Michael Chance

A year – nearly to the day – after Epic released the single-disc Number Ones compilation in November 2003, the long-awaited Michael Jackson box set finally saw the light of day. Entitled The Ultimate Collection, the 57-track set spans five discs…

Michael E Frith had piano lessons as a young child but was really turned on to music in big way when Motown hit him like a ton of bricks in the early sixties, he was smitten and from that time on he’s had a love affair with music. He joined various cover bands and toured the Euro/American Navy and Air force bases playing keyboards and percussion and enjoyed a short stint with U.S. vocal group Johnny Johnson and the Bandwagon, who had a massive hit worldwide with "Breaking Down The Walls Of Heartache"…

Michael E Frith had piano lessons as a young child but was really turned on to music in big way when Motown hit him like a ton of bricks in the early sixties, he was smitten and from that time on he’s had a love affair with music. He joined various cover bands and toured the Euro/American Navy and Air force bases playing keyboards and percussion and enjoyed a short stint with U.S. vocal group Johnny Johnson and the Bandwagon, who had a massive hit worldwide with "Breaking Down The Walls Of Heartache"…

On 20 July 1969, Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin left the Columbia command module, and just under three hours later became the first people to land on the moon. Michael Collins stayed on board Columbia and spent the next day alone orbiting the moon, waiting for his colleagues to return, losing visual and radio contact with the earth for 46:38 minutes of each orbit. One report of the time claimed that “not since Adam has any human known such solitude”, but when Collins was asked about that, he explained that his solo orbit of the moon, despite the fact of being alone, was characterized by the following states of mind: “awareness, anticipation, satisfaction, confidence, almost exultation.”

Michael E Frith had piano lessons as a young child but was really turned on to music in big way when Motown hit him like a ton of bricks in the early sixties, he was smitten and from that time on he’s had a love affair with music. He joined various cover bands and toured the Euro/American Navy and Air force bases playing keyboards and percussion and enjoyed a short stint with U.S. vocal group Johnny Johnson and the Bandwagon, who had a massive hit worldwide with "Breaking Down The Walls Of Heartache"…

Michael E Frith had piano lessons as a young child but was really turned on to music in big way when Motown hit him like a ton of bricks in the early sixties, he was smitten and from that time on he’s had a love affair with music. He joined various cover bands and toured the Euro/American Navy and Air force bases playing keyboards and percussion and enjoyed a short stint with U.S. vocal group Johnny Johnson and the Bandwagon, who had a massive hit worldwide with "Breaking Down The Walls Of Heartache"…

The Jackson 5 (stylized as the Jackson 5ive), later known as the Jacksons, is an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was founded in 1965 in Gary, Indiana, by brothers Jackie, Tito, and Jermaine, with younger brothers Marlon and Michael joining soon after…

The catalyst for this disc came with the chance discovery of a vocal score of Berkeley’s Variations on a Hymn by Orlando Gibbons. Not ever having heard of the piece, I saw the forces it is scored for and thought it fit rather well the remit of the LCS. A little research soon revealed that the piece had never been recorded, nor was there anything of a performance history either. I could tell there was a piece of real merit and substance here, and it most definitely deserved an outing. All this coincided with the arrival of the pandemic and subsequent lockdown. Planning live performances was impossible but working towards a recording further down the line seemed doable. January 2021 came and we – like so many others – had to cancel the planned recording. By January 2022, the project finally happened. I would like to add my personal thanks to the Lennox Berkeley Society, who have been so helpful and supportive since my very first email to them, not to mention patient as the pandemic forced recording plans to keep being postponed.