Exeter’s Chancellor and chanteuse

Her personal warmth means each student gets a special greeting and good wish. And on the evening of the Graduation Ball she will be once more giving students something to remember by singing with a rock 'n' roll band.

Floella’s band –  Damn Right I Got the Blues – will perform at the Graduation Ball, held at Westpoint in Exeter, on Friday 24 July.
 
Damn Right I Got the Blues performed at last year’s Graduation Ball, and the eager reception from students means the band looks like becoming a fixture. The band includes Floella on lead vocals, author and University of Exeter honorary graduate Ken Follett on bass and his son Emanuele Follett on lead guitar. Their set of rock and blues classics is greeted with the kind of enthusiasm by the students usually reserved for the Arctic Monkeys or Oasis.

The playlist for the Graduation Ball includes classic hits like Brown Sugar, by the Rolling Stones, Tina Turner’s Steamy Windows and All Along the Watchtower by Bob Dylan.
 
Floella Benjamin OBE DL Chancellor of the University of Exeter says: “When we last played for Exeter's students I was totally overwhelmed by their response. It is very special and a real privilege for me to perform again this year, as I want to inspire our graduates and give them wonderful memories of their time at the University. Once the Graduation robes come off, we're ready to rock!"
 
In 2006 Floella Benjamin was appointed as the University of Exeter’s Chancellor, the ceremonial head of the University. She is only the fifth Chancellor to be appointed by the University of Exeter since it was created in 1955. Floella is a broadcaster, actress, writer, producer and an active worker for the welfare, care and education of children throughout the world.