No doubt many members of Higham and Rushden u3a are aware of the existence of the ‘Silver Surfers’, as they have played quite often at Rushden Lakes and Hall Park. However, you may not be aware that all of the past and current members are/were part of the u3a Tuesday Guitar group, which formerly met at Asda, then the Railway Sheds & now at the Windmill Club.
It has taken some years for the ‘Silver Surfers’ to reach the audience they currently enjoy, playing a mix of rock and pop tunes from the 50s, 60s & 70s. Their formation started when an electric guitar group was formed which used to meet at the Rushden Full Gospel Church. Up until this point only the Tuesday Guitar group as a whole had played a few public gigs. We had performed in the foyer at Asda as part of their Christmas festivities and we think at least twice at u3a meetings.
We think these gigs ignited, and in some cases reignited, a desire to perform! A small group of the electric guitar group members started rehearsing together. In the days before Covid they enjoyed success playing at local nursing homes. They were much appreciated by the residents, with regular performances organised. They also secured a spot playing at the Irthlingborough 2019 summer fair. During the Covid lock down, they were granted permission to practise outside at Hall Park. This turned into quite a popular socially distanced event. In more recent times, after many meetings and a lot of paperwork, they obtained permission to play at Rushden Lakes in order to raise money for the Macmillan Cancer Charity. They have currently raised over £3100. Considering they only played at the Lakes from July to September 2021, we think you will agree this is quite an achievement.
Due to their fund raising and need to charge for expenses occasionally, they are not formally part of our u3a. You can see though, that without the existence of the Tuesday Guitar group, it is unlikely they would ever have formed. The current line-up of the ‘Silver Surfers’ comprises, Ray Groom, Chris Saunders, Paul Garrod and Ron Smith. Their web address is www.silversurfersband.uk

Andrew Walker & Karin Wilkinson