When Major Stephen Caton joined the Bermuda Regiment 17 years ago, stage management was the last thing he expected to learn alongside target practice and square bashing.

But Major Caton is now the Regiment's Special Projects Officer, and therefore event director for the Bermuda Tattoo which opens tomorrow.

"I came in as a somewhat reluctant recruit, but after training and the excitement, I got into it," said Major Caton. "Clearly, the Bermuda Regiment offers a really diverse sort of training. I never thought I would be producing a musical show for thousands."

And according to Major Caton, military logic is just as applicable to the stage as it is to the battlefield.

When the Bermuda Tattoo was held in 2005, disaster struck when the road to Dockyard was suddenly closed due to a chemical spill. Hundreds of people on their way to the Bermuda Tattoo were delayed.

"The rule of thumb is that your plan of attack never survives contact with the enemy," said Major Caton who is an accountant by profession. "That year the enemy was the chemical spill. It had nothing to do with us, but it meant the show was delayed for half an hour.

"We aim off, as we say in the army. We try and make sure that everything is safe, and everything is in place, and all the information is supplied to the public so that the event goes off without a hitch.

"Obviously, there can be glitches from time to time, but we are expecting a very good show."

The 2009 Bermuda Tattoo will include a host of high-profile military bands from overseas.

"From Canada, there will be the Governor General's Foot Guards, and the Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa," said Major Caton.

"They are both the state bands of Canada and they do all the state ceremonial functions in Ottawa around Parliament Hill and so on.

"We will also have The Fredericton Society of St. Andrew Pipe Band from Fredericton, New Brunswick."

The United States Army Drill Team, from the Third Infantry Regiment,' will also perform.

"They are a stunning display team with 1903 Springfield Rifles," said Major Caton. "They do a very fast-paced and breathtaking show. It is an eight-minute routine, but they pack a lot into it."

Other bands will include Band of the Scots Guards from the Household Division, and also the 1st Battalion of the Scots Guards. From Barbados, there will be the Royal Barbados Police Force Band, and from the Azores there will be the Military Band of the Azores.

"I think we have probably got the crème de la crème of the military performance world," said Major Caton.

There will also be several local performers including The Bermuda Regiment Band Corps of Drums, Bermuda Islands Pipe Band, United Dance Productions and soprano Toni Robinson, who will be performing during the finale.

Captain Dwight Robinson, the Regiment's director of music, is responsible for most of the musical aspects of Bermuda Tattoo 2009. Major Caton said that 270 performers from overseas will be housed at Warwick Camp.

Other more senior members of the bands will be housed at the Fairmont Southampton.

"They are one of our partners," said Major Caton.

When The Royal Gazette spoke to Major Caton on Friday, tickets were selling well, but there were still some available.

"We have increased the capacity because we are sharing seating with the Bermuda Musical Festival," said Major Caton. "We only ever wanted to fill about 5,500 seats, but the capacity will be 6,900. If we fill that, that will be amazing.

"We have a purpose-built stadium at the Keep at the Bermuda Maritime Museum in Dockyard. It is the largest temporary seating structure ever installed in Bermuda.

"It is all looking very sharp up there. The Bermuda Maritime Museum is certainly a key partner."

He said many people had come to him with fond memories of previous tattoos, including the first one held in Bermuda in 1956.

"The first one ever was held in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1950," said Major Caton. "That was the grandfather of all tattoos."

At that first tattoo in Edinburgh there were no stands and just eight acts. Today, around 9,000 people attend the three-week Edinburgh Tattoo in August.

"In 1956, the producer of the Edinburgh Tattoo, Brigadier Alistair McLean, came to Bermuda to arrange The Bermuda Searchlight Tattoo.

"It was the penultimate year of the garrison being here. With the bases being here, the acts were already in Bermuda.

"He just brought everyone together, and that was at the Bermuda Athletic Association (BAA) field."

"In 1957, they did another one at the Prospect Field. Now with the modern tattoo, and no garrison forces here, we have to bring the acts in from overseas."

The word 'tattoo' originates from a time when British forces were stationed in Flanders, a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France, and the Netherlands, during the war of the Austrian Succession 1740 to 1780.

It derives from the Dutch 'Doe den tap toe' meaning 'last orders'. The British played drums and pipes as a signal to tavern owners to close down their taps so that British soldiers could return to their camps.

"It was a drummer's call," said Major Caton. "Drums have been used for centuries as a signal. Eventually, the army started adding bugles and so on, and eventually military bands were formed."

Ticket prices for the Bermuda Tattoo 2009 vary by seating section and range from $40 to $80.

There is no discount price for children.

Tickets are available online at www.bdatix.bm or at the iStore at 46 Reid Street in the City of Hamilton or at Fabulous Fashions at the Heron Bay Plaza.

For more information telephone 238-3880.

The Bermuda Tattoo 2009 is on October 22, 23 and 24.

The show starts at 7.30 p.m. but patrons are urged to get there as early as 6.30 p.m. to enjoy vendors and food in Dockyard.

For more information go to the website www.Bermudatattoo.bm.