1-across – Trust managed church without priest : RELIANCE

5-across – Solo contribution from Ontario soprano : ARIOSO

9-across – Gosh, isn’t the platform busy tonight! : LASTNIGHT

11-across – For joint performance both undressed : GIGOT

12-across – Perhaps saunter on at middle C, modulating to E : OLDTIMEDANCE

15-across – GW Russell holds service for composer : ARNE

16-across – Blowpipe exercises with a small horn : PEASHOOTER

18-across – No time to record an attempt to cover number recently : NOTLONGAGO

19-across – Musical faux pas by Mike : SPAM

21-across – Sorceress’s inner sanctum’s poor condition : CIRCUMSTANCE

24-across – Is this playing in Rossini composition for strings? : ROSIN

25-across – Spy cases hotel on river in Cornish port : MOUSEHOLE

26-across – R Strauss bad? Silly not using stars, ludicrous! : ABSURD

27-across – Safe to slate young piper in play : PETERPAN

1-down – Nice way to retain line in exhortation to Britannia : RULE

2-down – Composer picked up record : LIST

3-down – At the intervals matrons ogled composer : ARNOLD

4-down – Come to our gigs dressed up — it’s René’s big idea : COGITOERGOSUM

6-down – Musical’s opening snubbed for 12 : RIGADOON

7-down – Pipe controls medical emergency? : ORGANSTOPS

8-down – See 9 : OFTHEPROMS

10-down – Daily, one with good character, figures on staff : TIMESIGNATURE

13-down – A short way to a new school turns up in old document : MAGNACARTA

14-down – College shows signs of decay? Times probes funds : UNITTRUSTS

17-down – Like Fingal’s Cave in paper format : COLUMNAR

20-down – Woman stealing Catholic writer’s plot : SCHEME

22-down – Brief report describes prom’s final ceremony : POMP

23-down – Scots know about royal composer : KERN

1-across – *Sort of plainsong : PANGOLINS

9-across – Briefly transfix a native of Africa : IMPALA

10-across – French politician gets spam about novelty lighting : LAVALAMPS

11-across – Girl hiding direction for wedding venue : GRETNA

12-across – Securing coach stop, as prescribed by law : STATUTORY

13-across – Spare uniform nude’s taken off : UNUSED

17-across – Article that’s first seen thematically in 8 downs : ANT

19-across – *A selection of writings jointly published by Rupert? : ANTBEAR

20-across – *Girl’s caught and concealed within : ECHIDNA

21-across – 7 of 24 worried about … : ETA

23-across – … butt of weirdo, gender-bending : DOGEND

27-across – Range of greetings, including mother to boy : HIMALAYAS

28-across – 17 down taking in short performance on the Strand? : ASHORE

29-across – Broke off studies briefly around time film returned : DESTITUTE

30-across – Film work in Seychelles, partly : KINSEY

31-across – *Garden with viewing places? : EDENTATES

2-down – A vehicle picked up Italian forward in Rome : AVANTI

3-down – Baseball team starring discontented maverick : GIANTS

4-down – Erection faltering of late? No : LEANTO

5-down – Producer of M Ryan’s orgasm in kidney unit : NEPHRON

6-down – Bloomers by Santa — harm done : AMARANTHS

7-down – Two sets of players include one reject : CASTASIDE

8-down – *Dutch explorer losing sleep initially over heartless French writer : TAMANDUAS

14-down – *A distant fellow released doves at regular intervals around vessel : AARDVARKS

15-down – Theatre worker playing in the G and S act, originally : STAGEHAND

16-down – See topless 19 dancing round the carob and catalpa? : BEANTREES

17-down – Second person to be 18 … : ARE

18-down – … or 20, say, of 26 for builders? : TEA

22-down – Sort of Charlie, coming last, followed round one in the middle : TAILEND

24-down – Desire working woman that’s immoral? : WANTON

25-down – Human trafficking’s something often repeated : MANTRA

26-down – Cover human trafficking, lacking evidence at first : MANTLE

1-across – Die in the cooler? : ICECUBE

5-across – Something useful I agree — it has practicality in the end : AMENITY

10-across – See 28 : CAPE

11-across – Doing well to disperse Lisbon smog : BLOSSOMING

12-across – Poles securing harmless part of a flowering plant : STAMEN

13-across – Brush on odd bits of colour where social events held : CLUBROOM

14-across – Advantage held by business tycoon, bounder about right! : TRUMPCARD

16-across – Capital with 6, you could say, bringing 18 : QUITO

17-across – Asian home, a second knocked over : OMANI

19-across – Moving ship beyond wave, an up-and-down experience : EMOTIONAL

23-across – Compared with a crossword, Sudoku is so idiotic : CLUELESS

24-across – See 19 : ROLLER

26-across – Big performance one feeling someone must grasp and then appreciate, primarily : GRANDOPERA

