The history of the Gang Show in Sutton Coldfield
The first London Gang Show took place in 1932. It was written and produced by Ralph Reader who was a successful Broadway and West End choreographer as well as a scouter. The show was intended to be a one-off to raise funds for a swimming pool at Downe scout camp-site near Biggin Hill in Kent. The show was so successful that Ralph was persuaded to repeat the format and a show-biz phenomenon was born. The idea was taken up around the world. The first Gang Show outside London was Screamline in Stoke on Trent. Screamline is now the longest running Gang Show in the world and we are proud to have some of its members in our audience. It was Ralph’s claim that “every night of every year, somewhere in the world a Gang Show is playingâ€.
1968 saw the first performance of Sutton Coldfield Gang Show. (A one-off production had taken place in 1949 but, although it called itself a Gang Show, it was in fact a concert with members of different scout groups performing their own items). The first few shows were annual events taking place around Easter time at Bishop Walsh School. In 1972 we were awarded the Gang Show Emblem. This acknowledged that the show was of a high enough standard to wear the coveted red scarf of the London Gang Show. We have been re-assessed on several occasions and still proudly wear the red scarf. John Styles, the London Gang Show’s pianist, carried out our original assessment. We were very proud when, the following year, John saw fit to return, this time accompanied by Ralph Reader himself. Considering the huge number of invitations Ralph used to receive this was indeed a great accolade for our show. It was felt that an annual show put too many demands on the production team who were, and still are, active scouters. The show became bi-annual and in 1979 moved to Bishop Vesey’s Grammar School where we have been made very welcome ever since.