Vintage Archives - Retro Singer

Vintage Singer Preston

December 3, 2018 By Lisa Martin Leave a Comment

I recently had the pleasure of singing for a wonderful lady at her 80th birthday party in Chorley near Preston, Lancashire. Held at the beautiful Shaw Hill Golf and Spa hotel, it was a lovely celebration of life, love, friendship and family.

The Shaw Hill is a marvellous country house hotel set above a championship golf course in the tranquil setting of Chorley in Lancashire. Vardon’s restaurant provided the perfect venue for the nostalgic afternoon.

I sang a selection of favourite old songs that were all specially chosen by the family.

The day was organised by her daughter, who sent me this lovely testimonial:

“Lisa performed at my mum’s 80th birthday over the weekend. She sang some nostalgic songs from the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s which evoked many happy memories for mum and her friends.
Lisa was professional and friendly and of course, super talented! I would thoroughly recommend Lisa to anyone planning a special event and looking for a first class singer.
Thank you Lisa, you made my 80 year old mum a very happy lady x”

She also sent me this picture – how romantic! To think they’ve been together for 59 years and he’s still gazing at her as if they’d just met – heartmelting!

Still romantic after 59 years!

I had a really good time meeting all the family and felt privileged to be part of such a special occasion.

1950s Vintage Singer at 60th Birthday Party Airdrie

June 10, 2018 By Lisa Martin Leave a Comment

I love when I’m asked to be the singer for a birthday party or anniversary, because it feels like such a privilege to be invited into such a special occasion.

And my recent booking at Harty’s Function Suite in Airdree was no exception. I was contacted by the birthday girl herself, who was organising her 60th birthday celebration and wanted a vintage 1950s singer for her party.

She had decided on 1950s and 1960s music, because that was the era during which she grew up. And also of course because the music and fashion from those decades are so cool!

I was sent some song suggestions and I put together the set list to include the recommendations. I’m always happy to include song requests when I’m given enough time to organise them beforehand – it makes it so much easier when I have the opportunity to prepare the music and rehearse etc.

And in this case it was a real pleasure as the songs were all excellent choices I have to say! The requests included At the hop, Runaround Sue, That’ll be the day, Da doo ron ron, and lots of other great numbers that always keep the dancefloor filled.

The chosen venue was Harty’s Function Suite in Airdrie (formerly known as the Caritas Club).

When I arrived to set up I was very impressed by the lovely vintage 1950s style decorations that had been arranged. Balloons and 1950s memorabilia gave a great atmosphere to the room, and it was topped off with a fun 60th birthday cake in the shape of a record player!

All the party guests had gone to town with 1950s and 1960s fancy dress and they looked fantastic. This era lends itself so well to parties as it’s so easy to source vintage 1950s and 1960s clothes so everyone can have fun and really get into the mood.

The birthday girl was such a gracious host and had a wonderful time. She gave me some lovely feedback too:

“Thank you for making my special bday extra special you are a fantastic singer and everyone thought you were excellent so thank you so much Lisa xx”

What a lovely lady! Wishing her all the very best for the future.

Battle of the Somme Centenery

July 17, 2016 By Lisa Martin Leave a Comment

I recently visited the Corbridge Corstopitum Social Club in Northumberland to perform my wartime tribute show at their Battle of the Somme Centenery commemoration.

The Battle of the Somme represented a defining moment of the First World War, as it was the first major engagement in the history of the war, and caused a great deal of tragic loss and bloodshed. 2016 marks its centenary, so all across the UK there has been a big surge of interest in this historical period as people pay their respects to the brave soldiers who gave their lives.

It was a great pleasure to meet the lovely people at the Corstopitum Club. They had made a big effort to transform the club into a cool vintage style, complete with sandbags, flags, and even ration tins of pickled onions. There were some great outfits on show – one very glamorous lady in particular came up to me at the end of the night and announced that ‘she’ was really a he!

I love my wartime show as I have to admit the old songs from those days are among my very favourites. Music from the First World War includes lots of cheerful sing-alongs – it’s easy to see why they needed cheering up, during such dark days. I included ‘Bless em all’, ‘Pack up your troubles in your old kit bag’, and a few Al Jolson numbers that prompted many pairs of ‘jazz hands’ to start waving!

I received some lovely feedback posted on my Facebook page from audience members, such as:

‘Awesome night thank you’

‘The singer was amazing’

‘Fantastic night thank you’

‘Fantastic singer. Lovely lady definitely book her again. Thank you Lisa’

It’s great to know that everybody enjoyed themselves, and all for such a good cause.

Many thanks to Kate and her team for organising such a fabulous night, I’m looking forward to seeing everyone again soon 🙂

1940s style 80th Birthday Party

December 18, 2015 By Lisa Martin Leave a Comment

This month I performed at my most important VIP gig of the year – my mum’s 80th birthday party! We decided to have a 1940s / 1950s theme to give her a little reminder of what life was like when she was a young slip of a thing 😉

Nobody needed much of an excuse to get into the mood and dress up accordingly. It helps that 1940s fashion is so easy to access nowadays with many online shops providing cool vintage looks.

My gorgeous cousins suit the 1940s look!

I did a little snippet of my 1940s and 1950s show to get the party started, then two of my cousins (Shirley and Becca) took to the mic and kept the singing going (what a talented family we are!). My partner Stephen is also a singer and musician, so he finished the night off with some music to keep everyone dancing.

My mum had a brilliant time, she was grinning from ear to ear from the moment she walked in. She was up on the dancefloor all night – I don’t know where she gets her energy from – she’s living proof that age really is just a number!

The birthday girl looking fabulous

It took me two car journeys to get all the presents and cards back to my mum’s house – not to mention the all-important birthday cake.

It was so nice to get to see all my family, as I really don’t see enough of everyone now that I live up in Glasgow. Big thanks to everyone that helped organise the party, including my brother Danny and his girlfriend Barb who laid out a delicious buffet, my cousins Kate and Shirley for providing a stunning vintage-style birthday cake plus some lovely party decorations, and everyone else for joining in with all the fun!

Vintage Wedding Music at Greywalls Gullane

November 23, 2015 By Lisa Martin Leave a Comment

I performed some lovely vintage style wedding music at the gorgeous Greywalls Hotel in Gullane a little while ago. I was booked to sing 1940s and 1950s classics during an afternoon drinks reception, the day after The Big Day.

After a very pleasant drive along the coast from Edinburgh to Gullane, we arrived at Greywalls, which is a stone’s throw away from Muirfield Golf course. Even though autumn was well on its way we were very lucky with the weather, with clear blue skies and bright sunshine, so I was able to set up outside in the enchanting grounds of the hotel.

Not my car… unfortunately 😉

Greywalls Hotel is a charming place that retains a quiet homely feel while remaining perfectly elegant, inside and out. Built in 1901, it has seen the whole of the 20th century go by, so it seemed very fitting to choose the best of popular songs from throughout the century.

The old-style romantic songs such as ‘The way you look tonight”, “As time goes by” and “Cheek to cheek” seemed to suit the character of the hotel perfectly.

The charming gardens at Greywall Hotel

It was a delightful afternoon, with guests either sitting and listening while they enjoyed their refreshments, or having a little dance when the mood took them.

Sunshine, good music, and great company – what more can you ask for? I think these sunny afternoon gigs are my favourite type of bookings!

Are you looking for ideas for vintage weddings in Scotland? Take a look at this video, which features some lovely vintage suppliers, including elegant bridal dresses, quirky vintage cutlery, delicious cakes, and classy photography – plus me singing one of my favourite romantic ballads ‘What a difference a day makes’.

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.

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