27-across – Sport to sell that’s backfired : GOLF

28-across – Where Port Elizabeth is a pretence, as liberal : EASTERN

29-across – News agency reporting writers from the Midlands? : REUTERS

2-down – See 19 : COASTER

3-down – Off-white stuff, single or double ultimately consumed : CREAM

4-down – In young feline one head lifts, with swollen nodes : BUBONIC

6-down – Church fairly dismisses it, after reduction in the majority : MOSQUE

7-down – Uncompromising leader breaking ground no more, UN chief : NUMEROUNO

8-down – Audibly, don’t eat in Yorkshire? Don’t listen! : TUNEOUT

9-down – Wheel round new cornet and drum finally, for top musician : CONCERTMASTER

15-down – Fruit, one of seven on top of two lockers : MONKEYNUT

18-down – Killer song, a hit written up : MALARIA

20-down – Raw pastry dish then cut, top sliced off : TARTARE

21-down – Space around middle of hole beginning to reduce, describing coloured rings : AREOLAR

22-down – Among maestri, one raised towards the heavens as an artist : RENOIR

25-down – Easy crossword solution : LIGHT

8-across – Whitehall edifice once rigged to bug Leader of House : CENOTAPH

9-across – Theatrical monarch right to delay appearance in dress with no back : OBERON

10-across – An unknown number on transport that’s crowded : BUSY

11-across – Kind of 24 down’s producer phones girl, speaking like Spooner : MILESDAVIS

12-across – One writing in 24 down note in jazzy score : CENSOR

14-across – Dumped sport journalist outside court — it’s not out of the 24 down : EXPECTED

15-across – Grimy English accommodated by a foreign family : UNCLEAN

17-across – Forest and city gutted in fire : ARDENCY

20-across – Special pair of queens in 24 down : SQUANDER

22-across – Teacher going over French that’s 24 down : RISQUE

23-across – Spirit imbues leader of ceremonies with sacred 24 down : MELANCHOLY

24-across – Party in retreat — Liberal Party : BALL

25-across – Agree there’s no damage done by the postal service? : ASSENT

26-across – Setters wearing old headgear could be saps : EXHAUSTS

1-down – Church canon with article that’s kind of 24 down : CERULEAN

2-down – A tip for trickery from one 24 down, politically : TORY

3-down – Criticise novel rejected inside 60 minutes : HAMMER

4-down – Argentinian red on sale drunk in 24 down club : CHELSEA

5-down – A chatterbox, salesman is therefore good for promotion : GOSSIPER

6-down – Rakes used with energy — beach churned up : DEBAUCHEES

7-down – 24 down force cut up rocks : POLICE

13-down – Latin America’s revolutionary reserves behind Muslim nations : SULTANATES

16-down – Two leading characters given heartless command to step down : ABDICATE

18-down – Such lines of verse as here are found Allow great deeds to go around : COUPLETS

19-down – Uplifting narrative about love, one using 24 down language : TROOPER

21-down – Inclined to chuck wandering herd out of Hardyesque novel : QUEASY

22-down – Partner of 24 downs spinning coats for modish, trendy hipster : RHYTHM

24-down – 22 across or down : BLUE

1-across – Tongue spoken, cause of the slurring? : LIQUOR

4-across – Solid figure hard, during various periods : SPHEROID

9-across – See 21 : BRIDE

10-across – European conversion of Gaul accepted by reluctant Messiah : BULGARIAN

11-across – Hundreds initially stuck in toilet and half of them drunk, completely : TOTHEHILT

12-across – Bird black in colour, tail invisible : GREBE

13-across – Young lady was a German viniculturist, I gathered : MADEMOISELLE

17-across – Photographer’s subject so informed? : INTHEPICTURE

20-across – Explode, putting head in furnace by mistake : GOOFF

21-across – Female in the postal union? : MAILORDER

23-across – Model like her, in secret, a contributor to the affairs of government? : CHRISTINE

24-across – Crackhead invested in European trip : DANCE

25-across – Yellowish fluid gets to float in breeze : PUSHOVER

26-across – See 23 : KEELER

1-down – Doctor by tool, holding second the wrong way for surgical procedure : LOBOTOMY

2-down – Calm study under which person at the Sorbonne? : QUIETUDE

3-down – Very large topless garments embarrassing, initially : OBESE

5-down – Shock of a chicken, say, getting award in America : PULITZERPRIZE

6-down – Leaving disarray within the Church, standing as a gospeller : EVANGELIC

7-down – Musical gilt-edged, as it happens : OLIVER

8-down – See 19 : DANCER

10-down – A power no longer, in French produce ’tis going to pot, I fear, in the end : BRITISHEMPIRE

14-down – Chap I decorate, that’s not on as a declaration of intent : MANIFESTO

15-down – Wind unloaded from one’s guts : DUODENAL

16-down – I agree to try and try again : HEARHEAR

18-down – Filled with goods, up-ended dark red food container : EGGCUP

19-down – Santa’s reindeer attached to old motor, one with bells on? : MORRIS

22-down – Veteran during apartheid, locked up : OLDIE