Today we have launched a very special 15% off offer for last minute bookings for MIB band for events in February & March this year. This is always our slightly quieter time of year, and whilst we enjoy a bit of time off, its not long before we’re chomping at the bit to get out performing!
If you’re interested in booking us for a last minute booking, please get in touch 
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
This is a little sneaky peak of some of the footage for our new ‘MIB Experience’ video, but I couldn’t wait to show it to you all…
A few little snippets for you
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!
Oooh I love it when we get photos back! Here’s a selection of a few photos from last weeks showcase, courtesy of the awesomely talented Matt Pereira.
First up, a few ‘backstage’ shots… here’s the MIB boys doing a bit of last minute rehearsal…
Here’s the lovely Lindsay in preparations for the launch of her ‘Diva Sax’ act… (website coming soon by the way – its been in huge demand!)
Doing photos at the Langham was just a joy…everywhere you turn is another epic ‘picture moment’… check this out for a beautiful shot…
The beautiful Marianne performing her solo set…
Some shots of MIB as the 8 piece…
The awesome Francis entertained everyone while we changed bands over, with his beautiful cocktail piano, and later as a duo with the supremely talented Debbie…
Funkadelics then took to the stage…
Followed by our acoustic duo…
21st Century Riot…
We were very proud to then launch the first EVER performance of ‘Diva Sax’, which went down a storm! Please watch this space for the new website and video…
I love how every time our jazz trio plays, they have ‘naughty’ looks on their faces, like they’re doing something they shouldn’t…
And Motown Supreme were fabulous as always…
And then the 12 piece MIB took the stage, performing their Jewish medley and a 45mins set…
We were VERY excited to get this footage through! Yes…its finally here! The official royal wedding footags is now up online!
I’ve put together a short edit of some of the tunes, but (for the more hardcore fans – ie, our mum’s!) the whole gig is up online on our ‘MIB-Tube’ page (its in 3 sections – the first one is here)
For those of you who want to watch the shorter version, here it is in all its glory! What a day!
Our musicians have been up to all sorts lately! As well as rocking out at functions all over the country, they have been travelling the world performing as session musicians for some big name artistes…
I love the fact that our players have such fantastic careers elsewhere – its what makes our bands so great!
You’ve already seen our Lindsay & Russ with David Hasslehoff (or if you haven’t, scroll down to recent posts to see the video!), but check out a few of our other guys…
Tommy is still touring lots with Professor Green. Check him out here singing lead at the Radio 1 Big Weekend….
Our awesome MIB saxophonist Marco has been touring the UK with cheeky chappy Olly Murs…
MIB Guitarist Luke Higgins has been performing with Claire Maguire, who had hit single ‘Last Dance’ earlier this year. Check out this lovely acoustic performance featuring just the two of them…
Motown Supreme guitarist Sandy Buglass has been working with up and coming artiste ‘Florrie’, and has just been joined by Funkadelics drummer Chris Boot! Watch out for these guys, touring a lot this Summer.
Vinnie Lammi (percussionist for Live Loungers and drummer for MIB & Funkadelics) is off to Germany to perform with the lovely Mel B of the Spice Girls, and a selection of the MIB musicians are the in-house band for this weeks ‘London Rocks’ concert, performing with all the artistes including the awesome Kezi Silverstone and Steve Rodgers.
If you’re interested in booking our musicians as a session band for an originals artiste, check out our sister site, www.the77collective.com
Good times ahead we think!
On Sunday 29th May we had the honour of being involved in truly one of the most inspiring weddings we’ve ever had the pleasure of performing at. Paul & Amy contacted us back in August last year, and made it clear that when it came to planning their wedding, music was hugely important to them.
We worked closely with Paul & Amy, as well as the rest of their very lovely family, to come up with an entertainment schedule like nothing else I’ve ever seen before at a Wedding. We discussed quite a few different options, but after they came to see our showcase last September, Paul & Amy decided on a final line-up, and wowee did they make a fantastic choice!
Here’s a little rundown of the day’s entertainment. For couples that are really into their music, this is a true inspiration to how to make the most of your wedding entertainment….
