Hi, I'm Phil, band leader for the fabulous New Lights Big Band. We are based in the North West of England, near Manchester and have been going since 1988 when we broke out of the Poynton Military Band to form a jazz group. Things have moved on considerably since then and we are now one of the best big bands in the area.
We have an amazing reputation for providing great entertainment at concerts, parties, dinner dances, charity events, summer balls and so on. People love us because of our attention to detail when we work on an event. We look great, sound fantastic and work closely with the organisers to get the event just right.
We were the first amateur big band in the UK to get a website and this has worked wonders for us. Have a look at my blog which is available on www.mybigband.com to see what great things we have been doing. There are loads of pictures too, taken by my fantastic daughter, Geraldine, and lots of information about the band and our gigs. Go on, you know you want to.
We have two superb vocalists (male and female) which extends our scope to include many of the best and most well known songs under the jazz and big band genres. Of course we do loads of Rat Pack stuff in addition to Miller, Basie, Ellington and tons more. We also play stuff by more recent artists such as Gordon Goodwin and we have an incredibly varied pad featuring every from ballroom to rock and roll / pop etc. I could go on but with nearly 500 numbers in the pad you would get very bored.
We have had the pleasure of working with some very talented and famous people such as Steve Garner (BBC), Cole Page (Vocals), Maxine Barry (Vocals) Joanne Hindley (Vocals), Georgia Holland (Vocals), Fred Fielder (BBC), Andy Prior (Vocals), John Cartwright (Vocals), Josh Price (Vocals), GI-Jive (Dancers), Revolution Dance (Dancers), GB Jive (Dancers), Kenny Baker (R2D2 from Star Wars), Jimmy Cricket (Comic), Graham Walker (Grumbleweeds), Buzz Hawkins (The Bradshaws), Johnny Roadhouse (Sax Legend), Dave Browning (Coronation Street theme), Mike James (Big Band Leader), David Ellis (BB Jazz Orchestra Leader), Nicola Dixon (BBC), Geoffrey Wheeler (Radio / TV). We have also supported many charities, most recently the Kirsty's Appeal, Variety Club, St Ann's Hospice and The Harebell Suite Trust Fund.
Personally, I play lead alto sax in the band, I run the website / marketing / publicity and get the gigs. I also act as MC during the gigs and manage the sound and lighting. With the support of Kay (MD, rehearsal and personnel manager & librarian) and Andrea (accountant) we manage one of the best run amateur bands in the UK. I also play violin in orchestras and operatic shows plus a little bit of flute and clarinet. Get in touch with me to find out what else is going on in the area.
Don't forget to go to http://www.mybigband.com for full information about the Band.
See you at one of our gigs !!
Phil
