The Sqn. Ldr. Hartley Evening on 13^th October 2008  

BROAD BAND!  

Eleanor Keenan’s  

All girl Swing Orchestra 

Under the Leadership of Eleanor Keenan, who is one of the most respected Big Band female vocalists in the country, (Syd Lawrence himself hired Eleanor for his Orchestra).

Along with the timeless classics from the golden era of popular song writing from artistes such as Glenn Miller, Woody Herman, Tommy Dorsey, Quincy Jones, and tributes to Lena Horne, Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee, there will also be some arrangements of modern tunes.

Appealing to all age groups, the show will include a mixture of swing music, dance music and jazz together with fun, laughter, excitement, glamour and comedy to make this an excellent live variety show.

Featuring the very best female musicians of all ages, this unique Orchestra features the traditional line up of Trumpets, Trombones, Saxophones, Rhythm Section with Piano Bass and Drums.  

Eleanor Keenan – Biography

Eleanor has worked with a range of glittering celebrities, including, amongst others, Tom Jones, Charles Aznavour, Gene Pitney, Tina Turner, Lulu, Roger Whittaker, Vince Hill, Mel Torme, Leo Sayer, Matt Munro and Jack Jones. She still sings with the Syd Lawrence Orchestra and appears with them on a regular basis.

Eleanor also tours with Tony Jacobs, and with Phil Phillips.  Eleanor, has appeared on stage worldwide and has worked in musicals, film, radio and television.

Her television appearances include Come Dancing, with the Andy Ross Orchestra, the musical, Time Machine, A Song for Europe.

Eleanor has also performed for Heads of State and Royalty at many private functions.

Eleanor has dreamt of touring her own all girl swing orchestra for many years and with the support and encouragement for her many friends in and out of the music business, who know and respect her, the dream is now a reality.

Eleanor has the experience, expertise, determination, talent and charm which ensures that BROAD BAND! is an outstanding success.  

Orchestra members:  

The talents of the girls are too numerous to mention individually, collectively they have the following ‘credentials’.

TV appearances, include Parkinson, Top of The Pops, Wogan, Pebble Mill at 1, the Jonathon Ross Show. Film credits such as Star Wars and Harry Potter, Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King. West End shows including Miss Saigon, Guys ‘n’ Dolls, Phantom of the Opera, Jesus Christ Superstar and Rat Pack.

They have performed with the leading orchestra’s and big bands including Bert Kaempfert, The Halle Orchestra, Back to Basie, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra , Andy Prior , BBC Big Band and The London Philharmonic Orchestra to name but a few.  

THE BROADBAND in “SING SING SING”. The performance will feature timeless musical classics made famous by Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey, Woody Herman and Quincy Jones,  together with vocal tributes to Ella Fitzgerald, Lena Horn, Doris Day, Judy Garland and Peggy Lee.

The Sqn. Ldr Hartley Evening.

Eleanor Keenan - Vocalist

Eleanor Keenan’s musical career began in the 1970’s when she was signed to CBS Records as part of the all girl vocal group Three’s a Crowd which had hits with the songs Dance in the Old Fashioned Way and Cry Baby. This launched Ellie into a busy schedule of touring: as a supporting artiste with Tom Jones and Engelbert Humperdinck and as a backing vocalist for Charles Aznavour, Gene Pitney, Tina Turner, Lulu, Vince Hill, Mel Torme, Leo Sayer, Gloria Gaynor, Denise Williams, Matt Munro and Jack Jones.

Ellie has represented both Ireland and Great Britain in the Eurovision Song Contest with the British entry featuring a song specially written for her by Roger Whittaker with whom she also toured for a number of years. She also released a solo single on CBS entitled “Call My Name” after performing it on BBC TV’s A Song for Europe.

Ellie spent nine years as featured vocalist with the Syd Lawrence Orchestra and has worked with most of the leading bands in Britain including concerts and broadcasts with the BBC Big Band, the Geraldo Orchestra, the Joe Loss Orchestra, the Don Lusher Big Band and the Great British Big Band. She appeared in the BBC TV series The Musical Time Machine backing artists including Jack Jones, Mel Torme Tom Jones, Leo Sayer, Marti Caine and Matt Munro and for many years was the featured vocalist on the long running TV series Come Dancing with the Andy Ross Orchestra

In addition to her work with the Syd Lawrence Orchestra, Ellie can also be seen touring with Tony Jacobs in the shows Songs for Swinging Lovers and The Cole Porter Songbook, with Phil Phillips in her one woman show You Must Remember This and with her new all girl Broad Band.