2.45p.m We provided a fantastic string quartet that we often work with, ‘Tapestry’ to perform as guests arrived in the ceremony. This set a really lovely scene as guests arrived, and the quartet played a selection of Amy & Paul’s favourite music (all chosen by them).
3.30p.m I (Sera) performed a song in the ceremony. Amy & Paul chose ‘I’ve dreamed of you’ by Barbra Streisand. For some reason I’d not come across this song before, but it was just beautiful, and an honour to sing it for them (although somewhat nerve wracking!). Here’s a copy of the original if you fancy a listen…its very lovely…
4p.m-5.15p.m Tapestry then moved with the guests outside, and performed more of the bride and groom’s choices during the drinks reception.
5.45p.m-8.10p.m Once the room had been transformed for the wedding breakfast, our pianist performed 2 x 45mins sets of ‘movie themed’ songs (to match the ‘movie themed’ table names!). We hired in a beautiful white grand piano from Grand Hire Pianos, which sat on the white sparkly dancefloor, with a white stage and backdrop behind him. It was just gorgeous!
8.40p.m 1st dance (which was ‘the way you look tonight’) followed by MIB 12 piece band perform their first set. Paul & Amy chose every song in the set-list and we started off with some light jazz/swing like ‘Fly Me To The Moon’ and progressed into some fun party tunes like ‘Valerie’ and ‘Long Train Running’.
9.30p.m MIB performed a 15mins Jewish Medley, again all songs chosen by our lovely couple. This included classics like ‘Hava Nagilla’ and ‘Siman Tov, Mazel Tov’ and got absolutely EVERYONE on the dancefloor. Great fun!
10p.m Our gorgeous saxophonist performed her Buddha Bar set, with our live percussionist. The idea of this is that they improvise to clubby dance style tracks, and Paul & Amy commissioned her to do this to a professional mix of their favourite club songs. It was absolutely awesome! Lindsay (sax) was up on stage in a gorgeous red sparkly dress, playing her heart out to tunes like ‘Footsteps’ and ‘Don’t Mess With My Man’. This went down a storm, and even got the older generation up dancing like they were on a night out in a posh London club
10.30p.m MIB performed their 2nd set. This featured an epic Michael Jackson Medley, that we wrote and designed specifically for Paul & Amy. They were both keen that the music choices weren’t too cheesy, and we were really excited when they chose 4 of our favourite MJ songs (Don’t stop til you get enough, PYT, Off the Wall and Working Day & Night). It was really nice to be able to play some of his lesser known tunes – you always see bands playing ‘Beat it’ and ‘Billie Jean’ – but rarely hear these songs played live (ha, probably because they’re ridiculously hard!) so it was really great to spend some time on these great tunes. We also got to play my all time favourite song, ‘Waiting for a star to fall’ – which brought a tear to my eye!
11p.m 21st Century Riot then took to the stage, performing a set of indie and rock covers. We were a bit nervous about this bit, worried that the rock music might be a bit out of place, but everyone flocked to the dance-floor and boogied away to tunes like ‘Mr Brightside’ and ‘My Generation’. Soooo very rock and roll – I really enjoyed watching this set!
12a.m MIB performed their last set, which featured lots of modern hits like ‘California Girls’ by Katy Perry, and ‘Crazy in Love’ by Beyonce. We ended on a very cool anthems medley, which featured ‘Don’t Stop Believing’, ‘Sweet Child of Mine’ and ‘Living on a Prayer’, and got the whole crowd playing air guitar!
We had such an amazing day and would like to thank Amy & Paul for including us such an awe inspiring wedding!
Here’s what Paul had to say:
‘Dear Sera, Helen and everyone at MIB,
Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!
We cannot stop talking about the weekend. The text messages, guest book feedback and facebook posts were incredible and keep coming! We also had 58 guests staying over and all of them were very very complimentary and raved about so many different aspects of the wedding.
The one thing everyone kept asking was: where did you find that band?! People raved about the ceremony song and said it made them cry, all said the Quartet were great and that the pianist during dinner really helped to set the mood. Beyond that, the five different sets all received amazing reviews. Particular highlights were the MJ medley, the jewish music (very well done), the end medley people said was so so different, plus the fantastic Buddha Bar set and Riot sets which people did not want to end!!!
