Wedding Band

Archive for the ‘Live Band’ Category

It’s never too soon to make plans for your Festive Entertainment be it a Christmas Party or a New Year’s Eve Party.   And nothing is more impressive that a great live Christmas Party band who will play all your favourite Christmas Songs including White Christmas, Winter Wonderland, Let It Snow, Rudolf The Red-nosed Reindeer and many more.

If you are looking to improve your reputation as a Boss, think about booking a Christmas party band to inject some atmosphere into your  Festive event. Little work perks, like an amazing annual Christmas party, can create solidarity in the office and improve the workplace morale. What better way to ensure all your staff at the office get to know each other better than to dance the night away to a great Christmas Party Band ?

For your office Christmas Party, Festive Company Function or even a New Year’s Eve party, Simply Swing offers dynamic live Festive Entertainment and is in great demand every December.   If December proves too busy to find a suitable party day, then why not follow the current trend of holding your company Christmas Party in late November or January?  It’s a great way to light up these dreary months.

If you’re feeling a little adventurous, you could also add a special theme to your festive function. Talk to our team at Simply Swing to discuss your individual requirements.

Simply Swing: professional, experienced and an incredibly entertaining Christmas Party Band and Festive Entertainment Band.

Well last Sunday saw the Wedding Band Trio performing at the end of a very long run of gigs at the beautiful Bingham Hotel in Richmond.  As the hotel has a no-drum policy we performed as a Trio and had the whole place bopping at the wedding of Leanne and Hedde.  This was Simply Swing’s second performance in a month at the Bingham and we hope we will have many more at this fabulous bijoux hotel.  The night before the Quintet played at the delightful Woking Golf Club’s summer ball. An elegant and suave atmosphere where again, the band had everyone on the floor dancing.  The night before that we were at Gibson Hall in Liverpool Street with the Septet for a company bash with a Hollywood Theme.  Phew… I’m almost worn out listing the week’s gigs – and, finally, the day before at our residency at the Duke of Kent in Ealing.  Oh, and did I mention the Quartet at Ye Olde Smack in Leigh on Sea also last week featuring the lovely Jacqui Hicks.   I’m worn out just thinking about all those gigs!!

Last weekend Simply Swing was in West Sussex for a Hollywood Themed Charity Auction.  A great time was had by all and the band really saved the night when the marquee we were performing in had a major power cut, leaving only our drummer, bass player and saxophonist able to play!  In the 15 minutes or so that it took for the power to come back on, the dance-floor was packed – albeit in total darkness – and the guys really pulled out all the stops trying to keep the party going acoustically.

Simply Swing is an ever popular choice for Themed Parties as our repertoire crosses the spectrum of the Golden Age of Hollywood, The Rat Pack Years, Musical Theatre, Classic Films and the James Bond era.

Choosing music for an evening wedding reception used to be quite a simple matter 10 or 15 years ago – live band or disco.  That decision made, even if you did choose a live wedding band the chances are it would be a function band that played music from Motown through to the current charts, trying its best to be a live version of the disco earlier dismissed.  Weddings then had a sort of familiarity – when the music started the older generation would leave the room for a quiet chat outside (and that’s if they were lucky enough to be at a venue with another room to escape to.)

With stately homes fast becoming the new village hall, the wedding venues are getting grander and more elegant and so too, is the music.  No more the ABBA medley or Tina Turner oldies deafening us – bring on the SWING BAND.  An elegant mixture of music from the Great American Songbook which has once again, become hip, cool and current.   The parents of the bride & groom may have been rockin’ to the likes of Rod Stewart for their wedding reception entertainment but even Rod has exchanged his ‘Maggie Mae’ for ‘As Time Goes By’.

With the huge popularity of shows like The Rat Pack and new artists such as Michael Buble, the resurgence of jazz, swing and popular song has never been stronger.   Buble’s music, let’s face it, is of our grandparents generation.  It’s Frank Sinatra all over again – classy, brassy and ring-a-ding-ding!   The real pleasure of digging up the musical past is that only the best and the biggest hits are re-discovered.  Songs such as Let’s Face The Music and Dance, Come Fly With Me, La Mer, Have You Met Miss Jones or Music to Watch Girls Go By are the survivors.   Who’d have thought that young brides would once again be asking for ‘The Way You Look Tonight’ or ‘Mr Bojangles’ for their first dance?

