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Gosford House East Lothian

June 19, 2017 By Lisa Martin Leave a Comment

I recently had a lovely evening performing at Gosford House in Longniddry, East Lothian, where  I was booked to sing during dinner at a corporate event.

Gosford House is a majestic neo-classical mansion built in 1800.  The family seat of the Charteris family, it has been featured in movies, international brand photo-shoots, and is a much sought-after location for weddings, gala dinners and other events.

Gosford House Jazz singer

Tina at Hello Scotland was in charge of organising the night, and what a great job she did, as there was lots going on throughout the night, with pipers, a private tour of the house, and a sumptuous five-course dinner.

I kept the guests entertained during dinner with a selection of popular jazz and swing songs from throughout the decades.

The audience were a lovely group of Germans who were very appreciative of the music.  At the end of the night we all bid farewell outside in the grounds singing Auld Lang Syne together and waving our sparklers in the cool evening air.

What a beautiful end to the night, at a truly magical and historic place.

60th Birthday party at Carnbooth House Hotel Glasgow

January 20, 2017 By Lisa Martin Leave a Comment

I had the pleasure of performing at a 60th birthday party recently at the beautiful Carnbooth House Hotel in Glasgow.  This hotel is not so far from me, so I’m surprised I haven’t come across it before.  What a hidden gem though!  Stunning surroundings and lovely old-world charm, it’s a real touch of class on the outskirts of the city centre.

The staff couldn’t have been more helpful, and the night went very well indeed, with laid-back easy listening classics to start the evening, and lively party songs for dancing later on.  Gwen, our birthday girl, was truly the ‘hostess with the mostess’ and was on the dancefloor all night.

It was such a pleasure to meet Gwen and her friends and family, and to visit such a gorgeous place.  Hopefully it won’t be my last visit.

 

Golden Wedding Anniversary at Douglas Park Golf Club

October 6, 2014 By Lisa Martin Leave a Comment

Last weekend I sang at a beautiful Golden Wedding Anniversary party at Douglas Park Golf Club. It was a nice local booking for me as Bearsden is less than an hour away.

 

It’s the first time I’ve performed at Douglas Park Golf Club, and I must say I was very impressed, not only by the stunning views of the golf course, but also by the lovely staff, who were genuinely friendly and very welcoming. A big thank you goes out to Moses and Lisa for all their help and hospitality on the night.

 

The clubhouse itself was very nice indeed: a perfect venue for an intimate gathering. The room was a nice comfortable size for a small party, plus it also featured a good-sized dancefloor.  Excellent use of lighting gave the room that extra-special touch too.

 

I always love to perform at Golden Wedding Anniversary functions, as it feels such a wonderful and important thing to celebrate a couple who have stayed happily together for such a long time. It’s so lovely to be part of that very special celebration.

 

When I look around at all the guests I wonder who was originally present at the wedding and imagine what life was like for them on that day 50 years ago; how they have changed, and how the world around them has changed too.

 

In this case it would have been 1964, and the world was indeed a very different place back then. The average weekly wage was £16, BBC2 made its first broadcast (which was Play School!), the Forth Road Bridge was opened, and Harold Wilson was poised to become Britain’s first Labour Prime Minister in 13 years.

 

Music was very different back then too. Whenever I sing at a Wedding Anniversary party I like to look back and see what was in the ‘Hit Parade’ back then, so I can include some of the songs that would have been around when the happy couple were in the first blush of romance.

 

In 1964 Beatlemania was in full flow, and they had pretty much taken over the charts. Their first film, A Hard Day’s Night, was released in July of that year. The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, and Cilla Black were also very popular.

 

James Bond featured in the cinema and in the charts too, as there were two ‘007’ movies out that year: ‘Goldfinger’ and ‘From Russia with Love’, with their respective theme tunes becoming huge hits for Shirley Bassey and Matt Monro.

 

On this occasion however, I had been asked to perform music from a slightly earlier era: Swing songs and other classic easy-listening standards. I was glad to do so as this is my personal favourite genre of music!

 

I chose a mixed program that included plenty of lovely old romantic songs such as ‘Fly me to the moon’ by Frank Sinatra, ‘I only have eyes for you’ by Ella Fitzgerald, and the 1950s Jo Stafford hit ‘You belong to me’.

 

I soon realised that the guests were really up for a party as they were up on the dance floor from the word go. So as the night went on I shifted from swing music to timeless pop classics such as ‘Baby Love’ by The Supremes and ‘Kissin’ in the back row’ by The Drifters, to keep everybody happy on the dancefloor.  I also got a request for some country music, so I added a bit of Dolly Parton into the mix, plus a Boney M medley in response to numerous ‘Slosh’ requests!

 

I finished off a lovely evening with what is in my opinion the perfect Golden Wedding Anniversary song: ‘The Anniversary Waltz’ by Vera Lynn.

 

My warmest congratulations go out to Andrew and Brenda. May they enjoy many more happy years together.

Corporate function at The Forest of Arden Hotel, Birmingham

September 26, 2014 By Lisa Martin 1 Comment

It was a busy week of gigs for me last week. Thursday saw me heading down the M6 to Birmingham where I was booked to perform at a corporate function in The Forest of Arden Hotel and Country Club.

What a beautiful venue it was. With an impressive golf course and herds of wild deer roaming around the grounds, you would never imagine it was just a few miles away from Birmingham Airport.

Whenever I sing at a corporate function I always find it fun and interesting because I get to meet and work with other businesses and entertainers, and this was no exception.

I performed my Swing show, and was joined onstage by the beautiful Vegas Show Girls.

They certainly added a touch of glamour to the night, with their glitzy costumes and fabulous dance routines (choreographed by Emma-Jane Ashman).

The Vegas Showgirl dancers and Lisa Martin

The Vegas Show Girls in action (Photo courtesy of www.brillpix.com)

They were also lovely and helpful backstage in helping me with my dress, which seemed to have developed a mind of its own!

Even more glamour and showbiz was to be found in the reception area, where a stunning Marilyn Monroe lookalike was onhand to provide drinks, alongside a very convincing Oscar award ‘living statue’, both provided by top corporate event agency www.steppin-out.co.uk.

Jamie Bennion and his team at http://businessav.co.uk/ took expert care of sound and lights.

Steve Brill of Brillpix Photography was busy all night taking photos of all the proceedings.

Northamptonshire-based, Steve specialises in wedding, commercial, and corporate photography.  Check out his excellent work here: http://brillpix.com/

A big thanks to Steve for letting me use some of his photographs from the event.

That night I headed straight back up north to Manchester, to break up the journey back to Glasgow. Unfortunately the M6 was not kind to me and I ended up driving for hours due to various road closures – all the while listening to the Scottish referendum results as they came through on the radio.

It was around 3am by the time I reached my hotel – a beautiful little country guest house called Ash Farm in Altrincham.

This was such a charming place in very picturesque surroundings, with very friendly hosts – unfortunately though, I didn’t have much time to enjoy it as I was heading straight back to Glasgow later that morning.  Hopefully I will get a chance to return for a longer stay whenever I’m next in the Manchester area.

That night I was singing at a cabaret night at The Columba Club in Barrhead. It was a lovely night, very well-attended, and lots of funds were raised for Mary’s Meals charity.

On Saturday I revisited one of my favourite clubs, The RAFA in Prestwick, for their annual Battle of Britain ball.

I’ve performed at this event for the past few years now and it’s always a pleasure to return and see all the friendly and familiar faces.

As usual, the dancefloor was packed from start to finish with lots of talented and energetic dancers, and lots of fun was had by all.

Check out this video from the RAFA club, it seems that we had a lot of teenagers in that night! 😉

Vintage Weddings Scotland

February 14, 2014 By Lisa Martin Leave a Comment

Vintage weddings are becoming more and more popular around Scotland these days, as people look to the 1960s, 1950s, 1940s, 1930s and even back to the 1920s for inspiration for their special day.  There are some fabulous vintage wedding suppliers in Scotland, so I thought it would be a nice idea to make a video to showcase their creations.

And what better day than Valentine’s Day to spread a bit of retro romance!

For a suitably vintage musical backdrop I chose the 1930s song ‘What a difference a day makes’.  Dinah Washington won a grammy award in the 1950s for her bluesy take on this song, and so I chose to perform this version (as opposed to the more disco feel of the 1970s Esther Phillips version) as I thought it provided the perfect romantic sentiment.

The video features some wonderful suppliers of vintage weddings from all over Scotland, including the following:

Gavin Macqueen – an outstanding photographer from Glasgow whose unique, creative style is very much in demand at weddings all around Scotland.

La Belle Epoque – beautifully unique hair adornments reworked from antique pieces by the very talented Miriam Davies-Cole.

Make Believe Events – an extensive range of gorgeous chair covers, linens, and event hire items, together with free design consultation.

Fairy Dust Celebrations – deliciously pretty, these bespoke wedding cakes and favours are all homemade and freshly baked, using the finest of ingredients.

Miss Dixiebelle – Vanity Thrills is head stylist at Scotland’s award-winning vintage hair and beauty parlour.  Hair, makeup and nails, together with stunning reproduction dresses, make Miss Dixiebelle your go-to place for that complete vintage look!

Ribbons & Lace – a bridal boutique with a friendly, cosy atmosphere that makes you feel right at home as you take your pick from a stunning array of gowns created by top designers.

A Vintage Tea Party – vintage crockery hire to give your wedding that charming finishing touch!

A big thank you goes out to all the fabulous vintage wedding suppliers for contributing their beautiful images to be featured in this video.

 

Hogmanay in Perthshire

January 21, 2014 By Lisa Martin Leave a Comment

Lisa-Martin-New-Years-Eve-rsHappy New Year!

Well it’s been a busy time for me over Christmas and New Year.  I’m just about settling back to normal routine and quite amazed that it’s nearly the end of January already!  

I managed to get back home to see the folks for a couple of days over Christmas, so it was lovely to have a little break.  New Year’s Eve saw me performing up north again, in a beautiful little Perthshire village called Alyth, where I celebrated Hogmanay with a mixture of locals and visitors. 

Alyth must be a very healthy place to live, as there was a lovely gentleman at the bar in his 90s, still looking very fit and active, who had served in the distinguished ‘Black Watch’ Scottish regiment in his younger days.  Him and his wife enjoyed the whole night and stayed well into the wee hours!  

As it was Hogmanay I included several Scottish favourites, including the essential Loch Lomond and Auld Lang Syne at the stroke of midnight.  I also added in some more contemporary Scottish songs by artists such as Rod Stewart, Frankie Miller, Eddi Reader, Paulo Nutini and Emeli Sande. 

It turned out to be a very romantic night, as one young man proposed to his girlfriend just after midnight.  I think that’s the first time that’s happened at one of my gigs – as soon as she said yes I launched into the traditional Scottish song ‘Mairi’s Wedding’ to get everybody in the mood!

I am booked to sing at quite a few weddings over the next few months, plus a few of my friends are also planning to tie the knot this year – looks like 2014 is going to be a very romantic one!

So, let’s get in the mood with this sentimental swing classic by Ella Fitzgerald: ‘I only have eyes for you’.

1940s show at RAFA club, Prestwick, Scotland

September 25, 2013 By Lisa Martin Leave a Comment

Lisa Martin Retro Singer 1940sI was very glad to get the opportunity to perform my 1940s show again at the fantastic RAFA club in Prestwick recently.  This club has got to be one of my favourites, as everyone there just loves to enjoy themselves.  Everyone got in the mood and danced from the start to the finish of the evening.  A big thank you once again to Del and all the gang at this great club for making me feel so welcome!

Airth Castle Hotel – A Vintage Fairytale Scottish Wedding

August 17, 2013 By Lisa Martin Leave a Comment

Professional vintage vocalist at fairytale Scottish Wedding Castle

Vintage Fairytale Scottish Wedding

I had the pleasure of singing at a beautiful vintage fairytale Scottish Wedding at Airth Castle Hotel  last weekend.

Even though Airth is less than an hour away from me (near Falkirk), I’d never been there before (and was not even aware it had a castle!) so it was nice to get the chance to visit a new place.

Airth Castle Hotel provided a beautiful venue for this vintage fairytale Scottish wedding.  The castle itself dates back to the 14th century, and was once owned by the family of Robert the Bruce.

 

Of course, it’s now been refurbished to the high standards that people expect for a luxury vintage Scottish wedding, with outstanding facilities, plus an excellent team of friendly attentive staff.

The bride had asked me to provide some romantic vintage love songs while people were enjoying their Wedding Breakfast.  She wanted some swing and jazz from the 1940s and 1950s – lovely old classics such as ‘The way you look tonight’,  plus some more modern ‘chilled out’ music, including ‘Come away with me’ by Norah Jones.  This is not a song I’ve ever done before, but it was a great suggestion, as it’s such a beautiful song with a very romantic sentiment.  So I’ll keep that one in my set list for future weddings.  It’s a waltz too, which always comes in handy at functions, as everyone loves to dance a waltz, and there are not so many great songs in that particular time signature.

Wedding photography was provided by the excellent TDH Media.  Well, ‘wedding photography’ doesn’t really fully describe their service, as they also provided videography, and even the latest craze: ‘marryoke’.  All the guests had a lot of fun singing along to the marryoke song, as they created a unique video to celebrate the occasion.  I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot more of this trend, as media companies get creative and provide more fun interactive services for their wedding parties.

Idyllic surroundings, gorgeous suites and fabulous dining – not to mention the luxurious Spa facilities – make Airth Castle Hotel a very popular venue for wedding parties from all over the world.  The bride was a big Disney fan, and it looks like she picked the right place for a perfect vintage fairytale wedding.

Scottish Wedding Singer

Prior to the guests’ arrival… the view from my microphone!

Vintage Wedding Show Glasgow

August 1, 2013 By Lisa Martin Leave a Comment

Lisa Martin Retro Singer

Last weekend saw me at the Trades Hall in Glasgow as I appeared at a wedding showcase for Freak Music which was part of The Vintage Wedding Show at the Merchant City Vintage Festival.

It was great to see Glasgow packed with all things vintage, with so many people showing up dressed for the occasion.  Merchant City was transported back in time as people braved the weather to watch live bands, learn jive dancing and get hair and beauty makeovers.  It certainly seems like the Vintage scene is alive and kicking here in Scotland.

First up at our showcase was the quirky and unique fourpiece ‘Banjo Lounge Four’ who performed a great mixture of songs both old and new.  Playing banjo, guitar, double bass and drums, they had a cool acoustic sound and made every song their own – from classics such as ‘Just a Gigolo’ to the latest chart hits from artists such as Beyonce and Calvin Harris.  We were even treated to a unique take on the theme from Knightrider, via their version of Punjabi MC’s remix ‘Mundian To Bach Ke’.

Next up was little ol’ me!  I performed a range of songs from the 1940s and 1950s, and featured some of my favourite wedding songs such as ‘The way you look tonight’, ‘Let there be love’ and ‘At last’.  I’m just an old romantic at heart!

Andy-Miller-Swing-SingerLast but not least was the fabulous Swing singer Andy Miller.  I’m always glad to get the chance to work with this superb performer, as not only is he a great singer, but he is also a really nice guy – always a bonus in this business!  Andy is a true all-rounder, as not only does he do a fantastic Swing show, but he is also in great demand for his Robbie Williams and Michael Buble Tribute shows.

Afterwards I had a wander around to see some of the other exhibitors at the show.  Bouquets, cakes, photography, flowers, and of course, wedding dresses – all in a gorgeous vintage style – it makes me wonder why anybody would consider having a ‘normal’ wedding!

Then as luck would have it, I bumped into my good pal and ‘dancer extraordinaire’ John Ritchie from top Big Band ‘That Swing Sensation’.Vintage-Wedding-Show-Scotland

Fred Astaire eat your heart out!

All in all, the day was a big success, with a great turnout of prospective Brides and Grooms looking for that stylish Vintage touch to add to their special day.

A big thank you goes out to Chris from Freak Music for being on hand throughout the day for help and support.

 

 

 

Lisa Martin Vintage Singer

 

Dinner Dance Vintage Cabaret at Stirling Castle

May 8, 2013 By Lisa Martin Leave a Comment

Lisa Martin Retro SingerVintage cabaret is all the rage nowadays!  I had the pleasure of singing my favourite 1940s and 1950s songs at the beautiful Stirling Castle last weekend for an event organised by corporate travel experts Hello Scotland.  I’ve driven past Stirling Castle many times before so it was lovely to see it ‘up close and personal’ at last.  What a stunning venue for weddings and other functions!

I performed a ‘swing‘ style vintage cabaret set for the guests during dinner (5 sumptuous courses! They were well and truly spoilt!) then fabulous DJ Paul Binney took over with dance music to complete the evening’s entertainment.

The event was organised for a group of Swiss visitors who had come over to Scotland for a few days to enjoy the sights and sounds… but possibly not the weather, as it’s been pretty cold and rainy recently!  Still, they kept their spirits up and enjoyed their last night in Scotland, partying in style at beautiful Stirling Castle.

A big thank you to Elaine and Heather, who made me very welcome and did a great job organising the night’s event, making sure everything ran smoothly.

 

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Lisa Martin Retro Singer

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About Lisa Martin

Lisa Martin retro singerLisa Martin is a professional singer based in Glasgow Scotland who specialises in classy vintage style shows.. Read More…

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