1977 was the year the Queen celebrated her Silver Jubilee; Virginia Wade won the women's singles at Wimbledon; Red Rum became the first horse to win a hat-trick of Grand Nationals; Elvis Presley died - and the year the Thanet Male Voice Choir was formed.

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the choir's formation, they will be holding a Gala concert at the Holy Trinity Church in Cliftonville on Saturday, October 7.

It will include many of the choir's favourite songs, and with special guests and surprised it promises to be an enjoyable night.

It all started with a small advert in a local paper which attracted a group of like-minded men to a meeting and rehearsals soon began in a room above Neptune's Hall, the hostelry overlooking the harbour in Broadstairs.

Trevor Evans became the first chairman, with Roy Woodhams and Dick Cook as musical director and accompanist respectively.

The honour of president was later bestowed on Jack Warner.

The choir drifted for a year or so, having a limited repertoire and performing concerts where singers often outnumbered the audience.

It was not surprising, therefore, that initial enthusiasm waned and membership dropped to ten, with as little as four attending some rehearsals.

At this point, the choir could have easily disbanded, but the attendance of some members at a weekend in Birmingham, which included a concert by the Canoldir Choir, resulted in enthusiasm being rekindled.

Slowly the membership rose to 50 and the choir became more popular.

Links were established with choirs in France, Germany and Italy, and regular trips to Europe were arranged.

Whilst the globetrotting had been going on, the choir's reputation had been growing at home.

With members numbering in excess of 50, more music was tackled with great success and the choir even had the honour of taking part in the VE Day celebrations at Hyde Park and Bucking Palace in the presence of the Queen.

More locally, many charitable organisations have benefited from the choir's efforts with donations of more than £3,000 being made from each of the last three Christmas concerts alone.

Thanet Male Voice Choir is now under the direction of Martin Rendle, and the singing membership is now in excess of 60.

Tickets for the Gala concert are £7 each and are available from the Terrence Painter Properties, High Street, Broadstairs, or by phoning 01843 862409.