Party band Sound win the evening!

Melody and the party band Sound would like to say massive congratulations to our beautiful bride and handsome groom, Karen and Mark, who got married on Saturday 17th September!

It was an absolute blast celebrating with this gorgeous pair and their energetic, wild & wonderful guests 🥰

Party band Sound ready to entertain!

The first dance.

Our bride and groom chose to have Rex Orange County “Amazing” as their first dance!! What a beautiful song!!

The venue

All the guest and the party band Sound, boogied the night away at the fabulous venue, Alexander’s Bar in Sowerby Bridge.

https://www.facebook.com/Alexandersbarsowerbybridge

This is a very new wedding venue, and it was just stunning. It literally sits beside the canal in Sowerby Bridge, and it is so cool and unique with its quirky surroundings. Karen and Mark’s reception itself was held in the upstairs lounge, which is really light and airy, and was beautifully decorated. It really is a perfect place for a wedding, and hopefully we’ll get the chance to play there again in the very near future.

As this was a petite venue, our 4 piece band was just perfect! As you can see from our video, the dance floor was packed! We had a lot of very happy guests, and vox, guitar, bass and drums worked perfectly together.

To finish the night, our bride and groom partied the night away with their friends and family to Carey, the funkiest DJ in town from Audio Movement!! He was class!!

We wish Karen and Mark all the love in the world for a long, happy and loving marriage.

If you’re looking for a wedding or party band to book, check out Sound: https://livebandentertainment.co.uk/?bands=sound or take a look at all the other artists that we have to choose from: https://livebandentertainment.co.uk/hire-a-band/

Singing Waiters

Many congratulations to Emily and Henry on your wonderful wedding day! Both super talented, Reggie and Liz absolutely loved making the wedding guests jaws drop as Suprise Singing Waiters!

The Singing Waiters, Reggie and Liz

They also thoroughly enjoyed entertaining all the evening guests with an upbeat party set, both of which were supplied through Live Band Entertainment by Singing Surprise

It really is such an amazing experience to collaborate with other Entertainment Agencies, both striving to provide the most perfect entertainment for your wedding day.

The Wedding

Emily and Henry tied the knot in a private marquee in Bridlington. What a beautiful location to get married!

The four tiered cake was simply stunning, in front of a backdrop of beautiful twinkly lights, and surrounded by other family members’ wedding photographs. Such a fantastic display, and gorgeous centrepiece for any wedding!

Stunning wedding cake

And it was just fabulous to see all the quirky decor choices. They we’re all so creative and super effective. An old cable reel used as the table, adorned with hearts and flowers, so elegant and rustic!

The wedding cake “table”

Order of the day

Another order of the day!

It was like a breath of fresh air to see a bit of personality shining through.

We wish you both the absolute best for the future and a huge congratulations once again!

The happy couple, Emily and Henry

We are so pleased to have helped make your wedding day one to remember 💕💙

BREAKING NEWS!

Live Band Entertainment saves the day!!!

Our reporter on the scene said a bride and groom were royally let down, with just two weeks to go until their big day.

The band that they thought they’d booked (Functown), through another agency – was in fact, not booked at all!!

Visibly shaken, the anguish clear to see on their faces as the questions raced through their minds: How could this happen? What on earth do we do now? Is it possible to book another band at such short notice?

LBE TO THE RESCUE!

Luckily, Live Band Entertainment swooped in (like all good superheroes do!) to literally save the day, and were able to provide the happy couple to be with the fabulous rock and pop band Pure Electric. Disaster averted!

The wedding party was held in an amazing tipi in Hawksworth, with super twinkly lights, and heaters, which was provided by Bar Events UK

We’re pleased to report that there were no further issues on the big day, and everything went without a hitch (pun fully intended!)

Mother of the bride, Marcia had this to say: “I cannot thank Live Band Entertainment enough. 10 days to the wedding and no band. Melody rescued us when our appeal for help on Fb spread. She found a band for us literally within hours. Not only did the band save the day they absolutely made the day. Pure Electric had everyone up dancing from start to finish. The dance floor was packed for every single song and they really engaged with the crowd, they were perfect. Thank you so very much. I’m still smiling 3 days after the day. Amazing ❤❤❤”

If there’s anything to be learnt from this newsflash, it’s to ALWAYS book through Live Band Entertainment to avoid disappointment.

Bill’s Big Bash

On Tuesday 21st June 2022, Bill Squires Business Coaching got together for Bill’s Big Bash with clients, connections, and business partners to celebrate their clients’ hard work and achievements.

Attendees at Bills Big Bash 2022 at The Blackburn Wing, Bowcliffe Hall.

