Their love of 1960's pop music has just brought two Coventry University students their music degrees. And it will now also be bringing them to King's Heath to perform at our “Girls on Top” session on Sunday 4 August to celebrate the great female pop stars of the 1960's.

Vocalist Melissa Gill aged 21 and pianist Hannah Maydwell aged 24 formed their duo “That Sixties Vibe” as part of their final year of studies for their Music Composition Degree. They said “We recently organised a Charity Night and a member of the audience told us they had read in the Birmingham Mail that young up and coming musicians were needed for a concert in King's Heath. We thought it would be a fantastic opportunity for us and we are very excited that we have been given the opportunity to perform at such a great event”.

King's Heath Walk of Fame Organisers Bob Prew and Ken Whittaker said “We now have a great line-up of young talent for our show. Present day female stars like Adele and Duffy owe a great deal to the trail blazing role played in the 1960's by female singers such as Dusty Springfield and Sandie Shaw. We are thrilled that Melissa and Hannah and a whole new generation want to continue to celebrate the musical legacy of the 1960's”.

That Sixties Vibe will be joined by other young female singers including Jo Rose and Barni Scott in a 3 hour show compered by top comedienne Sheila M as seen on Sky TV . And young male musicians like Robert Lane will also be paying homage to the 1960's female stars. Starting at 4 p.m. the “Girls On Top” show will take place at Fletchers in King's Heath as part of our series of sessions to commemorate the heritage of the Ritz Ballroom where many of the 1960's pop legends performed before they were famous. including Dusty Springfield, Sandie Shaw, Helen Shapiro and Cilla Black. 

Tickets will cost £3 on the day but advance tickets are available for just £2.50 from the Kitchen Garden Cafe on York Road or £2.75 when buying directly from "wegottickets.com" by clicking here 

An article by Jasbir Authi of the Birmingham Mail entitled, "Could you be the star of 60s-style all-girl gig?" can be found by clicking here.

A citywide search has been launched to find new musical talent to perform at our event to showcase and celebrate the work of the female legends of music.

Dusty Springfield (below) was an icon of the swinging 60's who had 16 Top 10 singles including “I Only Want To Be With You”, “You Don't Have To Say You Love Me” and “Son of A Preacher Man that was to be hit for a second time after featuring in the cult film “Pulp Fiction”. Her soul album “Dusty in Memphis” has frequently been voted one of the greatest albums of all time. She sadly died in 1999 but her musical legacy continues to live on.

Sandie Shaw (topmost image, right) was renowned for performing barefoot and had a string of hits including “(Always) Something There To Remind Me”, “Girl Don't Come”, “Long Live Love” and “Puppet On A String” with which she won the European Song Contest despite allegedly not liking the song!

Helen Shapiro (bottom image) was only 14 when she had her first hit single, “Don't Treat Me Like A Child” which was followed by the No. 1 hits “Walking Back To Happiness” and “You Don't Know”.

She topped the bill when The Beatles made their first nationwide tour. Lennon and McCartney then wrote the song “Misery” for her but her record company refused to allow her to record it.

Cilla Black was the biggest selling act from Liverpool in the1960's after The Beatles. She had eleven Top Ten hits including “Anyone Who Had A Heart” and “You're My World”.

Top and emerging local musicians are being sought to give their own unique interpretation of their favourite girl artists' songs as well as performing some new songs of their own. Advance tickets for the event called “Girls On Top” are now on sale and cost just £2.50 from the Kitchen Garden Cafe on York Road or £2.75 from www.wegottickets.com/event/224507

Any remaining tickets will cost £3 on the door.

Organisers Bob Prew and Ken Whittaker said, “We already have some great musicians lined up to play but would like to hear from a few more. We were delighted that over 100 fans turned up at our first Lazy Sunday Afternoon music session celebrating 1960's pop icons The Kinks and hope for an even better turn out on 4 Aug to celebrate the major contribution girl singers made to the music of the era. We are determined to keep the spirit of the Ritz Ballroom alive".

Musicians interested in playing at the event should contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ”

Come and get Kinky in King's Heath on Sunday 7 July and celebrate a legendary performance by The Kinks at the former Ritz Ballroom in York Road that was gutted by fire earlier this year.

Brothers Ray and Dave Davies brought The Kinks to the Ritz in June 1966 and making his debut was John Dalton after regular bass guitarist Pete Quaife broke his leg in a car accident. Appearing only two days after being recruited, John had virtually no time to practice. Three years later he would re-join as a permanent member.

The Kinks' appearance at The Ritz came just after they had released "Sunny Afternoon" as a single which became their third No. 1 hit in the UK charts. The group went on to have a total of seventeen Top Twenty singles including “Dedicated Follower of Fashion”, “Waterloo Sunset” and “Lola” and five Top Ten albums starting with “Kinda KInks” .

Fletchers Bar on York Road directly opposite the former ballroom on York Road, King's Heath will host the “All Things Kinky” event from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Top and emerging local musicians including Ben Calvert, Mr Apollo, Robert Lane, James Connolly and Harriet Harkcom will perform their favourite Kinks' songs. Advance tickets are now on sale and cost just £2.50 from the Kitchen Garden Cafe on York Road, or £2.50 plus 50p booking fee from www.wegottickets.com Tickets will cost £3 on the door.

Local residents Bob Prew and Ken Whittaker who are organising the event said, “We are hoping for a really Sunny Afternoon. We want as many Kinks fans as possible to come to King's Heath on 7 July to celebrate our amazing musical heritage. The Kinks are widely recognised as one of the most important British groups of all time and they continue to have a major influence on today's music scene. This session has been specially designed for everyone who likes to be Kinky "All Day And All Of The Night" and there will be a special prize for the Best dressed 1960's “Dedicated Follower Of Fashion” who turns up!”

"Great Balls of Fire" will be one of the many classic songs sung at a special event to commemorate all the famous rock 'n' roll artists of the 1950's and 60's who played at the former Ritz Ballroom  gutted by fire earlier this year.

On Sunday 6 October top local groups including SwiftBeat rock 'n' roll band, The 6-5 Specials, Mr Apollo and World of Fox will perform their favourite rock 'n'roll songs in a 3 hour session starting at 3 p.m. at Fletchers Bar on York Road directly opposite the former ballroom.

Tickets cost just £2.50 in advance from the Kitchen Garden Cafe also on York Road or www.wegottickets.com or £3 on the door.

"Great Balls of Fire" was a number one hit for Jerry Lee Lewis. When he first performed at The Ritz Ballroom his chauffeur had to be shown the way to King's Heath from another Regan owned venue - The Plaza in Handsworth - by a fan travelling on his mate's motor bike.

When Gene Vincent played the Ritz Ballroom on 21 June 1963 he was supported by a band called The Outlaws" featuring Ritchie Blackmore later of Deep Purple and Rainbow fame.

Internationally famous Bill Haley is also known to have played at the Ritz Ballroom as well as up and coming British rock 'n' roll acts including the very young Joe Brown and Cliff Richard!

This event will be the last in the Walk of Fame's very popular summer series of Lazy Sunday Afternoon Sessions that kicked off on 7 July with "All Things Kinky" celebrating the music of The Kinks.

Local residents Bob Prew and Ken Whittaker said "We have been really delighted that so many people have come along to all the sessions to continue to celebrate King's Heath's amazing musical heritage. The name for the sessions was taken from a hit single by The Small Faces who also performed at the Ritz Ballroom. We will be having a short break in November before returning on 1st December with a Best of 2013 show".