If you want a band that will have people up on their feet then you cannot do better than uptown funk! From start to finish my guests (of all ages) were singing & dancing along. Their sound quality for a 5 piece band punches well above others in their genre and when they chuck in a few costumes and dance moves, it becomes a full on show! I can’t thank you guys enough for making my celebrations so memorable.

That headline was a quote from DAVID BOWIE in Mojo Magazine about Billy RItchie, the keyboard player of MAYHEM, and could easily apply to the band itself. I reviewed them under a previous name, having been hugely impressed by the stunning harmonies and clever use of backing tracks, but I have to say, the new incarnation is even better, with Billy on Keyboards and Carol singing with even more assurance as when I first saw them a few years ago. DAVID BOWIE's comment is seen to be apt, the keyboards adding yet another dimension to what was already a very fine band/duo. Thanks to LEMONROCK, I went to The Arsenal Tavern to catch the band, out of curiosity, especially when I noted the addition of keyboards. What a nice venue, rather a shame that the crowd was relatively quiet for a Saturday night, but they did warm up in the end - more than that, there was whooping and hollering as Carol and Billy sang "Don't Stop me Now" by Queen and "Born to Run" by Bruce Springsteen, among many other fine renditions of popular and very danceable songs, including Carol's stirring version of "Feel like a Woman" and Billy's rousing "Light my Fire" with its stunning organ solo and vocal climax producing a roar from the crowd before the song even ended. I still sense that this band has yet more to offer, some of the material could be considered rather lightweight and perhaps too populist, for such a credible force as MAYHEM are. I look forward to seeing them again, perhaps even at this potentially excellent venue.

These guys are quite simply brilliant!

I first saw them the weekend before and was blown away by how good they were. I then got invited to the wedding reception to watch them and was even allowed to go on stage to sing with them!

Not only are they super talented, but they have so much energy and really get the audience involved in their performances, showing real musicianship.

Great work guys! I’ll definitely be back to watch and hopefully sing alongside you next time you perform in our local area x

Horse with No Name are quite simply the best acoustic band you will see, perfect for any occasion, with their broad mix of popular sing and dance along cover tunes. Great interaction and banter between the band and the audience, fun from start to finish, which is hard to do because they really enjoy what they do and always seem reluctant to end their show. If you want to see a fantastic fun band, get along to their next gig, you wont be disappointed !!

Always a pleasure to have they guys back at the Elburton and what a night they delivered. Three of the nicest blokes you will come across. They play songs from various eras but ones everyone loves to sing along too. Had everyone up dancing and singing along and even played a few extra songs at the end. Will definitely be booking them in for many more gigs and recommend everyone else too as well. They do not disappoint.

The Middlemen were just fabulous for our wedding! Really lovely guys and true professionals. We didn't even notice setup and sound checks but they soon had all our guests dancing and having an absolute blast. I am pretty confident that once someone stepped on the dancefloor, they didn't leave! A huge thank you once again to the guys for such a great evening, we absolutely loved having you be part of our wedding and were so glad to have met you! Matt & Maria

Saturday 4 June at the Bell Inn, Bovingdon

A fab evening of music from

the talented trio of Caroline King🎤

Chris Baston🎹🎤and Mark Beer🎸🎤

… many favourite tunes had the audience singing along and dancing from the start;

from Elton John to Oasis, David Bowie to

Neil Diamond , they played for three hours

and then three( count ‘em) encores

finishing with a beautiful rendition of

“Tin Man”🎶 … a most amazing performance

… fun like this ain’t normally free 👏👏👏

I went and saw Soulfools at the Ranelagh Pub in Bounds Green in April and they were so good we booked them as the main attraction at our Jubilee Platinum "Street Party". Thankfully they were available!

They were a brilliant finale to our outdoor activities and they had us dancing in the street - or the car park as the case was :)

Newton is a fantastic frontman to exceptionally talented musicians and they kept the party rocking for over 2 solid hours.

