Their brand of decidedly Bermudian humour has delighted audiences for over a decade and now, there's a timely chance to capture the insane magic of `Not The Um Um' (NTUU) show with Chris Broadhurst's CD of hit songs recorded `live' from the show at the Clayhouse Inn in April of this year.

Proceeds from the CD, which has been selling well since it first came out some months ago, will go to PALS, thus continuing NTUU's commitment to the community over the years: since they began in 1984, the ten shows have raised more than a staggering $100,000 for local charities.

"I would say that this CD is unique, a `first' for Bermuda, in that I did it live,'' says the talented singer who writes many of the often very irreverent lyrics himself. "However good a studio recording may be from a technical angle, it lacks the atmosphere, energy and spontaneity of a `live' gig.'' Included on this disc are such favourites (collectively compiled by the cast) as `Rock and Roll Budget', `Cable TV Blues', `Tuckers Town', `Independance', `Union Man', the `Italian Waiter's Song', as well as Chris Broadhurst's `De Islands'.

Explaining that he missed the last two NTUU shows because he had been away on business for almost a year, Mr. Broadhurst returned to the fold when cast member Sean Dill had to drop out for personal reasons. "The other four (Bruce Barritt, Fred Barritt, Peter Smith and Tim Taylor) thought that two missing might be a bit much, so, instead of frantically trying to learn Sean's bits, it was agreed I would do the opening act by singing some of the best songs from the previous nine shows. It worked out very well! The audience loved it.'' Realising that this solo spot would give him the chance to realise a long-held dream, Chris Broadhurst was determined that, before the end of the show's run he would make that `live' recording. "I knew I had a lot to live up to -- both with the guys, and with the audience, so I worked very hard beforehand.

My initial approach was to come up with a list of tunes, then whittle them down to a manageable figure, and I also wrote a new song about Ross Perot (I was already thinking of marketing the CD as a tourist item next year). I knew I had to come up with a snappy introduction to each song -- which is a golden rule for me. Then, I added a stand-up comedy routine in the middle so that it would break up the songs a bit. I didn't want people to think they were listening to some recital!'' His final, essential step was to try his act out on the rest of the cast: "It went down great and, of course, they had a few suggestions -- a line here, a gag there, which really helped.'' The final recording actually occurred on the very last night (Saturday) of the run which, as usual, had been completely sold out. "The stage was empty, I turned the recorder on (always a good idea!), stepped up to the mike -- and it went like a dream. The audience went berserk. Yes, I made a few mistakes but they got a laugh, so I left them in because I think they added to the atmosphere of the show.'' One of the surprise bonuses of releasing his CD, says Mr. Broadhurst, has been the fact that he is now being asked to perform the same songs at various clubs and private parties around the Island. He says he was very surprised that, when he performed the songs at the recent Culturefest at Dockyard, children of seven and eight were "singing along and knew all the words, even the intros.'' His own company, Dragon Sound, was responsible for the audio production, with artwork on the CD by Carole Havercroft.

Chris Broadhurst began his musical career quite some time ago -- as a choirboy at St. John's Church. "After that I started singing with the Bermuda Folk Club and have now been President three times.'' Explaining that the NTUU show was established for three reasons -- "to entertain ourselves, to entertain others and, finally, to try and do a bit of good in the community by raising money for charity. I guess,'' he adds, "we were six frustrated actor/musicians and we just slotted together very well.'' He and his fellow cast members are well aware that, with the advent of NTUU, they were taking on a mantle of local theatre tradition. "We felt that we were branching out from John White's `The Um Um Show' (hence our title), which in turn had followed the Smith's Parish Revue, which followed `That Somerset Lot'. The whole thing had started years before, of course, with `Harum Scarum', so we would like to think that there may be a crazy bunch of guys somewhere out there to take over from us -- not that we're planning to quit for a while yet!'' He reflects that when they began, they were all in their 20's, single and had no mortgages. "Now, we're in our 40's, most of us are married and we are weighed down with bills and mortgages! So, we have gone from annual shows, to alternate years. But,'' he confides, "we have quite a bit written for another show. I just hope this CD will keep the magic going in the meantime.'' `Live at Not The Um Um' is on sale at Leisure Time, Sound Stage, Music Box and Music World at $19.95.