The royal visit was planned for 20 July 2022. Several sites across Devon bid for their chance to be on the agenda, but Cockington Court won. Centre Director Marissa Wakefield asked Debbie to assemble the band, but told her to keep the news a secret in the meantime.

“Everyone was really excited,” said Debbie. “People had been guessing because it had been on the news. I just kept saying, I don’t know. They were absolutely thrilled when they found out.”

Debbie has led the band for nearly 20 years. She says that the royal visit was definitely one of the proudest moments of her career:

They were so approachable. Camilla was amazing – she spoke to every single person.

“Lots of people were there,” she added. “It was on different news channels and the reporters interviewed our band members and not just me. I thought that was really good because people we support had the opportunity to speak.”

Challenging prejudices

Debbie explained how a lot of people wrongly assume that Samba ROC isn’t up to the professional standard, because the band members have disabilities and autism. She said that the standard is now so high, that potential new members must go through auditions to make sure they’re up to scratch:

Over the years, I’ve seen how people’s expectations of people with learning disabilities is quite low. A lot people think anyone can be in a band, but you need certain musical skills to be able to do it.

People have asked ‘can they even play?’ – “I was outraged, I was so offended. I thought – would I even be standing here? Would I be putting these people up in front of an audience to be ridiculed or humiliated? I wouldn’t do that.

I’m so proud of everybody in the band, being able to perform and surprise people.

Samba-ing through

Samba ROC is part of our community arts project in Devon called ROC Creative. The band formed in 2003 and has played a whole host of venues including Upton Park (West Ham’s old stadium) and Kew Gardens.

Some of the band’s members have been with the band for the full 19 years!

They rehearse at the Methodist Church Hall in Paignton on Mondays, practicing choreography and repairing their instruments as needed.

The past few years have been much quieter for the band. With the pandemic and financial crisis, lots of events and parades were cancelled or scaled down. But this year, Samba ROC led the parade at the Totnes Pride event (hosted by Proud2Be CIC) and performed at events like the Torquay Bay of Lights Illumination Trail.

The power of performance

Debbie says that performing helps people we support to overcome their nerves and express themselves with rhythm:

I think it’s allowing people to do what they can do well. A lot of people don’t have the opportunity to be able to express themselves through a medium they’re good at.

One of our band members was too scared to come on stage in the beginning. They managed to get him there and that person now is at the front all the time! It’s what they live for.

She added:

A lot of times people we support hardly get their voices heard at all. This is a way for them to be able to express themselves and be part of a wider community.

They know that everybody in the audience appreciates it. They know by how much they clap and cheer, how much they’re contributing to the events that we’re performing at.

Samba ROC have found fame in their local area and often get recognised on the street:

Small children absolutely love us – they’ll come up and dance with the band and I always think that’s brilliant.

Debbie has been working for ROC and United Response for two decades now and loves making a difference in her job:

My favourite part of my job is that we have a lot of fun. There are a lot of laughs along the way, for various reasons. Being able to see people progress and enjoy themselves. Knowing that you’re making a difference to people’s lives is just so rewarding.

Find out more about our ROC Creative arts projects here.

  • Jenna Lloyd is Senior Content Officer for United Response.