Cant wait to see them again and hope to have them back at our venue in the future!

The rating below of brilliant (6) doesn't seem enough as they were a fabulous 10 out of 10 for me!

Please extend my heartfelt thanks to Soulfools who performed at our outdoor platinum Jubilee event in June.

They went above and beyond to make sure the evening was a success, engaging with the crowd and encouraging them

to join in and dance.

I've had great feedback since from people wanting to know when they can see them perform next!

Thank you Soulfools, we will be in touch for future events!

We saw Don't Look Now at The Excelsior on Sat & they put on a fantastic show that have everyone up on the dance floor. We innitially thought they were a Ska band from their pic wearing pork pie hats but although they did a couple of Madness numbers, that didn't turn out to be the case which was a bit dissapointing. However they did plenty of feelgood popular well known tracks that were great to dance to & some of their original songs were pretty good too!

Will definately check them out if they come by this way again!

The pub became the Rocking Shy horse last night with the Copperhead Jacks blasting out Rock n Blues classics at an appreciative audience! One guy at his anniversary dinner asked to get up and do a number with the band, the Jacks agreed and played a Rock n Role rendition of " Hound dog" with their special guest singer, which further brought the house down. The singer Tony was in especially good voice and delivered again and again on diverse number from THE WHO to BLACK CROWES , even the guitarist stopped to clap Tony singing TALKS TO ANGELS!. A really good night was had by all and Micks drumming was as usual inspired and knitted the Bass and guitar together perfectly. If I wasnt in the band I would defo go see them live !

The Lord John Band appeared at the club for the first time and we weren't disappointed. They played some classic Mod covers, a bit of Motown and Northern Soul, as well as covers from bands such as The Rolling Stones & Ocean Colour Scene. These four guys are a class act. I fully recommend you get to see them whenever you can. Once you've listened to them you will be hooked and want to go see them again & again. We will certainly have them back. Thanks guys

Had the pleasure of watching this band at the weekend, also watched them in Brentford in January. (one of the reasons we came on Sunday) Its great to see a proper rock covers band with their added soulful groove. We spend a lot of time watching live music, and always find ourselves a bit bored with the "party" bands we see. These guys are different altogether, their song selections really stand out. Just wished they had played Duran Duran and Muse like they did in Brentford haha, but we were happy still. By far the best band we have seen in a long time. Well done!

Me and my biker mates often stop in here, gigs vary, but it can be buzzing - this wasn't one of those times; a rainy day meant not many here, which was a real shame. When I saw the band on stage, I thought we were in for a lightweight pop act rather than the Rock we relish - wrong! It really was tough, some of the locals winced and complained about the volume, though it wasn't loud at all. When the guy sung Light my Fire, the place erupted! It was the best Jim Morrison rendition I've heard, great organ, great vocal, what a climax!

This event was a charity ball I held for Meningitis Now, a charity very close to mine and my families heart. Flashbacks were kind enough to entertain my guests free of charge and were incredible from the moment they stepped foot in the building to the moment they left. People were up and dancing, and so many people commented on how amazing the music was. The whole band were amazing - couldn't recommend them anymore.

"Absolutely excellent" was the phrase I muttered to the lead guitarist as he walked past me at the break - to him, yet another platitude from an anonymous punter, he had no way of knowing that what I said was based on conviction and truth. I truly was very impressed and pleasantly surprised. This duo stands head and shoulders above anything normally heard in the pubs. Two outstanding musicians, experienced and knowledgeable in their craft - the telling thing is not just their extreme competence with their instruments, but their wisdom and awareness of HOW to use that palette; always sparingly and never excessive, complementing each other at all times, when the lead guitarist stepped away from his formidable backing playing to playing lines, the bass player immediately stepped up a gear to hold the centre ground - impressive stuff. Very impressive vocals too, recording quality indeed.

