THE Shepherd Group Concert Brass Band have "exciting plans" for February 9: an evening of Sixties and Seventies classic hits at The Hive theatre, Manor C of E Academy, York.

"This is an entirely new venture by a brass band and we don't think it has ever been tried before," says band secretary Audrey Brown. "Our musical director, Mike Pratt, is an enthusiast of music of the 1960s and 1970s, so he decided to try this out and the band have entered into the idea wholeheartedly.

"Tickets are selling well already, but this concert may appeal to people who are not entirely fans of brass bands and we hope such people will really enjoy our programme. It's been great fun rehearsing the music and I'm sure this will be evident in our performance."

To enter the spirit of the Sixties and Seventies' music scene, band members will be ditching their usual uniforms in favour of period gear, complete with kinky boots, flares, flower power and big hair. "The audience are invited to dress up for the night and prizes will be awarded for the best costumes," says Audrey.

Pratt's musical forces will be dipping into the songbooks of Abba, Freddie Mercury and Queen, Little Eva, Tom Jones, Elton John and more besides from 7pm.

"This new venture promises to be a whole lot of fun, flares and psychedelia," says Audrey. Tickets for Live At The Hive are on sale at £5 on 01904 655076.