“All of the following incidents are true. I accept full responsibility for my actions.”
Before I get into this, I should probably give you a little context. Those of you who know me well will know that long before Astro Technology Group, long before WCIT, and long before anyone was asking me about cloud infrastructure and cybersecurity, I was in a band. Several bands actually. From the start of the 70s through to the mid 80s I performed regularly – dance, pop/disco, country rock – you name it, I probably had a go at it. Music was as much a part of my identity as anything else.
And then, as tends to happen, life got in the way. Career took over. The drum kit and keyboard was sold and my guitars went in the corner and stayed there, other than the very occasional appearance for friends and family.
Fast forward to 2023. I was invited to perform an after-dinner set for WCIT Young Members. Around the same time, the Hand & Shears – a pub with roots going back to the 16th century, which gives it a head start on most of the technology companies I work with – was adopted as the official public house of WCIT. The landlord, Carl, suggested I do a one-off gig there.
I agreed. Somewhat reluctantly, I have to say, to “one night only”.
It was my first pub performance in over 40 years.
“It didn’t stay a one-off for long.”
I won’t pretend I wasn’t nervous. But something happened that first night that I hadn’t anticipated. I remembered why I loved it. Not just the music itself, but what live music does to a room. The way it connects people who’ve never met, gives strangers something to sing along to, and somehow makes an evening feel like more than just an evening.
I now perform at the Hand & Shears around 15 times a year. I’ve also had the privilege of performing at fundraising events for Cancer Research, Demelza, Motor Neurone Disease research, Red Trouser Day, and the WCIT Charity. I’ve even written and recorded a song for Pollinating London Together – a Trustee role I hold – to help educate young people about the importance of native pollinators and a theme song for Red Trouser Day. I had no idea when Carl (aided and an abetted by my daughter) talked me into that first gig where it would lead.
My sets cover around seven decades of popular music. Buddy Holly to Snow Patrol. Irish folk standards to Sweet Caroline. The aim is always the same – to create an atmosphere where people feel welcome, relaxed, and connected. I’ll be the first to admit I’m no Robbie Williams, but I have yet to clear a room entirely, so I consider that a reasonable measure of success. Oh, apart from one occasion when the bar mysteriously cleared for just enough time for the WCIT Beadle to film me singing in an empty room – foul play? Possibly – our Beadle and I did go to rival schools. I will leave the judgement to others.
“Would he consider performing at the Royal Hospital Chelsea?”
One evening after an event in Shoreditch I called in at the Hand & Shears. By complete chance I met two Chelsea Pensioners enjoying a drink. For those unfamiliar with the Royal Hospital Chelsea, it was founded in 1682 by King Charles II to provide care and camaraderie for veterans broken by age or war. The Chelsea Pensioners – instantly recognisable in their scarlet coats – are retired soldiers of the British Army, and the Royal Hospital remains one of Britain’s most iconic and respected institutions.
Carl mentioned to the Pensioners that I perform there regularly and suggested they come along to my next gig.
They did. And they didn’t come alone.
Six Chelsea Pensioners attended my next performance and stayed for the entire evening. By the end of the night they had a question for me. Would I consider performing at the Royal Hospital Chelsea?
Photo: Peter Davies/MOD
I have been involved in some enjoyable and occasionally unlikely situations over the years – some will be aware of one or two of them. But I have to say, this one stopped me in my tracks.
“Sometimes all it takes is one song – and one evening in a pub.”
I am currently in discussions to perform for the Chelsea Pensioners and I genuinely regard it as one of the most meaningful opportunities I have encountered in recent years. Not in a business sense. In a human sense.
There is something uniquely powerful about music that spans generations. The men and women at the Royal Hospital Chelsea have lived through the eras that shaped the songs I perform. For an audience like that, a familiar melody isn’t just entertainment – it’s a memory, a conversation, a moment of connection.
What I find most compelling about this whole story is its simplicity. A chance meeting. A conversation over a drink in a pub that has been serving people since the 1500s. An invitation extended in good faith by people who simply enjoyed an evening of live music.
That’s it. No strategy. No LinkedIn campaign. No carefully crafted outreach email. Just one of those moments that reminds you that some of the best things that happen in business and in life arrive completely unannounced.
For me, this sits very naturally alongside everything I believe in through Astro Technology Group and WCIT – community, service, and the importance of genuine human connection. It turns out those values travel rather well. From the Livery halls of the City of London, all the way to the historic grounds of Chelsea.
I’ll keep you posted on how it goes. And if any of you happen to be in the Hand & Shears on a gig night, come and say hello. First round of Sweet Caroline is on me.
Steve Smith is CTO and Founder of Astro Technology Group, Panels Warden of the Worshipful Company of Information Technologists (WCIT) and Trustee of Pollinating London Together.
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