WHEN classical trio Blake headline Symphony at the Tower on Saturday night they have just one request.

“I just hope they tell us when the fireworks are about to go off,” said band member Ollie Baines. “We did one event with fireworks and they just set them off right behind us. It terrified the life out of us.”

Blake have become one of the most successful classical crossover groups winning a classical Brit Award and topping the album charts along the way.

The trio – Ollie, Stephen Bowman and Humphrey Berney – have played all over the world and their on-stage banter combined with stunning vocal performances have introduced new fans to classical music.

“I think that people who haven’t seen us before are surprised at how much fun we have on stage,” said Stephen.

“We have fun among ourselves and also with the audience, that inter-action is so important to us.”

“An event like Symphony at the Tower is perfect for us,” said Humphrey. “We hope that people will bring along their picnics and that the weather will be great and they just relax and enjoy the show.

“We like a bit of friendly banter during a show,” said Ollie. “We’ve found that the more wine boxes we see being brought into a festival the more banter there is.”

Joining Blake for Saturday night’s show will be Britain’s Got Talent star Lucy Kay. “We’ve not done a show with Lucy before so that should be good fun,” said Ollie. “We might be able to work on bringing her to sing with us at some stage.”

Blake promise a set which fits the imposing setting of the grounds of Hoghton Tower. “It will certainly have a Last Night of the Proms feel,” said Humphrey.

But, this being a Blake concert, the trio also promises some surprises along the way. “It surprises people who haven’t seen us before when we do a song by Snow Patrol as part of the show,” said Stephen. “But we like to sing songs that we ourselves enjoy – it could be something from Les Miserables or a West End musical or a chart hit. We like to keep it varied.”

Ollie added: “We often get husbands or boyfriends come up after the show and say that they got dragged along by their partners but that they actually really enjoyed the night. I think that’s a compliment.”

All three of Blake are particularly pleased to be involved in the Hoghton Tower event. “The fact that it raises so much for St Catherine’s Hospice makes this a special event,” said Humphrey. “Hospices do such a great job and sadly we probably all have had family members or a friend who has battled cancer. The fact that we can play our part by doing a concert like this is added motivation to make it an even more special night.”

  • Tickets for both nights of the Symphony at the Tower event are now available by calling 01772 690712 or 01772 629171.