Amy and I remarked to each other that of every penny we spent, the best money spent was on MIB! We stand by that!
We were so so pleased. We had such amazing comments and having been to 15 or more weddings in recent years we know we had the best and others also said you were the best. We just had this hunch you were going to be amazing and we were right.’
And some feedback from the rest of the family…
I just wanted to email you to let you know how fantastic I thought you all were on Sunday. From the first time Paul showed me your website, to seeing you perform a sample set many months ago, I knew you guys would be outstanding and you definitely lived up (and surpassed) my expectations.
Sera, your solo song ‘I’ve Dreamed Of You’ during the ceremony was incredibly moving. Tapestry and the pianist were pure class, all three sets from MIB were perfect and uplifting, Lindsay’s Buddha Bar set was amazing and 21st Century Riot rocked the Langham.
Everyone I spoke to throughout the night commented on the music and how fantastic you all were. There was something for everyone and it was a delight to see the dancefloor full all night long.
After months of planning the day flew past so quickly but the memories will last a lifetime. I cannot wait to see the video footage later this summer and I will make sure you receive a copy to use as you see fit.
Thanks for making Paul and Amy’s day so memorable.
David’
‘Hi Sera,
What can we say. Faultless, amazing, professional, exciting.From the moment we met you for coffee last year we knew all was going to be great.
You were as excited as Gerald and I as we discussed Amy and Pauls ideas.Of course once we saw you and the team perform at the showcase event we were
even more convinced because you could provide all the different kinds of music we were wanting
for the wedding. Such a variety, each section adding another twist, each one a talking point.Sera, when you sang during the ceremony, both Gerald and I had tears in our eyes, your most beautiful
voice, unforgettable, one of the highlights of the whole day for us.Please pass on our thanks to each and every one of the team, and we wish all of you well in the future.
Hopefully, we will see you again sometimeBest wishes
Gill and Gerald Schneider’
We’ve managed to get together just a few comments and reviews of MIB and their performance at Hyde Park for the Royal Wedding….
‘The band here in Hyde Park really have been fantastic,’ BBC Radio
‘As MIB began to get into their stride, the frenzy intensified! Suddenly a massive conga of grinning people of all shaped and sizes was jollying its way through the throng of people…’ Sunday Times
‘MIB had a female brass section that were just awesome…’ LA news
‘We LOVED you at Hyde Park. From start till finish we were loving you. We didn’t want you to stop. Thanks for the amazing day’- Marie Dean, Twitter
‘I had such a fun time dancing with MIB in Hyde Park!’ – @hardcore_helen, Twitter
‘So many people dancing to the band in Hyde Park. It’s such a great atmosphere!’ - @DannBrandon, Twitter
‘Awwwh this band in Hyde Park is cool, and everyone is up dancing! Funn!’ - @andrea_arial, Twitter
‘You were amazing in Hyde Park ! You were totally the best band we could have got, thank you for rocking Hyde Park, everyone had the best time !’ – ShonaJoannaLovato, Youtube
‘You Rocked the Hyde Park party for the Royal Wedding!’ – bornsleepy771, Youtube
‘You were great at the Royal Wedding!’ – Youtube
‘You guys are doing a really entertaining show! Saw you in Hyde Park’ – El Mar Bernhard, Facebook
‘The crowd where there to party and from the very first song the singing from the multitudes – it was amazing!’ – VV.co.uk review
Ok, we know it was over 2 weeks ago, but its still all we can talk about here in the MIB Music office – MIB performing to 300,000 at Hyde Park for the Royal Wedding! What a gig….
We caught up with some of the band members to see how they’re dealing with the biggest gig of their life… (!)
So, its been over 2 weeks now since the Royal Wedding Hyde Park event… have you recovered yet?
Russ: I think about it every day- it’s like being one of the few people who’ve seen the Earth from outer space….
Rachel: Not really! I was really ill the following two weeks after the wedding so it still hasn’t really sunk in yet! Now i’m starting to see people again and they ask me what I’ve been up to…and I get to tell them that!!!! Its starting to sink in…..OH MY! What did we do!!!!!!!??????
Allan: I’m not sure i’ll ever recover from that ! Everything in life is now about trying to re-create those moments on stage…which of course is impossible so it’s a source of complete frustration !
