A BIG band singer from Newbridge, Mark Porter is usually travelling the world working on cruise ships and concerts with the Kings of swing showand directing the famous Squadronaires orchestra.

However he will be keeping his feet firmly on home turf later this month when he brings a six-piece band to Cwmbran’s Congress Theatre for an evening celebrating the great singers of the big band and Jazz eras such as Frank Sinatra, Perry Como,Matt Monro and Anthony Newley. It will be his first concert on home territory in over a decade.

Mark’s love of big band music goes back to his youth while he joined the Squadronaires in 1983 He soon found himself working alongside such illustrious company as The Glenn Miller Orchestra, and vocalists Anne Shelton and Dame Vera Lynn. “It was a good learning curve really to start in that sort of company you learn a lot,” he tells Andy Howells. “I’ve taken over as band leader nowwe tour around the world plus I’ve gotmyown big band and a six-piece swing band. “ Mark’s singing has also been given great prominence over the years and particularly came to the attention of showbusiness legends Bob Hope and Anthony Newley.

“I’m a bit of a throwback really when it comes to themovies and singers,” says Mark, “I love the 40s, 50s and 60s so to work with someone like Bob Hope was fantastic for me. The Squadronaires were going to accompany him, he brought his own conductor and his agent came to see one of our concerts and asked if I’d like to do a little 20 minute spot to open the show, which was brilliant for me. I just had a ball.”

Mark and The Squadronaires accompanied Bob Hope on several concerts including the QE2 and The Royal Albert Hall, “he was in his early 90s then,” remembers Mark, “but still very much aware of what he was doing. He was in a wheelchair for part of it but when the lights went on he stood up straight and did an hour.”

It was also fun for Mark to work alongside Anthony Newley, who amongst other things wrote the famous theme tune for the 1964 James Bond film Goldfinger with Leslie Bricusse, “Again the agent asked if I wouldn’t mind doing a spot in the showand I did about 20 minutes to open up for him.We even swappedmaterial. There was one of the arrangements he liked and he said “can you do that tomorrownight and you do one of mine? I did a tune called Going to Build a Mountain and we swapped songs he was a lovely guy.”

In recent years Mark’s performances have been on cruise ships, but he’s looking forward to performing on dry land once again, especially as this will be his first home concert in 10 years, “Its nice to do something locally and get a fewtheatres in as well because that’s what I like . You’ve basically got an audience there because they want to be and they like that type of music, whereas on a ship you’re kind of just on the menu they are not there to see you they are there for the cruise!”

Catch Mark Porter at The Congress Theatre Cwmbran on September 21st. visit congresstheatrecwmbran.co.uk for details.