The Venue

Bill’s Big Bash was held at an absolutely stunning venue, The Blackburn Wing, Bowcliffe Hall, with over 80 businesses in attendance! These included clients, business owners, charity representatives, and business partners who enjoyed an evening full of delicious food and drinks, and awesome live entertainment.

Some of the awards given out were The Growth Award, The Innovation Award, and The Community Impact Award.

The Entertainment

The turnout for Bill’s Big Bash was fantastic, and the evening went extremely well. The fantastic entertainment was provided by Scott of Northern Acoustic via Live Band Entertainment.

Scott from Northern Acoustic providing the entertainment at the event

The Bill Squires Business Coaching team is determined to help good businesses become great businesses. Live Band Entertainment were honoured to be able to provide top notch entertainment at such a fabulous event.

The Bill Squires Business Coaching Team; Bill Squires, Joanna Ferguson, and Lindsey Brocklesby.

If you’re a business owner looking for help or advice with running your business, contact the team at Bill Squires Business Coaching.   

If you’re having a bash of your own (or any event) and want a first class soloist, duo, trio, quartet (you get the idea!) please get in touch with Melody at Live Band Entertainment on 07828 435299 or fill in our contact form.

Bill’s Big Bash was held by Bill Squires, of Bill Squires Business Coaching. Live Band Entertainment were proud to be part of this fabulous evening

1980’s music  – Throwaway pop, or the beginning of something new?

It’s easy to remember 1980’s music for its throw away pop. The Stock Aitken and Waterman formulaic money-making machine seemed to dominate the airwaves. Hit factory stars dominated Top of the Pops, such as Kylie and Jason, Sonia, Mel and Kim, Sinitta and Rick Astley.

You would be forgiven for thinking that this was all there was to offer. It’s easy to call 80’s pop shallow and throw away, but it sold plenty of albums, people loved it and one or two of the Hit Factory pop starts of this era have gone on to have fantastic music careers. It definitely worked for Kylie, and Rick Astley has made a comeback! After all, he was never going to give it up, let us down, run around and desert us. Not all 1980’s music was produced this way – who can forget Wham? No disco could be with out ‘Wake me up before you Go Go’! Madonna did her very best to completely shake up the pop world, bringing controversy with Like a Virgin and Pappa don’t Preach, into what had always been a sparkly, squeaky clean, extremely uncontroversial genre.

It’s not all about Pop!

Don’t be fooled though into to thinking though it was just about Pop, some hugely iconic and popular albums came out in the 80’s that helped establish some of the biggest bands in music history. This decade delivered us some amazing albums with singles that still stand up today –

Michael Jackson – Thriller 1982 (I know it’s pop, but still an iconic album!)

Singles – Thriller, Beat It, Billy Jean (I could go on!)

Bruce Springsteen – Born to Run 1984

Singles – Born to Run, Thunder Road

Prince – Purple Rain 1984

Singles – Purple Rain, When Doves Cry, Let’s go Crazy

U2 – The Joshua Tree 1987

Singles – Where The Streets Have No Name, I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For, With Or Without You

All of these artists and albums had a massive impact on the music world and helped shape many of the bands that came after them.

It’s starting to smell like teen spirit

The end of 1980s music saw a pretty rapid turnaround in musical fashion. The backlash to hair metal and formulaic pop saw grunge find its way into the mainstream. Rock music became a vanity contest in the early 80’s and the down to earth, meaningful and rebellious nature of the grunge movement contrasted that. The start of this shift in culture began with Guns ‘n’ Roses’ ground-breaking debut, Appetite for Destruction. The album tore apart the rulebook when it came to metal, merging the blues-based hard rock of AC/DC with the arena metal sound of Mötley Crüe. This change in style helped to pave the way for the rising popularity of indie rock. Sweet child ‘o’ mine became an instant classic. Whilst alt rock bands such as Jane’s Addiction and R.E.M were entering the mainstream, the Seattle grunge scene was blooming. The release of Nirvana’s Bleach, Soundgarden’s Screaming Life, and Mudhoney’s Superfuzz Bigmuff amongst others on the now iconic sub-pop label introduced the world to the sound of Seattle. This represented a shift in rock music from commercial arena bands to counter-culture scenes.

All in all then, the 80’s represent a decade where music was really finding it’s feet, and laying the foundations for the golden era of music that would emerge in the 90’s. Watch this space.

Find our selection of great live bands-for-hire here.

Covid-19 and how it has affected the music industry

As the response to the covid-19 pandemic has forced live music venues closed across the country and indeed the world, the music industry finds itself in limbo as it attempts to adapt to the new and unexpected situation. This is not the first time the music industry has had to do this. The recent popularisation of the internet has forced the industry to rethink music sales and distribution, with streaming prevailing. The industry now faces a test even more challenging than the last. Live music venues, musicians, and promoters alike are in search of new ways to make money in a post-covid world.

