Mike Hatchard's 70 Birthday Celebration Jazz Breakfast

Mike Hatchard is an outstanding jazz pianist who has spent a life time playing with top musicians and singers. He is also a multi-instrumentalist, classical concert pianist, lyricist, composer, artist, and cartoonist.

Still in his early twenties he toured America and Europe accompanying Cleo Laine on piano. He became Matt Monro’s youngest ever musical director.

Subsequently he toured with Barbara Thompson’s Paraphernalia, the Pasadena Roof Orchestra and worked with artists as varied as Maxine Daniels, Johnny Van Derrick, Salena Jones, Tina May and David Essex. He toured with Freddy Starr and became musical director to Pamela Stephenson. He wrote songs with Frankie Howard and Spike Milligan.

Mike’s name is particularly associated with bassist Herbie Flowers with whom he performed hundreds of concerts including at the Southbank and sell-out concerts at the Edinburgh Festival.

For many years Mike's jazz breakfasts in Hastings, Bexhill and Shoreham continue to attract top musicians and enthusiastic audiences. Julie Roberts is an exceptional singer of jazz, blues, swing, Latin, and ballads. She has a rare gift of a mellow voice and an ability to communicate the soul and spirit of a song –  from subtle ballads to gutsy blues to fast moving or witty numbers with complex rhythms.  “Everyone wants to hear Julie sing.” “I love that dark smoky voice.”