Turning to the all-important wedding first dance, one suspects that the rush of soon-to-be-married couples to take quickstep or foxtrot lessons must be due to the huge success of Strictly Come Dancing, a show which has it all – live music, beautiful gowns and most of all, glamour.   And what could be more glamorous than gliding across the dance-floor for the first time as newly-weds while a live swing band plays ‘Cheek To Cheek’?  Think Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers.  Sunday afternoon Tea-Dances are now back in style.

Perhaps for the contemporary Bride and Groom a Swing Band exemplifies the heady, studio-spun glamour of the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s.  Fronted by its male and female vocalists (we mustn’t forget Ella Fitzgerald’s contribution to this wonderful music) it will play music from composers such as George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Irving Berlin and even some Stevie Wonder thrown in for good measure.  A good quality Swing Band will have all generations enjoying the party and at a sensible volume too allowing guests to chat or to dance or to simply listen.

The disco has had its day, and a very long day at that, but if you really must have a disco then why not book a professional top-class live band who also offer a disco service?

Top Tips for choosing a Swing Band.

1.     Make sure they are professional musicians – this music is quite complex to play and requires a high level of musicianship.

2.     See if the band has any public performances where you can hear them play.

3.     Ask for a demo CD or listen to on-line sound samples (any reputable band will have these).

4.     See if the band of your choice has any video footage on YouTube.  This is fast replacing audio samples and it really is WYSIWYG

5.     Make sure they have an extensive repertoire and can play requests.

6.     If you use a music booking agency, be sure to check that the agent has personally seen the band.  You’d be surprised how often agents ‘Google’ a band just to hold-on to the client.

Great gig yesterday at the beautiful Le Talbooth, Colchester, Essex where Simply Swing performed at the wedding of Peter Suchet (sibling of David Suchet and John Suchet) and Jo Clinton-Davis.  The band was booked for a Tea-Dance but the event turned into a musical little bit of everything where we performed a wide variety of musical styles and kept all the guests dancing the afternoon away!

Surprise 40th birthday party for Louise last Sunday at Rowhill Grange in Dartford, kick-started our Spring/Summer busy period.  Great crowd too who loved the Robbie Williams special requests that we played.  Extremely busy Bank Holiday weekend coming up starting tomorrow 29th April with the Trio at our monthly gig at The Duke of Kent in Ealing, followed by the weekend performing at three different weddings in Oxford, Shepperton and Colchester!

Simply Swing is currently getting lots of enquiries for Charity Events and we just wanted to say that we try our upmost to accommodate these requests at our most competitive prices (we do, still, have to make a living!).  For any Charity Event on other than a Saturday, we can offer discounted rates.  Please do get in touch as we are one of the UK’s leading party bands and, as such, are ideal for a guaranteed  floor-filling money-raising Charity Event!

Back again this coming Thursday 25th February at The Duke of Kent in Ealing with the trio – Steve on vocals, Dominic on bass and Sandra on keys.  Great FREE night out if you’re not busy and a good chance to see us if you’re thinking of booking the trio or even the larger band for a forthcoming function.   It’s a lovely pub with great food and a wonderful atmosphere.  We’ll be back there the last Thursday of every month throughout the year.  For times and directions see our gigs page

Well this weekend turned out to be extremely busy with the wedding of Bethany & John at Hampton Court Palace Golf Club on Saturday followed by a lovely afternoon Tea Dance at the Ruby Wedding celebration of Martin & Lynda at the exquisite Le Talbooth at Colchester.  What a beautiful venue that is, nestled on the river and with the finest cuisine in Essex.  Once again, Simply Swing was recommend by the venue  – what an honour that is – to make a lovely Sunday afternoon extra special!

Tuesday 6th October 2009, we are performing at The Belvedere, Hardings Elms Road, Billericay,  Essex CM11 2UH Tel:  01268 522828 8.30 pm – 11 pm.  This promises to be a really exciting night as we have our flagship Wedding Band – the 7-Piece – featuring the fantastic vocals of Jacqui Hicks and Steve Pert together with our great team of musicians – Jeff Lardner, Andy Watson, Dominic Howles, Simon Bates and Sandra Lambert.  Also, this event is being filmed, the results of which should be up and running on YouTube very soon.

For all you future Bride’s out there – there’s no better opportunity to see and chat to the most in-demand swing wedding band in the UK!

Please note, in case of confusion The Belvedere lists us under The Sandra Lambert Quintet.  See pictures of us at The Belvedere