Review Centre: Wedding Bands

"Eugene was brilliant yesterday, thank you for helping me arrange. Thanks for everything, I will be in touch again!"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Please pass on our sincere thank you to the amazing band for their fantastic performance last night at our festive get together. We were so excited to have them with us and they absolutely nailed it. "

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"As soon as you started slaying Johnny B. Goode I just knew the dance floor was about to get a whole lot more groovy! Thank you for playing at our volunteer appreciation party!"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"The music was superb, the mix of repertoire perfect and the musicians jelled so well together, with great tempos, dynamics and arrangements and the backing vocals were superb. We all figure that the music on Sunday night was just about as good as it gets! World class!"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"We thought Relative Cool were absolutely brilliant when they played at our wedding. The vocalist was fabulous! The 3 sets filled the whole evening and definitely had everyone up dancing. I also really appreciated little things like the singer chatting with one of the kids while they had a break between sets. They were thoroughly professional throughout. We spoke to Tom before the evening and he was always really responsive with messages. We would definitely recommend them and thank you very much for making it a great evening!"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"What a party you gave us!!! It means so much for us you are part of our long lasting memory! Thank you!"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Thank you so much! You were absolutely fantastic. The videos were great as well. Henry Feb 22 2025 "

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"A complimentary glass of bubbly is always a good sign as you step through the door. Or, in this case, as you step aboard. We were on the elegant Millennium Diamond, a handsome modern catamaran leaving from Westminster Pier for a jazz cruise of the Thames. Jazz and dinner. And bubbly. With Big Ben glowing in the mellow late evening light, we cast off (I think that’s the term). We were presented with a small safety lecture and a large plate of tapas. As we glided by the London Eye and under bridges, the boat’s resident jazz band began to play. They are Chi Jazz: Noel Jay on electric keyboards, Matt Tween on bass, Steve Grainger a disciple of Johnny Hodges with a penchant for sneaking cheeky little quotations from The Pink Panther into his solos on alto sax and John Clarke on drums. Debbie Cobbett was guest vocalist. And this is a crack quartet, as was made clear by their opening number A Foggy Day (In London Town) — a great tune, though you could hardly have chosen a less foggy day than this scorching, gorgeous summer occasion with sunlight striking through the panoramic windows. Grainger’s alto was in the lead, offering sweetly swaying, reverberant cadences. The stately skyline of London surged grandly past as the combo commenced I’ve Got You Under My Skin with Debbie Cobbett joining in on warm, mellow vocals. As Grainger’s sax played debonair, descending phrases with the setting sun glinted on the river waves and the Shard rearing gleaming against the sky it became clear we were in for a tremendously pleasant experience. Red double-decker buses rolled across Cannon Street Bridge and HMS Belfast hove into view as the band began A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square, reinforcing their excellent choice of songs. Noel Jay provided a delicate drapery of keyboards and Grainger went down a spiral bebop staircase on his alto. Matt Tween’s warm bass rolled like the waves as Jay embarked on a discursive, detailed solo. Steve Grainger’s playing on Moon River was reflective and rhapsodic, coming at the tune from all angles with an echoing complexity of commentary. Noel Jay’s ringing keyboard solo excavated the melody from a solid body of improvisation while the steady cadence of John Clarke’s exemplary work on cymbals and brushes rooted the tune. The only way the band could have improved the evening’s music was by playing The Way You Look Tonight — which they proceeded to do. Jay performed a chiming, charging solo while Grainger’s alto scooted and soared above and John Clarke’s drumming skilfully kicked the number forward. This was bop adapted for the dinner hour, and none the worse for it. The sun descended in a benign hot blaze over Tower Bridge, the blue sky scribbled with white contrails as One Note Samba provided a showcase for soloists. Steve Grainger’s fluid sax purred with restraint as he skirted the tune and Noel Jay played bright raucous phrases and dancing long lines against the backdrop of Matt Tween’s big, ripe bass and John Clarke’s steady, constant shimmer of drums. I could also tell you about The Girl from Ipanema but I was too busy concentrating on my moist, flavoursome chicken breast in ratatouille — which is a pity, because both Grainger’s sax and Jay’s keyboards were at their best as I stuffed my mouth full of buttery mashed potato. With the riggings of the Cutty Sark floating above the dark trees and the nocturnal sweep of the city silhouetted against the last of the blue sky, it was clear that this was an unbeatable way to spend an evening. Great music, great food, great experience. "

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Thank you all for a fantastic night last night. Great music and fantastic atmosphere. It was good to meet you all and look forward to seeing you on your return on the 23 November."

Reply by The Pop Pickers
Hi Steve, we had a great night at your community centre and will look forward to returning later in the year.

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"The perfect all day entertainment for our wedding couldn’t have wished for a more professional set of lads that also was a great set of lads couldn’t do enough for us & they also are class with any sort of music you require Massive thanks again for making our day so special it won’t be the last you here from me Cheers Danny & sami"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Just wanted to say a big 'thank you' to you all for Saturday night. You guys never fail to deliver and are a sure fix to keep a dance floor jumpin'. I wanted to dance all night as I knew many others would, and that we did. I've had loads of calls and messages of thanks since Saturday and everyone has commented on what a great band you are and how they thoroughly enjoyed it. Please pass on my thanks to the rest of the guys. I'm sure I'll continue to see you all around 'the hood! Thank you... Again!"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"These guys are absolutely awesome!! We booked Radio Dukes for our wedding in July 2025. Everything about these guys was just amazing. Mitch was a pleasure to deal with, his communication was excellent, fast responses and clear advice. Their set list is a great mix and they even learnt our first dance no problem. We booked the 5 piece band which included the saxophonist (well worth it!) plus the additional DJ service to cover all night. One of the biggest draw cards to these guys was we wanted a band who had good engagement with the guests. They honestly didn’t disappoint. We had guests playing the drums, singer dancing with us, guitarists raving!! We just had the best time. For anyone looking for a wedding band, we honestly couldn’t rate these guys high enough!! The issue is that most bands are managed by an agency. The agency hikes the prices to make commissions, mixes different talents together to form a band (sometimes having never played together before) and generally you’re unsure of what you’re gonna get. Radio Dukes were so much cheaper than everyone else, but simply because they don’t go through an agency. Because we booked them all night with DJ, they just read the room and mixed up the live sets with some played music so it didn’t seem like it was a block of the band, then rest was DJ music. It was well mixed. Well done guys, absolutely outstanding service. Thank you for an unforgettable wedding day."

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Dermot added something truly special to a difficult day, being my mother-in-law's funeral, but a combination of his professionalism, artistry and sensitivity made a deep impression on everyone there. On top of that, the speed with which Sarah-Jane arranged things with Dermot at very short notice helped enormously in smoothing the arrangements for the whole day. Thank you!"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"The Stereobeats were absolutely brilliant. Everyone commented on how excellent they were and the dancefloor was buzzing all night. They also made an extra effort to learn the music for our first dance which was a lovely touch!"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Unfortunately we had a cancellation with the first band we chose. This band was our replacement! And I can safely say that I couldn’t have asked for a better band. In fact I’d go as far as saying I’m pleased we went through the stress of a short notice cancellation. They were so easy to deal with and worked to exactly what we wanted. They made our wedding evening perfect. Everyone loved them and danced right up until the very end. "

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review: