Functions Archives - Page 2 of 2

James Bond night at Alea Casino Glasgow

November 7, 2015 By Lisa Martin Leave a Comment

James Bond fever has well and truly hit Glasgow these past few weeks! With the release of the new Bond movie Spectre, fans have been flocking to the cinema to see Daniel Craig in action.

The Alea Casino at Springfield Quay Glasgow ran a special Bond theme night in conjunction with the Odeon Cinema to coincide with the film’s release.

The Long Bar was the setting for a Vegas-style welcome for the lucky Bond fans who bagged themselves VIP tickets to this event. Cocktails and canapés were the order of the evening, with the bartenders whipping up ‘Pussy Galores’ for the ladies and ‘Bour-Bonds’ for the gents.

I was on hand to provide the entertainment, performing my James Bond show, including all the popular Bond theme tunes. I must say I was impressed by the audience’s trivia knowledge – they were experts in all things Bond – obviously die-hard fans!

We had a lot of fun, I really enjoy those kind of informal nights where I can get to know the audience and have a bit of banter. When it comes to Bond, there are plenty of great songs to choose from. I included a mixture of old and new Bond themes, such as the recent Skyfall by Adele, and of course the ever popular Shirley Bassey numbers such as Goldfinger and Diamonds are Forever.

Afternoon tea party at the Marriott Hotel Glasgow

October 21, 2015 By Lisa Martin Leave a Comment

The Marriott Hotel in Glasgow was the venue for a vintage-style afternoon tea party I performed at recently. Based in Argyle Street in the centre of Glasgow Scotland, the Marriott is a very popular choice for corporate functions and parties.

The event was hosted by a pharmaceutical company, who had invited patients to an open day and wanted to finish off with afternoon tea and entertainment. I came along with a mixture of golden-oldies to cheer up the visitors who had had a long morning taking in information, so they were glad of a little light entertainment with some tea and cake to refresh themselves!

Many thanks to Catherine Price from MPI for ensuring everything ran smoothly.

Vintage tea party at Pollokshields, Glasgow

October 13, 2015 By Lisa Martin Leave a Comment

I recently sang at a lovely vintage tea party at Pollokshields Burgh Hall in Glasgow. The special occasion was the 40th birthday party of Jo Pirie, an award winning film-maker who runs Bowery Productions, an independent film and production company that makes promotional films, wedding videos, and various films for other events.

It was a beautiful sunny afternoon and the gardens in Maxwell Park were all in bloom. Jo had opted for an afternoon tea party to celebrate her birthday, as she was pregnant with her 2nd child so it seemed like a refreshing non-alcoholic alternative to a late-night party!

Vintage music lends itself perfectly to this kind of thing, so she booked me to sing some 1940s and 1950s songs while everyone relaxed and tucked into some delicious looking cakes and sandwiches. It was a lovely informal family affair, with lots of children running about and enjoying the retro-style candy on offer, while people meandered in and around the hall and gardens, making the most of the sunshine.

I included plenty of great old unforgettable classics in my set, such as ‘Fly me to the moon’and ‘My baby just cares for me‘, plus some modern songs with a vintage twist, like this version of Meghan Trainor’s ‘All about that bass‘

A vintage tea party is a unique family-friendly way to celebrate a special occasion in style – and Glasgow has plenty of classy venues that lend themselves perfectly to these occasions. Pollokshields Burgh Hall certainly added a special something to a perfect day.

1920s themed party Glasgow

January 23, 2015 By Lisa Martin Leave a Comment

Last weekend I was singing at a wonderful 1920s themed party at the Anchor Line bar & restaurant in Glasgow city centre.

I was asked to provide a musical backdrop which would be reminiscent of a New York speakeasy from that glamorous and exciting era of jazz and prohibition.

1920s parties are currently enjoying something of a comeback, no doubt due to popular TV programmes like Downton Abbey and movies such as The Great Gatsby, and people need little excuse for dressing up as a glamorous flapper girl or a Chicago gangster.

The Anchor Line is a beautiful place which has been converted from the original offices of the old shipping company. Memorabilia such as old menus, photos and news articles are scattered around the walls and give an authentic nautical feel of times gone by.

With the vintage art-deco surroundings it feels like you’re in an elegant ocean liner heading from Glasgow to New York – so it was truly the perfect venue for a 1920s themed party.

The 1920s is one of my favourite eras for music, with its catchy tunes and witty lyrics, and there are a surprising amount of 1920s songs that are still well-known today – in fact most people probably don’t realise they were written so long ago.

Songs like Sweet Georgia Brown, Bye Bye Blackbird, Someone to watch over me, Blue Skies, S’Wonderful, Mack the Knife, Ain’t Misbehavin, I wanna be loved by you, and Side by side have been covered throughout the years by many popular artists, so it is easy to forget that they were written so early in the 20th Century.

The evening was expertly organised by Chloe, who gave me this lovely feedback:

“Just a quick email to say THANK YOU so much for everything on Thursday evening at The Anchor Line, Glasgow – you were absolutely fantastic & fitted into our ‘Gatsby’ theme perfectly! I have had lots of complimentary emails from Brodies hosts & external clients since the event, all echoing that they thought you were superb! I have no doubt we will be in touch again re. future events.”

