In a unique experiment, one of the UK's veteran satirical singing groups Three Men in a Bowtie will be broadcasting a special concert at Worthen Village Hall, in their native rural Shropshire, England, on Saturday 15 October ‘live’ around the world via the internet. The plan is that anybody, anywhere on the planet, will be able to join the local audience for free, simply by switching on their computer.
 
And while similar broadcasts have been made of classical music, theatre and opera from venues such as Covent Garden, the Royal Albert Hall and London’s South Bank; this is believed to be the first such global broadcast from a British village hall.
 
The group hopes the transmitted concert will especially appeal to ex-pat Salopians now living away from Shropshire who can re-connect with their county for the evening from their own home, wherever that may be. They also hope to attract venue organisers who have yet to book the show and the trio’s thousands of fans, accrued over the past 15 years of rural touring.
 
“This broadcast is part of our 15th anniversary celebrations,” said founder group member Chris Eldon Lee, “and the concert will be a mix of our latest songs and oldest favourites including ‘The Shropshire Tango’, ‘Robot Milker’  and ‘The Pig in the Wheelbarrow’. 45,000 people have enjoyed Three Men in a Bowtie over the years – and we could double that audience in just one night. What the Royal Albert Hall can do – Worthen Village Hall can do too!”
 
Dairyfarmer Martin Jones is another long-term group member. “I’m looking forward to sharing the trials and tribulations of a Shropshire farmer’s life with the sympathetic city-types of New York,” he said. “It’s time Wall Street understood the intricacies of farm finance!”
 
The group’s latest recruit, singer and storyteller Sally Tonge, has bought a new frock for the occasion. “It’s a gold sequin mini-dress which I got from the Oxfam shop for £3,” she said. “I’m hoping the Paris fashion houses will take note.”

Using technology developed at the Shrewsbury Folk Festival, Microvideo from Bayston Hill, near Shrewsbury, will be employing three live cameras to capture the comedy; vision-mix the pictures on site and beam them via a mobile dish up to a satellite orbiting over Worthen. The images will then be sent to the Virtual Shropshire website (based in Much Wenlock) and viewers will be able to see the concert live by clicking on the group’s web page www.threemeninabowtie.co.uk.  
 
The first half of the performance will start transmission at 19.40 BST (18.40GMT); followed by an interval where the Worthen Village Hall audience will enjoy a Shropshire Ploughman’s Supper, and the second half transmitted live around 21.30 BST (20.30 GMT).
 
“Viewers across the globe will be encouraged to prepare their own Ploughman’s Supper, Lunch or Breakfast,” said Chris Eldon Lee, “and eat it with us at half time. Encouraged to wear a bowtie whilst watching the performance, we already have people waiting to join us live in Germany, New Zealand and Bolivia.”
 
Tickets to join the audience at Worthen Village Hall are available from 01743 891305. To watch on line go to www.threemeninabowtie.co.uk