun lying around the venue and... well, let’s just say it didn't go unused.

Oxford

Our Oxford show brought us another lovely audience at the Olivier Hall, though it did return Elise to the scene of last year's crime: that of the dead mic. What might have disrupted her performance of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" instead turned into an impromptu acoustic version, conducted and arranged on the spot by Mike. It has now become our usual way of performing the number.

Southampton

This was always going to be a challenging final hurdle: Southampton was the first double-show day of two on the same weekend! Mike can be cruel like that.

Though a few members of the orchestra, including tour manager Hannah (who has mastered being covert at napping), were found napping on the floor at various points through the day, we had two lots of wonderful audiences in the very welcoming venue of Turner Sims, and we did hold on to our sanity. Well, an anonymous inflatable banana had somehow joined the orchestra but you shrug that sort of thing off after a while on the road.

London

The second two-show day in a weekend, in London’s lovely Cadogan Hall, gave us the special thrill of a double sellout. Needless to say, Saara was singing our feelings with her take on “Feeling Good”.

Trumpeter-arranger Simon thought it was a good time to make the crew feel paranoid and apprehensive, by bringing back his evil game, Word Bang, in which participants must “kill” an assigned victim by getting them to say the assigned random word. Just to reiterate, we were all very fragile by this point. 

Marvin got to sing a special audience request, which he'd also sung at our Sammy Davis Jr mini-tour in the summer: "What Kind of Fool Am I". Of course he still remembered the lyrics – he only positioned himself behind pianist Alex to, uh, make sure Alex was following the sheet music properly. Needless to say, he blew the roof off Cadogan Hall and Sloane Square is still recovering.

 

Nottingham

Having performed up and down the country, doing 29 shows in 25 locations over six weeks, we were over the moon to return to Nottingham for our final show of the year with our biggest ever indoor audience – this time, for the first time, at the brilliant Royal Concert Hall.

With two standing ovations and two more glowing reviews for the collection, it was the perfect way to end an already special Swing Into Christmas tour. Made even more special the following morning with an invitation to return in 2026. Don’t miss it!

 

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