James Bond Shows in Glasgow

November 21, 2014 By Lisa Martin Leave a Comment

I’ve been performing my James Bond shows in Glasgow over the past couple of weekends, in some marvellous venues.

The first was for a fundraiser ball at Oran Mor, a stunning building right in the heart of Glasgow’s West End.

Oran Mor is a converted church, and this is evident in its beautiful architecture and unique setting, including the celestial ceiling mural by Alasdair Gray, which is one of Scotland’s largest pieces of public art.

Unique ceiling at Oran Mor

Top funk soul and disco band ‘Funk Nation’ were also on the bill, looking and sounding absolutely fantastic. Here they are in action (I got a bird’s eye view from the gallery!)

The evening was compered by Glaswegian comedian Alan Anderson, and we were also joined by the fabulous opera singer Lucy Kay, who you may remember from Britain’s Got Talent.

A big thank you goes out to resident Stage Technician Ross, and also to agents Freak Music .

My next James Bond show was at the very plush Grand Central Hotel, right in the middle of Glasgow. This hotel can be accessed directly from Central Station, so I was able to travel to the gig by train, which made a nice change for me!

For this event I teamed up with Richard Knight, a wonderful tenor who specialises in Opera and West-End show songs, as well as James Bond themes.

Richard has to be one of the most hard-working acts I’ve ever worked with. He managed to look cool, calm, and collected, and remained in true charming ‘007’ style throughout the evening, despite having spent all day travelling all the way from Bournemouth to Glasgow. He kept the audience thoroughly entertained from start to finish with his fast-paced show, and didn’t rest until he had the whole crowd up on their feet singing and clapping. What a star performer!

It was nice to hear some happy feedback from the clients too:

“Dear Lisa & Richard

Just wanted to say a great big thank you to you both for a fantastic night. I have feedback from other guests and people have said what fun they had – they loved your singing and the fact they could dance and sing along too. Thank you once again and I hope we see you again soon.

Best wishes

Gillian, Colin & the team”

Big thanks to agents Masquerade Productions.

Silver Wedding Anniversary at Mar Hall Hotel Scotland

October 28, 2014 By Lisa Martin Leave a Comment

The Mar Hall Hotel provided the perfect venue for a Silver Wedding Anniversary party I performed at recently. Situated in Bishopton, near to Erskine, this Edwardian Scottish mansion is a luxury five star hotel with gorgeous views over the River Clyde.

It was a beautiful sunny Autumn day with clear blue skies as I drove into the hotel grounds. Set within a picture-perfect 240 acre woodland estate, I was struck by the tranquil peace and beauty of the area.

The interior of the Mar Hall Hotel is decorated in an elegant vintage style that exudes class and sophistication. The pianist playing softly in the lounge added to the relaxed ambience.

I had been asked to perform a mixture of Swing classics and 1950s & 1960s songs, with the anniversary couple picking the majority of the songs themselves from my set list. Their main objective was to keep all their guests up on the dancefloor, and this was no difficult task as everyone was really up for a party from the word go.

I started with a ‘1^st dance’ for the anniversary couple: the gorgeous Etta James classic ‘At Last’. I was glad they chose this song as I love it as a first dance; it’s so romantic and works beautifully, plus it’s familiar to all age groups because it was recently covered by Beyonce.

The rest of the guests needed no prompting to join in the dancing and looked like they were thoroughly enjoying themselves. I love singing at wedding anniversary parties because there’s a certain atmosphere to them that’s a little different to weddings – everybody is so relaxed and at home with each other, as the two families have had all those years to become well-acquainted.

As the night went on I sang a mixture of Swing standards and kept the emphasis on fun, dancing, and romance, with ‘Let there be love’, ‘Cheek to cheek’, ‘My baby just cares for me’ and many other classics. I even threw a bit of Jessie J into the mix in response to a request on behalf of the younger members of the audience 😉

The night was over too soon, but I’m glad to report some excellent feedback from the happy couple:

“We booked Lisa to perform at our Silver Wedding Anniversary event where we had guests across a wide age group. Without exception every single guest commented on the amazing performance that Lisa gave – her set of 50’s and 60’s classic’s fitted perfectly with the theme of our evening and we could have been in a New York supper club from that era.

Her delivery was effortless and the quality of her voice was exceptional – without doubt she put the gloss on what was a fantastic evening and the dance floor was never empty. We would have no hesitation in recommending Lisa to anyone wanting to add a touch of class to their event, we only wish we could do it all again!”

~ Jane and Simon Grey.

(From Free Index business directory)

To see more of my reviews, please visit my testimonials page.

So, all in all, a wonderful evening at the Mar Hall Hotel. I would thoroughly recommend this hotel as a top-class venue for a wedding or anniversary function. Many thanks to Jane and Simon for making me feel so welcome at their lovely party.

Views over the Clyde at Mar Hall

About Lisa Martin