Depends what you mean by first time. I sang in choirs right the way through from primary school up until a few years ago - long gap in years between those two. So there were MANY performances in public over the years -ranging from small primary school choir performances, to more demanding stuff at grammar school, singing in a young person's choir in Guildford under Vernon Handley's baton, through to many years with the local choral society performing locally in Guildford, and then in later years at the Royal Albert Hall, Royal Festival Hall and in Hyde Park with about 999 others for the VE Day celebrations in front of the Queen. Many "first" memories in there - first concert with an orchestra, first experience of a recording studio, first radio broadcast, first experience of standing with 6 others on the Royal Festival Hall stage in front of a full house, and singing unaccompanied, and then with orchestra in a performance of Vaughan Williams' Sea Symphony! (That was a blast, I can tell you!)

But first public performance on my own singing trad English songs would have been about 1989 - in front of other members of my choir who were all sharing a singing training and socialising weekend. An unnerving experience - I remember both legs wanting to disappear out of the room in different directions, and a distinct shakiness about the voice. In those days I played guitar, and I remember noticing in a disassociated manner that maybe I should have tuned it better, as the conductor and accompanist were sitting out there. It was my first experience of people telling me that they liked my singing (not that I believed them at the time - just thought they were being nice), and I remember that I was on such a high at actually having done it that I couldn't sleep until about 3 in the morning. No more singing on my own after that for about 18 months, when I ended up singing "Leaving on a Jet Plane" at my friend's memorial service at the request of her husband, and under protest, but only because I knew she would have appreciated it had she still been around.

After that there was a long, long gap until I went to Sidmouth in 1990, went on a Bread and Roses harmony workshop and made friends with the person who was to be my singing partner for a couple of years, who then forced me into singing solo one night when we ran out of new harmony songs to do (I seem to remember that Bread and Roses were performing at the club that night, and anxiously asking Saro at the end whether she thought I ought to carry on singing. I think she said yes!!!)- probably about 1992? After that it's been a long upward and very very enjoyable experience curve (if there is such a thing)to the point where I made my first paid appearance here in Guildford in 2004. The nerves while performing have 99.9% disappeared, but resurface at unexpected moments - the interesting thing is that I find that I can notice my leg shaking, with interest, while the rest of me remains rock solid!!!