The Beatles were the most important - and indisputably best - band of the whole pop/rock era, but I don't tend to like hearing their songs played these days, too rooted in the past for me, and mostly bands who play Beatle covers don't do them justice. But I thoroughly enjoyed the Beatniks renditions of these classics, they were note-for-note accurate, and in sound and harmony too. As with anything, there are things I would have preferred, such as during their excellent rendition of "Friday on my Mind", I would rather the guitarist had paused to play the stirring classical flourishes in the song instead of scat-singing them (as typically competently as he did), and in "Gimme some Lovin' ", this was perhaps a song too far in terms of the cohesion and particular sound of the band, nothing really replacing the distinctive organ riff, though the guitarist understandably and commendably responded to the sonic gap by playing two chords down from the root (in the key of G, it was F) instead of the 7th as in the record, to give it more definition and power than the actual phrase would have done on guitar when he had two jobs to do at once anyhow. But then again, that's rather carping, as they still produced a stirring version that the crowd fully appreciated, and in everything they did, their quality shone through. As yet another passing punter said - "Absolutely excellent".

We had a group go to the Angel & Crown in Richmond. They had a band on, The Bootlegs Band, and they were absolutely extraordinary. They played nearly 3 hours, song after song after song and a very packed pub went literally bananas. The entire place was singing every song and everybody was dancing. Such a fun group! We have not had a night like this for an extremely long time and I will be back there as song as they play again.

Each time I have booked bands I have rarely been disappointed but Asylum Affair surpassed my expectations. "Best band we've ever had" said one member. "Absolutely brilliant". "What a great voice" and "one of your better choices" were other comments from different members. I have to agree with each and every comment. We were treated to a brilliant night of music and song. I've been asked to book them again. It's a no brainer. Thank you Stacey for your wonderful singing and John, Paul, Mark & the drummer, whose name escapes me, for the great music.

A note to fellow musicians. Think carefully before you approach or accept a gig from here.

Following a noise complaint from a previous band - 2 weeks ago I might add - we arrived to be told that we had to keep the noise down and finish on time.

Common sense would have suggested that the landlord contact us about this situation prior to us arriving whereby we would have planned things differently i.e. the drummer would have brought his electric kit and we would have all gone through the pa. Sadly common sense was lacking so we arrived as normal.

We did all we could to keep the noise to a minimum, short of turning ourselves into a mime act. At the interval we approached the landlord to say we'll keep trying but there are limits but his rude response to that convinced us to pack up and leave - with quite a number of the people in the pub which was quite amusing. We met quite a few of them in the Old Ticket Hall and had a great evening :)

So, in conclusion, heed my warning. It's a great pub but unless things change we won't be back there

25th April 22. I was back at The Point, Exmouth to dine but also to see Take 4 again. The word is getting out, every table taken and an enthsiastic audience were there despite the early start, 6pm.

The band's line up has changed since I last wrote. David George has joined the group on electric bass and electric long bass and they put him to work with some interesting arrangements that featured his talents (On Moondance, for example).

The other personnel remain unchanged but the three sets have evolved. One of the strengths of this band is their willingness to add new material and try new arrangements.

Paul Barnham (keyboard) is finding his way round the knobs and slider and the Hammond Organ sound featured on a couple of numbers to great effect and was particularly effective when he chose a guitar-like sound for a Stevie Wonder influenced version of Summertime. An example of their flexibility, quite different to the version they played last year but definitely “up to snuff”.

As before Marius Rudnick fronted the band with a battery of instruments, clarinet, alto and tenor saxophones and flute. They all got an outing through the evening and he contributed some vocals Has Anybody Seen My Girl? for example. A tune the band are preparing for a forthcoming “twenties” event in Silverton.

And leader, Ted Draper, drums kept the whole ensemble together. He fooled me into believing that a Gene Krupa favourite Sing, Sing, Sing was coming but it magically morphed into another twenties favourite Muscrat Ramble !

