Here's when you will see The Three Degrees singing live in Chesterfield

The trio – who hold the Guinness World Record for the longest-running female group – will share their chart-topping song When Will I See You Again and many others at the Winding Wheel Theatre on Sunday, March 27.

Next year marks the 60th anniversary of The Three Degrees formation, albeit the names in the harmony group have changed over the years.

Valerie Holiday, one of the early members, said: “For us, it is still exciting and we still enjoy our work. We are blessed with a wide age group appeal....from fifteen to sixty-five. This is why we have survived, I think. We learned and were taught how to entertain and even before we had hit records, we knew how to do our job - our choreography, our costumes, the lights...these were all things that we learned at an early age.”

Helen Scott, who joined in the early years, added: “It still amazes me when we see teenagers singing along with our songs. And yet we still have the fans who have grown with us.”

Often branded Prince Charles’ favourite group, and given the nickname Charlie’s Angels by the media, The Three Degrees have sung at many events for the Royal Family. They were inivtied guests at the wedding reception of Princess Diana and Prince Charles where the only other American guest was Nancy Reagan and (actress) Susan George was the only other show business guest.

The Three Degrees roots stretch back nearly five decades when Richard Barrett brought together three teenagers in Philadelphia. Helen said times back then were tough. She recalled: “I remember taking the bus to rehearsal. We’d rehearse until 8 or 9 o’ clock every night and on weekends. And we’d play local record hops whenever we could. Gradually, we started to make noise outside of Philadelphia and we went to Pittsburgh, into Ohio and Rhode Island. Always on weekends, though, because we were all still at school.

"We were just happy-go-lucky teenagers….we had no big expectations and we did it for the sheer pleasure of music. We just wanted to sing! I remember getting my first TV paycheck….it was for $90 and I thought I’d hit the jackpot. To a fifteen year old, that was a lot of money.”

Soon after, Helen married and left the group. The Three Degrees now consisted of Fayette Pinkney, Valerie Holiday and Sheila Ferguson who went on to achieve hits such as Dirty Ol’ Man, When Will I See You Again, Year Of Decision and Take Good Care Of Yourself.

Helen rejoined the group in 1976, replacing Fayette. The Three Degrees teamed up with Giorgio Moroder (of Donna Summer fame) and a new string of hits began. Giving Up, Giving In, My Simple Heart and the ballad Woman In Love were highlights of this period.

When Sheila left the band in 1986, Valerie and Helen brought in Cynthia Garrison who stayed with The Three Degrees for 20 years before retiring for medical reasons. Freddi Poole took Cynthia’s place in the line-up.

Tickets to see the Three Degrees cost £30.50. Go to www.chesterfieldtheatres.co.uk