One last attempt to save The Regis Organ and Keyboard Club from closure

The Regis Organ and Keyboard Club is facing closure if its next concert doesn’t prove a success.
TONY STACE and ANDREW NIXTONY STACE and ANDREW NIX
TONY STACE and ANDREW NIX

They are pinning all their hopes on Wednesday, April 27 when they welcome nationally-recognised performers Tony Stace and Andrew Nix to the Jubilee Hall, Felpham at 7.15pm.

It’s a line-up that should bring in the crowds; if it doesn’t then, two years before its half century, The Regis Organ and Keyboard Club will fold.

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Sue Scott, who runs the club, said: “I feel very frustrated but also I feel sad because people are missing out on some really lovely music. We have a huge range of classical and pop and old standards and it really is lovely and I just think there should be enough people who could come along and enjoy this. There is always something for everybody in our programmes.”

Part of the problem is that Sue can’t get a committee together, but even without it she can carry on. The real problem is lack of audience.

“I don’t really know what has happened. We used to have a fairly large group of what I like call older gentlefolk. I don’t like the word old age pensioners! But we had a large group who were as keen as mustard and the atmosphere in the hall was brilliant. That was about five years ago and over the last five years things have just gone downhill really.

“Sadly a lot of them have died which is inevitable and that adds to problems of transport. If three people were depending on a driver to bring them here and it’s the driver that has died then you have lost four people which is very sad.

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“We also thought that it might be a question of not wanting to go out in the evening so over the winter months we had some concerts in the afternoons but that really made no difference at all.

“It is all so sad. I am such a keen advocate of organ music. People think that it is church music and rather dull but it really isn’t. There’s a fantastic range of instruments that you can get on an organ and I just feel that once people came into the hall they would keep on coming. At best we had 120 people and a waiting list of 40. We just couldn’t fit any more people in and it was really good and people were so enthused that a lot of them started to get their own keyboards and organs and we would put on DIY events.

“Now we get 30 people if we’re lucky. Obviously the pandemic has been a big part of the problem and that’s inevitable because people are used to being at home and are being cautious. But if people are being cautious we would bend over backwards to make sure that they weren’t sitting near anyone.

“I think to be viable we need to have 50 people on a regular basis. And that’s why we’re hanging everything on getting a lovely audience for this concert on April 27. We have got two artists of the highest calibre and it is a one-off special to have two artists but everything hangs on that. We can’t afford to go on if it is not a success. We don’t have any money. The idea of putting on two artists is one last big attempt to make this work. We have done everything we can and to date just nothing has worked. If this concert is not a success then that will be it – which is very, very sad.”

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Tony Stace and Andrew Nix will be performing a programme of music, solos and duets, interspersed with their own brand of humour. Tickets are £8, to include interval refreshments, payable on the door.

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