Sera: The thing I’ve found funny is that I can’t even construct a complete sentence about it… people say, ‘how was it?’ and I somehow utter out some random words that vaguely represent something to do with the subject…I can’t even begin to describe how amazing it was. It was just such an epic day. I can’t believe it happened…it just feels like a dream.
Damien: It was all a bit hectic. That whole weekend was a bit mad for me. We were in Hyde Park singing to 300,000 people that afternoon. Then, in the evening I was singing at someone’s wedding to about 60 people and then the day after I was a singing Ice cream man… that perfectly illustrates what it’s like to be a ‘jobbing’ singer/ actor/ performer…
How do you think the band was received on the day?
Rob: Oh fantastically well and to be honest slightly better than I expected. Not because MIB isn’t a great band, but because often people get easily distracted or look for a celebrity on stage to satisfy them, but I really think they just went with the music. When the band started up everyone just focused in and totally went with us, which was great. And it was the right kind of music for that point in that kind of day.
Rachel: Really well! On the day, I came off stage thinking ‘that was awesome!’ but what really made it hit home is watching all the youtube footage of people dancing and singing along! I did wonder what the vibe would be like further back but watching the video clips, they were loving it!
Russ: Like we were ROCK GODS. And of course we are.
Allan: I think this is best measured by the size of the conga line !! Epic !
Sera: haha, the conga was amazing…it made me start laughing in the middle of a song when I saw that. The whole thing was just so well recieved – not just us, the whole day. It was so lovely to have that many people there to celebrate William & Kate’s marriage, being proud to be British!
How did you feel on the run up to the big day?
Rachel: I was really nervous and stressed in the lead up…its the biggest thing I have ever done and I didn’t really know what to expect…I think that is why it was so scary! But actually, as soon as I got to London on the Thursday and checked into the hotel I felt really calm. I just felt really excited but not necessarily nervous or scared. When I was there on the day, standing on that stage in front of 300,000 people waiting to start….it just felt like the most natural thing in the world!
Sera: I was similar to Rach..the few weeks before I was just a nightmare…I couldnt even hear the words ‘royal wedding’ without feeling sick! However once I was there, had met the clients (who were lovely), seen the stage etc I was fine…then, like Rach said, it just felt like the most natural thing in the world.
Rob: I did feel nervous but also fairly serene. I guess I just always fret a bit about remembering silly things and bits of structure etc, but it wasn’t any more than usual. I also don’t think you get the sense of scale until the actual moment – so ten minutes before going on I then felt incredibly nervous and a bit overwhelmed, but then adrenalin kicks in and you just go.
Allan: Extremely exited, proud, nervous… i went through just about every emotion there is i think.
What did you think of the wedding?
Rachel: It was so beautiful! I came out of our dressing room to watch the wedding on the big screens and the atmosphere was buzzing! Prince William looked absolutely gorgeous and Kate looked stunning. Wow that dress! I found it all a bit too emotional actually and had to go back inside as I was getting teary and didn’t want to ruin my make up! DIVA! But I thought the whole day was spectacular and really well done. Like everyone is saying, it was very clear that they are a down to earth, fun couple who know how to party!
Sera: I think I fell a little bit in love with Prince William that day! We were allowed to watch the big screens from in front of the barriers, which was so special. It was amazing to share that experience with 300,000 other people – what a gorgeous wedding!
Russ: Probably the best state event in the world in recent memory- no one does it like the British!
Damien: I loved the bit where they both got up to the front of the Cathedral, came together and, in Hyde Park, the sun broke through the clouds. That was the most magical part of the day for me… that and Rachael’s dress!!
Allan: Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. We all perform at 100′s of weddings every year so we’ve seen just about everything there is to see ! The things that stood out for me were just how well Will & Kate’s character came through all the hype of the day… it could easily have felt too stuffy or too traditional, but i felt like i really got a sense of who they are as a couple. It’s nice as a young (ish) person, to be able to feel like you can identify with our Royal family ! Something which i’ve never experienced before but can definitely say i can now thanks to Will & Kate. The highlight of the ceremony for me was the simply amazing choir music. I’ve never heard anything so beautiful in all my life as a musician ! Stunning.
