A SUCCESSFUL 1970s tribute band from Kidderminster which started life as a "one-gig project" will celebrate 10 years together next month with a hectic round of performances.

Ballroom Glitz hail "keeping the music totally live" and generating a "magical" atmosphere at their shows as reasons for their longevity.

The highlights of the celebrations will include an appearance at Wolverley Memorial Hall on December 27 - the same date and venue as their first gig in 1991.

In their career they have even played at the weddings of couples who met at their shows - and claim people have told them the band's gigs have changed their lives.

Billed as Britain's premier 70s tribute and showband, they formed as a close-knit group of family and friends who were all musicians and feeling disillusioned with the music scene of the time.

Keyboard player Val Reiss said: "When we played our very first show we had never encountered other tribute-style bands, we just wanted to keep the music and the true spirit of the 70s alive.

"My sister Kathy Donovan, together with close friends Lynton Carrier, Andy Gilbert, Brian Ellison and Kathy's husband Pete Jezukiewicz held an incredible party at which they unveiled their 70s spectacular to a capacity crowd," Val added.

"We were lucky to have special guest drummer John Trickett and vocalist Bob Willmott adding to the musical talents on display.

"The show was a brilliant success, with many people inquiring where we were playing next. They were dismayed to hear we had made no further plans to continue as a band - we had seen it as a one-off event!"

But this is not how things turned out - and the group have been playing four or five times a week since they formed.

And the band, who are especially proud of their popularity in their home town, have 23 shows planned for next month, including a sell-out party gig at Shepherds Bush Empire with Uriah Heep on December 7.

They will also be at the Robin R'n'B club in Brierley Hill on December 30, with a children's Christmas choir returning, by popular demand, for the seventh successive year.

Some of their best performances, they feel, have been for charity, with money raised for a range of causes including Kemp Hospice, Scope, Kidderminster Hospital and Birchen Coppice Middle School.

"Totally live" music with no sequencers or backing tapes is cited as one the main reasons for their success, as well as "a strong spiritual belief that the atmosphere generated at our shows is something quite magical".

Val added: "We believe that the band is incredibly special and many of our fans have told us they can 'feel the luurve'. What more could we want?"

More information is available on http://listen.to/glitz