Edinburgh Moment: Most Embarrassing Festival Moment
Back from a stint at ITV’s Britain’s Got Talent these Oxford men bring first class acapella to the Fringe.
This is not their first appearance at the Edinburgh festival and Out of the Blue member Danny Swift has some special memories of their 2010 run.
With a high turnover of members each year, Out of the Blue evolves (and devolves) with each
incarnation. Departing members leave legacies, which can shape the group’s future forever. I, for
example, am responsible for a possibly permanent development in pre-performance protocol. It was
the first show of the 2010 fringe run, and the houselights went down on a happily sizeable and
expectant audience. Little did they know that an unhappily sizeable and unexpected motion was
happening backstage. Yours truly, the baritone on the porcelain throne, was unfortunately unaware of
the imminence of the show. I strode casually and contentedly towards the curtain only to find that the
music I’d assumed to be piped, pre-show advertising for our latest CD was in fact the genuine article –
albeit without me! (Although it could be argued that I flatter my colleagues with the implication that
their live sound is mistakable for their recorded one!) Panic-stricken, I burst onto stage mid-song, to
short frowns in my direction followed by apologetic, beaming grins audience-ward. This year, a rule has
been implicated stating that no Out of the Blue member is to so much as think about rivers or waterfalls
in the half hour before a show, Let alone eat or drink during the preceding days. Catch us at Pleasance
Courtyard whilst we’re still nourished!
Out of the Blue will be performing at the Pleasance Courtyard from 3-29 August (excl 16) at 15.00.