The whole very well received plenty of applause through the evening and quite an ovation at the close.. Applause too for The Point for “keeping music live” and promising to promote a monthly gig through the summer.

Recently I had the good fortune to attend The conservative club in Honiton and see a show by a band called Bandjax(A group of 4) 3 men and a woman singer They were excellent !!!

Jax herself a singer has a marvellous singing voice and was alive with energy.

The 3 men were like jax an inspiration

They were very friendly treating the audience with respect and making the evening thoroughly enjoyable

I strongly recommend them

If you have the chance to see them

Don’t miss it

David

My friend and I had the pleasure of going along to watch and listen to Bandjax Saturday evening in Honiton conservative club

It was rocking .. lead singer jax is gawjuss she has a very powerful voice she is high energy a great passionate performer.. the band played some fab tunes .. they gelled perfectly.. it was a lovely surprise as they each did some solos singing etc ..we danced and clapped the night away it was a great buzz… I highly recommend you check them out … I loved it .. best night I’ve had in ages .. I’m now a great fan Lynda ❤️

What a great afternoon we had with this fantastic band at The Nelson's Head in St Ives today - 27 April 2022. I, along with many others, didn't stop dancing all afternoon. Joy Rider are an amazing group, such talented musicians and great fun as well. A fantastic afternoon had by all from singing and dancing along to a Take That song to everyone joining in with the Nelson's anthem Dakota. Can't wait to see the band again♥️

Last night was our first gig for 2022 - and we surely struck lucky with the Nags Head! First time we've played there but the locals treated us like old friends - came up for chats, showed loads of appreciation for our music and generally got happily involved. Pub acoustics were also really "easy" - looking forward to our next couple of gigs there later this summer. Very big thank you to Wendy for booking us and working hard with her staff to keep the crowd well-served!

From The Wellington Arms – NYE Dinner Dance 2021

This is the first time we have used Anna Nightingale, and we were very pleased, communication was good from time of booking up to the party and beyond, on the night all of our guests commented how engaging Anna was, how great the music was, and what a fantastic night they all had. She went out of her way to include all of our guests, and a good time was had by all, would not hesitate to recommend her. 5 stars 😊

Fantastic night watching Scrapping The Barrel at Ongar Sports Club. Great variety in the music played. A professional and talented band that got the crowd up on the dance floor throughout the evening. Great second set bringing the performance to a climax, with a rousing encore to leave us all wanting more at the end of the evening. A great time was clearly had by all. Would definitely recommend booking these guys.

"...and I ,as I recall, it ended much too soon". Seeing performers so obviously enjoying themselves is very infectious. Here we had four very talented musicians and two fun-loving excellent lady singers who really got the crowd moving with their harmonious 'double act'.

Supported by drums, bass, keyboard and guitar, there was enough backing there to enable them to cover - in an authentic manner - a great variety of songs from different decades. And it was really nice to hear some well-known Tina Turner numbers being sung more softly and sweetly (instead of just being 'belted out'). Most of the songs had an original female lead, but we were also treated to a bit of Stevie Wonder, Frankie Valli and Freddie Mercury, showing just how versatile these folks are.

I was genuinely sad when it ended, and hope they can be persuaded to liven up Basingstoke again before too long.

This band are BRILLIANT and extremely talented! They play a fantastic range of rock/pop songs ranging from The Kinks to Lulu to the wonderful Beatles. They created a joyous party atmosphere, they're great to look at and they also engage with their audience. There's a smart line in wisecracks... "This next track is for Prince Andrew". Cue 'Keep On Running' 😆.

The evening ended far too soon although they did oblige with an encore. Can't recommend them highly enough.

So I've seen Five Chambers Full a few tines before but tonight had a little extra ummph to it.

A good mixture of some hard metal tunes from the likes of Metallica, SOAD, Limp Bizkit but to name a few but also some regular rock tunes from the likes of AC/DC, Billy Idol, etc.

