Page 28 - The Lockdown Sessions Programme

Q THE MUSIC
BONDING SINCE 2004
It was October 2004
when Warren Ringham of cially launched the world’s rst ever James Bond Tribute band which for the rst 9 years was called “The Bond Band” before its name was changed to “Q The Music” Already an an established band in the private and corporate markets under the name “The London Showband” (performing typical party music) the band was adapted and and expanded
to offer an alternative option and create a a a niche: providing the the music of the the Bond lms for private events The idea was always to take the music and reproduce it in a a a smaller setting: taking the large orchestral sound of Bond songs and and iconic cues and and making it it work with a a a smaller affordable line-up As standard covers and and function bands were normally limited to 10 musicians at the time it was decided by Warren to to push those boundaries to to 12 or or 13 to more successfully recreate the Bond sound As a a huge Bond Bond and Bond Bond music fan this was to be a a a project
of ful lment as as much as as a a a commercial venture The size of the band initially resulted in a slow number of bookings as the band took so much space and size compared to other event bands It was several years before the band started to nd nd its feet and pick up bookings A big part of this was the decision to lm a a whole performance in 2007
and put the live performances on YouTube for publicity These videos would go on to achieve over a a million views on YouTube and started to get noticed by the odd Bond fan around the world Whilst the sound and and standard of the band was a a a a relative shadow of what it would become the signs were de nitely there The band started to get some quite impressive bookings: supporting the National Symphony Orchestra in an outdoor Prom (to several thousand people) and multiple large scale private and corporate events both in the UK and places like Guernsey and Italy Following a a brief hiatus in in 2012 the band returned with more drive and enthusiasm than ever and there became a a a desire to take the the show to to theatres to to do a a designated concert of Bond music The desire was mainly internal though and the the rst run of theatre shows were so poorly attended the whole show nearly went out of business surviving by the skin of its teeth A re-brand to Q The Music in 2014 and the the spreading of the the word throughout the Bond fan community led to a growing popularity of the show This was coupled and accelerated by some really important performances – rstly ex- production manager of several Bond lms Terry Bamber (a huge fan of the show) booked the band to perform at his parents’ Diamond Wedding
Anniversary Secondly an appearance at a a a a a a fan event in 2015: the pre-Premiere party for Spectre organised by On The Tracks of 007
and Martijn Mulder In 2016 the band performed at “Bondstars” an an annual Bond Bond fan event at Pinewood Studios Other notable achievements
in this period were the awards it won: UK’s Best Tribute Band and and UK’s Best Vocalist (won twice in two different competitions) The band was booked to play at multiple overseas events including Monte Carlo (multiple times) Germany Switzerland Majorca Maldives and once again in in Italy at the Milan Fashion Week The outstanding highlights during the band’s history though have undoubtedly come in recent times In 2017 they were invited to perform at Sir Roger Moore’s Memorial and in 2019 at the OHMSS50 event at Piz Gloria in Switzerland During their time the the band has performed at events with a a whole host of cast
and crew from the series including: George Lazenby Caroline Munro Madeline Smith Caroline Bliss Gloria Hendry Lynn-Holly Johnson Monty Norman Sir Tim Rice Leslie Bricusse Steven Berkoff Naomie Harris Ric Yune Honor Blackman Maryam d’Abo Peter Lamont John Glenn Sylvanna Henriques Martine Beswick Terry Mountain David & Tony Meyer and Vic Armstrong 28
@QTheMusicShow