Happy 2019 from your favourite of all the  roaming bands!

We’re busy getting ready for another year of glorious wedding entertainment right now, but we thought we’d start out the blog with a little round up of Christmas ’18…

‘December is the most wonderful time of the year’

Anyone who tells you this hasn’t organised a Christmas party. There’s so much to do! Find a date when everyone’s free, find a venue that’s not been booked up seven months in advance, negotiate a price which won’t put off the Jenny in account from footing the bill, try and persuade Ian that last years alcohol consumption was not appropriate for an office social occasion and would he mind employing a little more decorum at this years event!?

We know the stresses are overwhelming for this big office blow out, so what a relief to be able to find that your band knows exactly what they’re doing right?

Before office party madness could get into full swing however, we sneaked in a lovely little wedding in on the 1st of December at Searcys, a lovely and historic restaurant in Knightsbridge, decorated in full festive regalia, a lovely Christmas tree in the room for the drinks reception caught a lot of guests eyes as a perfect opportunity for a photo or two - we took the cue to play ‘have yourself a merry little Christmas’ for some wide eyed kids. You could see them fit to burst with anticipation for Christmas morning! The wedding continued upstairs and we were soon rocking out in-between tables, avoiding the waiters with delicious food being delivered to the tables, something our lithe front man, Lewis, seems to have a sixth sense about. The evening ended with a rousing rendition of ‘I feel good’ by James Brown and we left the room to a swell of applause. Always nice to have an appreciative crowd, but even more so a glowing client! To Mr and Mrs Weeks, we’re so thankful to have been invited to your special day!

And then, suddenly, December party season hit us full in the face.

We kicked everything off in suspicious circumstances with the good folks at Marchon inviting us to their 1930’s prohibition era themed murder mystery party! We grabbed a fedora and blew onto the dance floor all night!

There’s something wonderful about the roaming band, its a little infectious, a good bit of fun. People can’t help but take up the chorus of ‘Brown Eyed Girl’ or ‘She’s Electric’ - maybe its because all your friends voices are filling the air and all the embarrassment goes away? A bit like singing in the shower! There’s no rules now, no neighbours to worry about, no colleagues to complain about the sound of strangled cat from over the other side of the office, just all of you singing along together as one - helped along of course by our wonderful front man, Lewis and the rest of our brilliant band, Dom on drums, Ash on saxophone and Luke on Bass. All smiling and willing you on to let yourself go.

We then swung by our friends at Sabre Insurance to kick their office party at Hartsfield Manor into another gear. They’d enjoyed some fine food and drink and were absolutely primed for a good sing song when we arrived! I don’t condone dancing on furniture, but honestly, its hard to control the exuberance of a 60 year old accountant who just wants to scream the chorus of ‘Angles’ by Robbie Williams just one… more… TIME!

Possibly the proudest gig of the year we’ve done so far was with our friends at The Royal Albert Hall who invited us to entertain their drinks suppliers in their splendid North Bar. A venue stepped in history and graced by many hundreds of thousands of talented performers in its 147 year history. It was an honour to tread the halls there once more and we’d like to extend a heart felt thank you to the staff there for their wonderful hospitality.

Last but not least, by any stretch, we finished out the year with two FABULOUS weddings. The first saw us in the Century Club, an exclusive members club on Shaftesbury Avenue with an impressive orangery style bar on the top floor. The glass roof let in the light of the city and we could see the bustling sky above us, filled with planes, a bright crescent moon and of course, the international space station, pointed out to us by an enthusiastic spotter in the crowd. A fantastic venue perfectly suited to this incredibly stylish couple who could not have looked more elegant as they took to the dance floor for a special request - Volare by Dean Martin. This song was a pleasure to play and a perfect choice for this wonderful couple!

Our second wedding was an absolute storm! Some of our events are in the afternoons which turn into gentle affairs where people warm themselves up with a few tunes after the wedding ceremony with drinks, a fun way of loosening up for the dinner to come. Others chose music through the dinner itself where we try and get people singing along table by table until the whole room is joining in! Then some times we get booked in place of a traditional rock band to entertain everyone for a whole two sets as if we WERE a rock band, filling the dance floor and leading a huge sing along. We’re only too up for the challenge, but boy, The Hedgleys wedding at the Bull & Gate in Kentish Town was not a challenge, but a pleasure. We were met with one of the most enthusiastic crowds we’ve ever played to. From the word go they were on the dance floor and singing every word. We struck a nice opening with some funk, a medley we like to play which goes through some heavy hitting classics of the era; Superstition by Stevie Wonder, Staying Alive by the Bee Gees, Rappers Delight by the Sugar Hill Gang and finishing off with the classic Play That Funky Music by Wild Cherry. After we’d broken out those 70’s moves it was time for something a little more raucous - Basket Case by Green Day, Say It Ain’t So by Blink 182 and another classic, Teenage Dirtbag by Wheetus. We finished off with the whole pub singing along to everyone’s favourite ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’ By Oasis, A video of which you can see on our Instagram account @wanderlandband - check us out and say ‘Hey’! You never know what’s going to come out of our next show - theres anyways something interesting going on!

See you around folks! Lots of Love Ash Dom Lewis Luke xxx