The ummph tonight came from new drummer Pablo who's first performance with the band tonight was a real tour de force. Was good to see Mikey back with his powerful vocal, Morgan with his energetic lively bass and the guitarist belting out some tight crunchie tunes (Kieran and the other one - I'm really sorry, I was probably drunk by then lol. I'll apologise in person next time)

Basically, pretty much the best hard rocking cover band on the local circuit. Would recommend to anyone.

Finally it was the first time at Hounslow Social Club which we really enjoyed so we will be back

First time seeing these guys and I'm glad we went. They really got everyone up dancing with their second set and by the end of the night the pub was rocking. Mostly they played tracks that most bands cover but when they played Carly Simon's "You're So Vain" the whole place was singing along. There was a real buzz to the place. I'll be in contact to book them at our place (hopefully). Thank you for a brilliant night

To be honest, I didn't know what to expect when I saw the billing for "Horse With No Name" as an interactive acoustic outfit; its hard to beat the sheer vibrancy of live music and I wasn't sure whether an acoustic band with a Cajon as the rhythm, could deliver.

I had absolutely no reason to fear, HWNN delivered an energy packed, fun filled, musically tight gig of a duration that would have made even Bruce Springsteen wilt! The set was filled with absolute classics spanning many decades, seamlessly moving from floor filler dance favourites like Mr Brightside and Sit Down to sing along classics like Sweet Caroline and Delilah that had the entire place either dancing or singing (and often both!).

I play in a covers band and could only marvel at the rapport between the band and the audience; it certainly helps that Shaun, Tony and John and just absolutely lovely guys who give everything to make the punters happy.

If HWNN come to a venue anywhere near you, I recommend you go and see them (and take a crowd to share the fun), and if you are the owner of any venue that supports live music (and thank you for doing so), do yourself a big favour and book these guys because you will certainly be glad you did.

Big thank you to Helen and her band for an amazing night for my 60th birthday. We booked Undercover after having a great night where they played at a birthday party a couple of years ago. Helen was easy to communicate with, fun and friendly and sent me an extensive cover list to pick my preferences from.

The band arrived early with time to set up and created a great atmosphere, the whole party were singing and dancing all night. You made my 60th birthday really special. Thanks again, Michele & family.

The Jacks hit the historic ST MORITZ club in London's West End on Friday and brought it back to its heyday of the late 69s with Hendrix and the Who ,Rory Gallagher and CREAM numbers blasting around the cavernous walls like was heard back in the late 60s early 70s! The tight hard hitting unit gave voice to classic numbers from Rock Royalty in a manner that hasnt been heard since the glory days of 1969. If you want to hear what it was like when Eric and Jimi and Pete and Rory trod the stage, catch the Jacks at their loud and bluesy best next chance you get.

I like to think I know a thing or two about music (don't we all!), or perhaps I'm being a bit smug, having been a music journalist most of my working life. So when my friend, Tim, asked my opinion about a band to have for his business functions, I had no hesitation in recommending WANDERING HANDS. I have only seen the band perform once, at a club in Hertfordshire, but, even with my so-called wide experience, I was taken aback to hear such superior use of harmony and dynamics, unusual in these settings to say the least. Of course, the subtleties of the music went completely unnoticed by the clientele, even though the band was very well-received, on the basis of it's well-chosen set of popular songs with a strong beat. The two voices are excellent in their own right, but taken together, the reward is even greater, a perfect blend of harmony, made all the more interesting by the clever use of the arrangements, which make the backing tracks - self-made by the band - seem to be bent to the will of the singers, not the other way round as is usual with someone singing to a track. Not only the vocals, but the supreme skill of a virtuoso keyboard player - when I later learned about his history, it all made perfect sense to me, someone who was responsible for a whole musical genre was not about to lose his touch. As for Tim, after hearing only the first few songs, he made up his mind to offer the band a residency. And so he should.......