Did you enjoy playing to 300,000 people, or were you too nervous to properly enjoy it?
Allan: Loved every second……..apart from the first 60 or so where i had to convince myself that I actually COULD play the opening Dmajor chord ! To be honest as soon as we hit the first chorus to “I don’t wanna miss a thing” by Aerosmith..(our first song) I felt totally at home. I could also feel that we felt like that as a band and as a whole. I can’t describe the silent communication that happens between musicians on-stage, but you can feel it, and you know when it’s right, and when it is….300’000 people start dancin’ !!
Russ: I remember looking at everyone’s faces on stage when we were about to play and they looked how I felt- like we were about to jump into the abyss of covers band doom….but once we cracked into Aerosmith it was like having a jam. In front of one of the biggest UK audiences of all time.
Sera: It was surreal, but I loved it. The coolest thing was looking out and seeing my band members up on that HUUUUGE screen! I kept thinking, ‘Whats Jim doing on that big screen?’ haha…oh yes, playing to 300,000 for the royal wedding…
Rob: Massively enjoyed it. After pretty much the first note I just soaked it up and loved it. If anything i was probably just a bit dreamy because i kept just looking out over the sea of people thinking, ‘this is awesome… so many… so many’. And the atmosphere was fantastic, the crowd were with us, everyone on stage was having fun, it was lovely lovely.
Rachel: I absolutely loved it! It was a strange experience….as I haven’t performed to that large an audience before the sound took getting used to. You could see this mass of people but you couldn’t hear them. So you would see their hands go up and their mouths open but only hear about ten people in front of you….that took some getting used to but I absolutely loved it!
What was your favourite gig moment from that day?
Rob: I started singing ‘everything i do’ by Brian Adams and got a big scream from the crowd followed by some singing along. For a few seconds, I was there in Sherwood Forest playing guitar with Kevin Costner firing an arrow in the background.
Rachel: There was a moment when I shouted ‘everyone at the back lets see your hands up’ and literally all these people put their hands up in the air from really far back…..I would love to have seen my face because I literally went to burst into tears….I had to turn around to recompose myself!
Sera: Aside from afore mentioned ‘big screen’ moment…I think it was playing the first song – ‘dont wanna miss a thing’ was chosen by the audience to be the first song and what a great choice it was. It was really hard not to get all teary I must say… the audience were going mad singing along, and a lot of them were crying, all caught up in the emotion of the day (so I’m told – it wasnt that we were terrible I promise). It was just…a moment. I can’t describe it…can’t even think about it without getting all sniffly… Also, later on in our second set, we totally loosened up and just completely relaxed and had fun…I was loving playing a bit of percussion!
Damien: Singing ‘Greatest day’ and seeing that impromptu conga line form… what I loved was that so many people seemed genuinely happy to be there celebrating with us…
Russ: Allan’s disgusting solo over the Wild Cherry standard- talk about re-invigorating a cheesy tune, he was all over it like a jungle rash!
Anything you would have done differently?
Damien: Drank less Red Bull!
Russ: Played longer…and LOUDER!
Sera: Umm…insisted that the day lasted forever? Haha… no, not really, it was just the most perfect day.
Rob: Got the call and response bit from Celebration right. What a plonker.
Is it a day you’ll never forget?
Russ: It’s the only day I can REMEMBER!
Allan: Absolutely! One for the Grandkids!
Sera: Never, ever will I ever forget that day! Lol and I won’t let anyone else forget it either…videos, pics, interviews galore
Any messages for Will & Kate?
Rachel: Congratulations and you guys rock! What a cool couple!
Damien: When you’re moaning about who does the washing up, just remember how happy you were on your wedding day.
Is there anything that will top that day? Where to from here?
Russ: There’s always something better round the corner or we may as well retire now. The Olympics?!
Rachel: Olympics please : ) and also a world tour would be nice……
Sera: YESSS to the Olympics! We’ve had all sorts of opportunities come in since then… some contact from booking agents in the US, Oz & Dubai, the single ‘On This Day’ is selling well, and the feedback we’ve had from people at Hyde Park has been so lovely… we love what we do, and every gig we do is special, so we’re just honoured to have been asked to do such a fantastic event.
