SWING'S the thing at Blackpool Tower Ballroom, and between them the Blackpool Tower Big Band, Memphis Belle Swing Orchestra, Glenn Miller Tribute Orchestra and the New Squadronaires have just notched up their 100th performance of the season.

Their first full season has seen the New Squadronaires playing for HRH Prince Andrew in Birmingham, and the Blackpool Tower Big Band playing for Prime Minister Tony Blair in Leyland during his campaign trail.

The Glenn Miller Tribute Orchestra appeared on Blue Peter, and both the band and the Tower Ballroom will feature in a Channel Four Glenn Miller documentary being screened on Christmas Eve. The New Squadronaires will be filmed this month for a joint Meridian and Granada Television documentary tracing the history of the original Squadronaires.