Blues Soul Revue

Kelly

Lead and Backing vocals

Kelly has been singing for as long as she can remember. She has been a lead member of her latest two bands for over 5 years and could be called the wedding singer! Kelly loves to sing anything from Duffy to Dusty but is fulfilling a burning ambition, since the film was released, to be part of a Commitments tribute band and the Blues Brothers is an added bonus! By day Kelly is a travelling salesperson..

Helle

Keyboard & Musical Director

Helle, who grew up in Denmark , started playing the piano at the age of 7. She loves all kinds of music from classical to pop. Although originally classically trained, she particularly enjoys playing in popular styles such as soul, blues and jazz. Helle played with the Moonlighters’ Big Band in Nottingham from 1991-94 and with York University Big Band in 1995. She joined Blues Soul Revue in September 2010.

By day, she is Head of Music in a large upper secondary school in Leicestershire, where she is the MD for a number of extra-curricular music groups. Two of these are the award-winning Soul Patrol and Robert Smyth Jazz Band with whom she has toured Beijing , Paris , Prague , Barcelona and Denmark and performed extensively with in the UK .

Andy

Commitments vocalist & Elwood

Andy recently joined the band, taking on the Andrew Strong role from The Commitments (Ed – that means you’re out front Andy, so let go of the Bass Players hand!). He started playing guitar in 1976 at the age of 15 with a school band called jade doing covers of that era. After leaving school and musical tastes turning to rockabilly he turned his hand to playing double bass and formed a band named the Hell Razors and shortly afterwards recruited a singer named Colbert Hamilton from America so the band now was called Colbert Hamilton and the Hellrazors.

After a few years of successful gigging the band found a manager named Harry Barter which they later found out used to manage the Nolan sisters (Ed – that’s why you wear tight jeans, for falcetto!). Soon afterwards doors started to open with a 3 album deal with CBS, 5 appearances on TV with the likes of Saturday Starship the tube and number 73, and 2 slots on the john peel show on radio 1 in concert. The 1st album and single started to chase bands like the king, Dead or Alive and the jam up the indie charts and finally there single got to number 2 ...happy days.

1995 the band went their separate ways. Andy soon got together a 7 piece blues band named the smokestack blues band but changed from playing double bass to trying out singing and took to it very well. The band had great success with 2 European tours one album and a great time had by all. Oh yeah and now he also plays Harmonica in the band!

Bob

Sax Man

Bob started on the clarinet as a young kid of twelve playing classical music. His first experience of playing in public was with Bury Concert band, Sunday afternoons spent in smokey working mens clubs. Bob’s hidden urge to play jazz and blues could no longer be held back and aged 16 he bought an old second hand alto sax. This also coincided with his realisation that he needed to change his nerdy image. (Although, it’s now recognised that nerdy is in and has become the new black for this season).

At University he joined a few bands playing rock covers. After University he moved to Manchester and joined a jazz/funk band called Sidewinder. He was also involved with an Indian classical music group that played at an Asian music contest at Birmingham Festival Hall.

Over the years Bob has been involved with rock, soul, blues, ska and indy bands though his true love is acid jazz and funk. Once when playing with a heavy rock band in a dark, drug filled room, after an emotional sax solo the guitarist turn round and drawled “man you might look like a square but you can’t half blow that sax”. The nerdy past was finally forgotten and the saxophonist was born.

Jake

Guitar

Got his first guitar at the age of nine and attempted to teach himself to play (Ed – eventually he thinks he’ll get it!). He should have had some lessons but instead he’s spent 30 years trying to teach himself!

Musically he likes pretty much anything with a good rhythm and obviously a guitar well up in the mix, although blues is what he always come back to. When he reaches the crossroads he thinks he’ll have no choice but to sell his soul to the devil (Ed - If the horn section don’t steal it first!!)

Ian

Bass

Music has always been in his blood from an early age (Ed – he cut himself on a music stand aged 3!). Ian appeared in his first band during 6th form days at school performing early pre-punk punk! From those ‘heady’ days he soon matured (Ed – not what the drummer says!) and migrated to Loose Covers (soul band), FatBoy 5, Cover Story, On The Run, Reissued then Stolen Mojo before forming the Blues Soul Revue with Keith Lee.

He has always wanted to play in a Blues Brothers and Commitments tribute band so this is the realisation of a long term passion and dream for. Long may it continue!

Keith Lee

Basher (Drums)

One of the originals in setting up the band with Bassist Ian. He has been playing drums since the tender age of 10. Played lead drum for the boys brigade and navy cadets.(Ed – was that him on Village People’s “In The Navy”?). He joined his first band Smiffy at 16 and had 8 happy years playing mostly night clubs all over the country, his claim to fame was when he played for Freddie fingers Leigh a great rock and roll legend, playing in his band for 8 months.

He then went on to play with a semi pro rock band Red Shift and had a great career playing supports to the likes of Thin Lizzy, The Knack, A Flock of Seagulls and many more. Unfortunately the band went their separate ways in 1984 and he then went on to do session drumming for club bands and show bands. He is strongly influenced by Ginger Baker, Buddy Rich, Keith Moon, Cosy Powell.