A BAND from Sussex has performed live every day during the Covid pandemic.
The Jive Aces, who reached the semi finals of Britain's Got Talent, are celebrating after they managed to livestream their music for their fans for a whole year from their rehearsal space in East Grinstead.
They staged their act on consecutive days throughout the coronavirus pandemic - starting on March 17 2020 - streaming on Facebook and YouTube to a global audience regularly topping 15,000 people a day.
The jive and swing band have been inviting special guests, including Strictly's Len Goodman, Officer Crabtree from Allo Allo and Kevin McNally from Pirates of the Caribbean, to make"‘virtual" appearances on the shows.
During lockdown, the band were relocated in one household, and continued performing from the Red Brick Studio.
And they plan to continue until live gigs in front of audiences begin again.
Lead singer Ian Clarkson lead singer said: "When all our shows, including a US tour, had to be cancelled, many of our fans asked us to do a live stream – so we tried it out.
"Word spread, we continued, and the live audience grew daily, with hundreds of song requests, ideas and positive comments sent in. We realised that in these unprecedented times, this was how music fans could still follow their favourite bands, and we encouraged other musicians and performers to do the same.
"We are the artists – it’s our job to keep everyone else up! Hence the show’s motto, 'The Show Must Go On!'.
"We can't wait to perform live again and see our fans. Meantime, the live stream is great to keep in touch with our fans and new ones and entertain you all! It has created a whole jive community and brought people together"
Fans stream daily from England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Italy, France, Spain, Germany, Canada, America, New Zealand and more.
The band have managed to keep the show going no matter what, playing on through technical difficulties, the odd network problem, moving location and all while continuing to do voluntary work for the local community.
To watch the live stream simply go to Jive Aces Facebook page, or YouTube channel at 8.30pm UK time.
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