FROM humble beginnings, the Gang Show has become a firm favourite here in Nottingham, entertaining thousands when it is staged at the Theatre Royal every two years.

The idea was dreamed up in 1931 by 28-year-old Rover Scout Ralph Reader, from Somerset, but was not initially the success it later became.

When he first came up with the idea, he couldn't think of a title.

In later years, Reader recalled: "One night during rehearsals word was brought to me that the title of the show had to be decided that evening so that posters could be got ready for the initial announcements to the public.

"We had just broken for coffee. Then I told one of the boys to call the cast back to continue rehearsals. As they all crowded back into the room I said to the youngster, 'Are they all back?' He looked at me and in a Cockney voice said, 'Aye, aye, skip, the gang's all here.'

"I stood rooted to the spot. The gang's all here! That's it! That was the title we had been looking for."

Lord Baden-Powell, Scouting's founder, asked Reader to pen another show. Within a month he was cracking on with it.

It's difficult to categorise Gang Shows, given the show's mix of music, comedy, song and dance.

Because of this, they take some staging.

Back in 1985, that year's show contained a tribute to TV comedy Last of the Summer Wine, with Anthony Wiggins, then nine, from the Hempshill Vale Estate, Bulwell, in wrinkled woolly stockings as battle-axe Nora Batty, and John Ellis, also nine, from Nuthall, as the ever-optimistic Compo Clegg.

And the 1997 show contained a tribute to Gary Glitter – long before the infamy that now attaches to the singer's life – performed by Matthew Biggs.

The opening number that year was Strike Up the Band and the show later went on to include a tribute to the 1937 Will Hay comedy film, Oh Mr Porter.

The 2001 show, was a massive organisational effort, as it is every year. The Post noted: "The refreshing 21st production owed much to the energy, enthusiasm and talents of more than 230 performers on stage and the Herculean efforts of an army of helpers.

"The show was a triumph for producer/director James Pidgeon. From its lively Reach for the Stars opening to a fabulous nostalgic finale, the sophisticated variety show had something for everyone."

And it seems this year's show has created just as many memories.