It took them 40 years after their first dance floor encounter as teenagers, but now Annie and Vernon Brown are finally making beautiful music together. 

The Cromer couple, who perform as The Browns, are on the verge of releasing their first single ahead of an album that should be out in March or April.

Mrs Brown, 60, said she and her 62-year-old husband took their sweet time in becoming the songwriting duo they are today. 

North Norfolk News: Annie and Vernon Brown, from CromerAnnie and Vernon Brown, from Cromer (Image: Robert Walkley)

She said: “We were both at boarding school in Bedford. Vernon’s old school had a dance and all the girls from my school were invited along. 

“We danced all night and talked for ages at the end of the evening and arranged to meet up the following Sunday in the park.”

But when she got home, Mrs Brown’s mum told her they had plans to visit her nan on the same day.

She hurried to the rendevous early to tell Vernon, but he was late and they missed each other, and Mrs Brown later spotted him looking around for her as they drove past. 

North Norfolk News: Annie and Vernon BrownAnnie and Vernon Brown (Image: Robert Walkley)

“We were in too much of a hurry to stop,” she said. “I thought we’d run into each other later on, but we never did.”

They reconnected through Facebook in 2015, but their first meeting after getting back in touch almost went awry as well.

They had planned a day out at Blicking Estate, but were standing in different places and neither could get a phone signal. Luckily, they eventually managed to find each other.

It only took the Browns another two years before they got married at St Mary's Church in Baconsthorpe, and they have lived in Cromer since 2018.

A shared love of music has led them to regular performances at open mic nights including ‘Rock the Lobster’ in Sheringham.

“It’s a hobby that’s got a bit more serious, I suppose,” Mrs Brown said. 

The Brown’s first single, called Forgive and Forget, will be released on February 24, and they will also perform at the Folk on the Strand music festival in Overstrand on March 3.

Mrs Brown said: "The single is called Forgive and Forget - it’s a universal theme, really.

“Norfolk is so great for festivals, and we’re so lucky we’ve always been made to feel welcome everywhere.”