An Industry Innovating

With 50% of income coming from live performances, the industry has again turned to the internet for this missing revenue. You can read an economic analysis of the situation here. This has been successful, with millions across the world watching live streamed concerts such as “one world: together at home”. This is a model which has been replicated successfully on many occasions since. However, only large and established artists with a substantial online following benefit. Smaller artists and bands-for-hire are unable to rely on the internet for the same income. Many smaller artists have been able to recoup some through merchandise sales, but this is simply not enough for most. If music venues and promoters cannot legally host live music events, there is no source of income at all. This has resulted in widespread venue closures throughout the last 6 months and sadly it seems many more will follow.

How you can help

It is a time where the music industry needs our support more than ever. As well as buying your favourite artist’s merchandise, consider booking the band for your future event today. This keeps bands financially afloat and gives you something to look forward to! You can see our selection of incredible live bands here. It is also important to see this turbulent time as an opportunity. If you had a wedding or other event booked for this year that has been postponed, use this time for planning. Make sure you have the best band and DJ booked so when the day eventually comes, it will be truly unforgettable. Whilst the current situation may have delayed your big day, it doesn’t have to make it any less special.

What does it mean for the future?

Whilst one day, perhaps once a vaccine is readily available, music venues will once again be free to open their doors and return to normality, for now the industry must adapt. We may see socially distanced gigs appearing, giving people the opportunity to experience live music, if not like before. Whilst the near future may look bleak, live music is too big a part of our lives to be gone forever. It has helped us through the tricky times that this pandemic has posed, and will undoubtedly continue to do so, until we can walk through the doors of our favourite venues once again. Read our blog on the good, the bad, and the ugly of live music here.

1950’s Music

1950’s music.  It was the decade that fired rock ‘n’ roll into the mainstream and created the concept of teenagers. It was the decade in which the foundations of pop music were laid, to be built on in the years to come. For young people, the 1950’s was a cultural revolution. Popular culture made the jump into something a little more rebellious. Whether it be the raw rock ‘n’ roll of Elvis, the melodic country sound of Johnny Cash or the rhythmic blues of Ray Charles, the 1950’s was a decade full of musical innovation and variation.

Rock ‘n’ Roll

Rock ‘n’ roll music was born from a fusion of rhythm and blues and country. Emerging in the early 1950’s, the genre began the chain of events that would result in the creation of rock; metal, punk, indie, britpop, grunge and the rest. The pioneers of rock ‘n’ roll included the king himself, Elvis Presley, as well as Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Holly and Chuck Berry, to name a few. Classics such as Johnny B Goode (which at the time many people were not ready for, but their kids were gonna love it), Jailhouse Rock and Rock Around the Clock inspired teenagers worldwide and shocked their parents in equal measure. Listen to Chuck Berry’s Johnny B Goode here.

Country

However, 1950’s music wasn’t all swaying hips and gelled-back hair, as country music also evolved during this decade. Artists such as Johnny Cash and Hank Williams made their mark, introducing rockabilly influences and making dancing to country music possible. Finally. Cash was famous for playing to prison inmates, a trend which would continue beyond the decade and result in Cash’s famous live album At Folsom Prison in 1968.

Rhythm and Blues

Rhythm and blues also had a huge impact on 1950’s music. Emerging from the jazz and blues of the 1940’s, artists like Ray Charles helped inspire genres such as soul, Motown and funk. The upbeat bluesy nature of the music brought the New Orleans scene to the mainstream and inspired a new wave of jazz and blues fans.

Well, that sums up the 1950’s nicely. Tune in next week for a roundup of the swinging sixties! In the meantime, why not check out our amazing bands available to hire?

My Angel Child

My Angel Child is probably the saddest song I’ve ever written. Co-written and produced by Mark Walker, it is inspired by so many of my friends who have had to deal with heart-breaking chapters in their lives, reminding people that they will be okay and that their angels are safe now. The song was written to raise money for 4Louis, which is a UK charity that works across the country to support anyone affected by miscarriage, stillbirth or the death of a baby or child.

My Angel Child

Founded by the incredibly brave and inspiring Kirsty McGurrell, they also work to improve the care bereaved families receive from health care and other professionals. Find out more here. I just hope that it manages to raise enough money for 4Louis to make a difference, and that this song can help you find peace.

Melody and Mark

I’m honoured to be able to help such a wonderful charity and would also like to thank everyone for your support and wonderful comments.

You can watch the video by Sally Molineaux at Molineaux Productions and also find more of her fantastic work here.

You can download your copy of My Angel Child (with all proceeds going directly to 4Louis), or donate directly to 4Louis.

Any Questions? Get in contact.