Review Centre: 1950s & 60s Style Bands

"The ultra-stylish Kit Packham’s One Jump Ahead band is now 30 years old. For this Sunday afternoon gig at the award-winning Hideaway, they performed a rollicking set of songs ranging from 1940s and 1950s jump/jive, R&B and classic rock ‘n’ roll, to jazz standards and originals, featuring the band’s core seven-piece line-up: Bandleader and composer, Kit Packham on saxophones and lead vocal, Steve Knight on guitar, Perry White on piano, Alex Keen on double bass, Kenrick Rowe on drums, Tracey Mendham on saxophones and vocals, and Simon Da Silva on trumpet and flugelhorn. Striking in a blue pinstripe suit and fedora, Packham resembled Frank Sinatra, and he introduced numbers in a clear and informative way. They opened with one of the band’s original tunes, ‘Swing It’, which immediately propelled people to the dance floor. The band’s perky theme tune, ‘One Jump Ahead’, contained one of Packham’s signature, impactful abrupt endings and deadpan Knight added even more colour to the act by performing a nose flute solo on The Blues Brothers classic, ‘Minnie the Moocher’. White nailed a stunning boogie-woogie piano solo punctuated by thrillingly deep bass notes from Mendham on baritone saxophone on ‘Choo Choo Ch’Boogie’, and they even managed to squeeze in a world premiere featuring Vera Lynn’s World War II song, ‘We’ll Meet Again’: Loosely named ‘The Last Song Of The Set’, it cleverly welded an old song onto a new one. Eventually the two tunes overlapped, bringing the gig to an impressive end. The time flew; a sure sign that Kit Packham’s One Jump Ahead with its thoroughly well-written arrangements and heartfelt blend of comedy and music, had done a fine job of bringing this classy joint to life."

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"We booked Soul Generations for our company's family summer party and they were truly excellent. Everyone loved the music, they read the crowd very well. Mariam was extremely helpful, I would highly recommend :) "

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"We booked J.A.R for our wedding party. An absolute professional outfit from booking, sorting out a setlist unique to us and then the amazing performance to start married life in style!"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Well what can we say...We could not have asked for better! Jeremy and the band were brilliant people and fantastic musicians. They were extremely organised and personable both in advance of and on the day, and most importantly brought the party to our wedding! Everyone was asking where we found Straight Up. Thank you, thank you, thank you! "

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Another great night! Great and varied music to dance to. Great band and thoroughly nice fellas, everything was grrrrrrrrrreatt! Xxx Its a long time till Christmas to wait to see you again, grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Absolutely sensational ! A really good laugh too. He made my party so so special !"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"What a fabulous event we had for the 80th V.E. Day. The Lahdidahs were brilliant, leading the old time favourite songs and even leading and teaching The Palais Glide to the audience, finishing with the usual favourites songs from the 40s. All 3 ladies of the Lahdidahs had plenty of energy and fun. I would definitely recommend the group to anyone who would be guaranteed a wonderful event. "

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"We thought Tim was very good - just what we wanted. In addition the booking procedure worked very well."

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Thank you very much for Saturday night. The Rat Pack tribute band was superb – we all had a great time and had lots of comments on how good you were. Here’s to the next time! "

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Thank you so much for coming to perform at our event on Saturday at Lark in the Square. Your music is well received and you sound fabulous in the square. We love you joining us each year for our event and do hope you will consider joining us again"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Thank you for your email yesterday...and most importantly, thank you for playing at our event on Saturday night. All the feedback we have received regarding the band and music has been really positive, and we'd certainly give a recommendation. Wishing The Blue Suede Shoes all the very best! Kind regards, Simonne"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"My husband and I were extremely happy with Elvis and his performance. He came across very professional and performed very well. His voice was fantastic and he sounded so like the real Elvis. All our guests thought he was fantastic and performed amazingly and my Dad, who is a huge Elvis fan and has seen a few Elvis impersonator in his time, said that he is the best he has ever seen. We also hired a casino and photo booth at our wedding and the owners of those business also commented that he was a very good Elvis impersonator. I would also like to add that for me it meant a lot to dance with my Dad to If I can dream by Elvis. He also made our wedding and I know if years to come we will still be saying, we had Elvis at our wedding and he was amazing. "

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Ruby has been one of our regular entertainers at Elizabeth House since 2017. Residents look forward to her visits and always enjoy a lively afternoon. They enjoy both the singing and the variety of 50’s dresses Ruby wears for every performance. Ruby has a way of interacting with residents and including them as individuals, encouraging all to participate. She brings a smile to their faces. We look forward to many more visits from Ruby."

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"What an absolute treat! Can’t wait for next time... Sensational!"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"We cannot recommend River Rhythms more highly, we have had non-stop compliments and praise about them ever since they played our wedding, and they gave us an incredible night of dance-floor packed entertainment. The band members were all really good guys, efficient, reliable and accommodating, and made our first dance a very special one. We couldn't have asked for better, every song got the crowd going and the singing and playing was top notch. Class act all round."

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review: