We had a little ‘MIB Music’ social get together last week (belated Xmas gathering, in March!) and I have vague memories of this being ‘tune of the night’, so I figured it better become our ‘song of the week’! What a great song. I can’t wait to start playing this!
I couldn’t believe the news at the weekend about the sad death of Whitney Houston. I think its safe to say that most singers were hugely inspired by her one-of-a-kind voice, especially those of my generation that grew up when ‘The Bodyguard’ was the biggest film/soundtrack EVER!
I thought it only appropriate to make one of my favourite Whitney tracks our ‘song of the week’. I have spent many a morning dancing round my kitchen to this one….
RIP Whitney, and thank you for the inspiration!
I really wanted to make this ‘song of the week’ because a) ITS BRILLIANT! and b) the band features some of our MIB musicians, and we are super proud and would love if you could all go out and buy the single (and/or the album which is out next week!)
I must say though – what a great band, and its not just because we know and love them, but having seen these guys play live – they have such an amazing chemistry, fantastic songs and they obviously love what they do. Thats something I love to see, and I can’t wait to get the album!
Enjoy….
Hello!
Wowee – well we’ve just about recovered from the showcase on Monday (I felt a little bit like I’d been hit by a bus when I woke up yesterday!) What a great night, and by far the best turn out we’d ever had which was brilliant to see! I had a great time… it always makes me super proud to see all of our bands play on the same stage. Not that I ever forget, but it just reinforces just how talented our musicians are and reminds me how lucky I am to work with such fantastic talent! I would like to say a big official ‘THANK YOU’ and ‘YOU’RE AMAZING’ to all of them for consistantly doing such an amazing job, and for always being happy and lovely people to work with.
While I’m gushing I also must say a big thank you to Helen and Rachael too, who helped with answering your questions and stage managing. I remember the days when I used to try and do all that by myself – LOL – I can’t even imagine it now. These lovely ladies do such a great job and were just as exhausted as me at the end of the night!
The feedback has been outstanding from all of you, so thank you for your comments. There were tweets galore all through the evening, and we’ve had some lovely emails and calls in the last few days. Here’s a few pictures of the night.
I must give a big shout out to the venue, The Four Seasons, and of course Aron Schlagman, the events co-ordinator there. He is just lovely and has been so acommodating and wonderful to work with (in fact I highly reccomend following Aron on twitter because he’s got a fantastic events-based blog which is really interesting). A lot of you said that you felt the style of the hotel was exceptional and loved how the vibe of the place matched our ‘edginess’ and perhaps more modern look at entertainment and events, and we totally agreed. The hotel is stunning, and its really lovely to work somewhere with such lovely and helpful staff.
Thanks also to Haydn and the team from Concept Events. These guys are the production team we always use because they are lovely people to work with and we’ve found really care about their clients as individuals, which I think is so important. And I think its safe to say the stage/dancefloor/backdrop etc looked just stunning!
Not to mention our amazing sound team from JB Sound. Working with these guys is like a dream come true. I searched for a long time for a sound company that understood who we are and what we care about the most, were super talented, and of course loved their job as much as we do! Eventually we found Joe and his company, and now there’s just no going back. They always do a fantastic job and we love working with them.
We’re hoping to get another night booked in as soon as possible, probably for around June/July time, so we’ll keep you posted on that.
Much love again to everyone who made it a fantastic night 
Sera
P.S Thanks to the lovely musicians for my birthday prezzie too – it was my birthday on Monday and they all got together and got me an awesome make-up case! )
Today I have got more than just a little carried away whilst putting together an 80′s themed setlist for MIB, who are playing at an upcoming 80′s themed event. It was ever so fun, digging through some of the tunes we’ve played before, and even better…the 80′s tunes that we’ve always wanted to play but never had the chance to!
I’ll let you in on a little secret… the musicians in MIB are probably the biggest 80′s fans you will ever meet – if you were a fly on the wall of our van on the way to gigs you’d be subjected to a LOT of Prince, Chaka Kahn, Toto and…. ahem, Wham! (Don’t tell anyone!)
So… in the spirit of all things 80s, I thought it might be nice to put together our top 10 80′s tunes…
Any suggestions? This is very much personal opinion and we’d LOVE to hear what your faves are!
1. I’ll Be Ready – Baywatch Theme Tune – OK, call me sad, but I can’t help but proudly place a fist high in the air and sing along at the top of my voice to this tune…. so wrong, but so right hehe
2. Ride Like The Wind – Christopher Cross – as well as being big 80′s fans, its a well known fact that we are *somewhat* obsessed with Michael McDonald, who makes a fantastic appearance on backing vocals on this awesome tune!
3. My Perogative – Bobby Brown - hehe, I just re-discovered this one! I love the way the 80s musos used to dance…
4. Prince – Lets Go Crazy – very hard to choose a Prince song as they are all so fab, but this one just rocks… (you might want to wind on to about 2mins in when it actually starts!)
5. I Feel For You – Chaka Kahn - What a cool lady!!! We love Chaka!
6. Do I Do – Stevie Wonder – again, how do you choose just one Stevie song? We love chose this one as its FAB, but perhaps one you don’t hear so often…
7. You’re the one for me – DTrain - whatta tune! Not one you hear very often, but great!
8. Edge of Heaven – Wham – My guilty Pleasure! 
9. Cuddly Toy – Roachford - love this song! (And Beverley Knights new cover of it is also very cool!)
10. Let’s Dance – David Bowie - I really want to play this one! Great song certainly makes me dance…
So…there we go, there’s my top 10…. what are your fave 80′s tunes? Go on…indulge in a little bit of nostalgic guilty pleasure
Our musicians have been getting up to all sorts of exciting things lately – and we are super proud! I thought you might like to take a little time to have a look at some of this….
Our fabulous vocalists Rachel and Kelly having been gigging with 80′s legends Heaven 17…check out this stunning clip of vocal gymnastics! The girls both sing with MIB, Funkadelics and Undercover Superstars…
Our lovely singer Tommy is still touring with Professor Green (see my last post for him on Jools Holland!)….check out this footage of him bouncing around doing backing vocals at the Radio 1 Big Weekend 2011 earlier this year! When Tommy isn’t touring the world with an international superstar, he sings with MIB and Undercover Superstars.
Our lovely John Roberts, who plays drums for MIB, is now full time member of the Blockheads… I had the pleasure of going to see them live a few weeks ago – what a fantastic band!
And…. we’re very happy to have the gorgeous Marco Bernardis back on sax with us! Marco was our first ever MIB saxophonist, who has been off doing all sorts but is now back gigging with us when he can. Here’s a very cool clip of him with Olly Murs live at V Fest…
And…I did post about this a few weeks ago…but its so good that its worth another post! This is Juan Zelada, and the video for his new single. The single has been A-listed on Radio 2, and apparently its Chris Evans’s favourite tune! All but 2 members of the band are MIB Musicians, and we are super proud – this is such a great song! What a fantastic vibe!
Our Motown Supreme bassist Ben Daniel is out in LA at the moment, with drummer Ben Mathews (who plays occasionally with MIB), with their originals band ‘Two Spot Gobi’. We hear the band are taking LA by storm – super exciting stuff! I’d highly reccomend checking out their album - fab sounds! (In fact I must have listened to it 100 times on holiday a few months ago! Great sunshine tunes!)
Did anyone catch our lovely singer Tommy on Jools Holland last week, with Professor Green? It was soooo brilliant (beautiful, in fact) – we are super proud!
Tommy sings for MIB, The MIB Experience, and Undercover Superstars, when he’s not off touring the world with international superstars
For your viewing pleasure, incase you missed it!:
I wanted to make this song my ‘song of the week’ this week, because a) its just a FANTASTIC tune, and b) you may spot a few of our MIB musicians in the band!
The single is out on Monday 31st October, so please do buy it on itunes and support the guys…. The song has already been A-listed by Radio 2, so we’re hoping its going to be a big hit!
Happy listening
Last weekend we had the honour of playing this beautiful track for Anthony & Dejana’s first dance at their wedding in East Sussex. It was just gorgeous – what a lovely choice! I couldn’t wait to share it with you all…
This is Adele’s stunning cover of ‘lovesong’ by The Cure.
Enjoy xx
A few weeks ago, MIB performed at the wedding of the lovely Claire & Jules at the beautiful Four Seasons Hotel in Hampshire. I just wanted to share with you a few parts of the day as we feel that Claire & Jules went for a fantastic combination of our acts and extras.
Claire & her Mother met with us back in April this year to discuss the big day. It was clear that they wanted a package that would cover most parts of their day, and something with a touch of class! Claire’s mum was keen on the more traditional atmosphere, whereas Claire prefered a younger feel, and I think they got the combination perfectly.
The entertainment started off with a gorgeous saxophone set, playing jazz standards and setting a lush atmosphere while the guests chatted away.
Over the meal, our wonderful pianist Francis entertained the guests with well known classical numbers, movie themes and ballads.
The 7 piece band then took to the stage and entertained the crowds with 2 x 70minute party sets, which included a highlight for everyone at the end where Claire’s brother and a friend joined them to sing, which sent the audience into a huge frenzy!
All in all it was a fantastic day – thank you so Claire & Jules for looking after us so well!
Here’s a little feedback from the happy couple themselves:
Your performance was amazing, especially Rachael singing ‘Halo’ for the first dance, I have had so many comments about how well you played and sang it…wow!! And all the other songs…I thought the playlist worked really well. You all looked like you were really enjoying yourselves, which makes such a difference.
All the guests loved the performance with my brother, Stuart & Caroline. You were great letting them join in with you. My brother Stuart had a great time, so thank you.
Plus I loved the sax set played by Lindsay. I only got a glimpse of her playing at the reception as we were having to be photographed, but again I had great feedback from the guests at how refreshingly different it was. All the guys thought she was very sexy
You were all so lovely & friendly, the stage looked great once you were all set up, and again I’ve had so many comments from friends and family as to how lovely you all were.
I just want to say a massive thank you for being over and above what I was expecting for a wedding band, you were such a big hit with all the guests! And to let my brother sing with you was excellent! Choosing a band for a wedding is really hard as its such a big day and I’m really fussy, but I’m so happy that you played my wedding and I will be reccomending you to everyone in need of a band for a wedding, or any big occasion. Thank you all so much! x
Many thanks to Reportage By for the beautiful photos!