There’s something to be said for the function duo route with universal appeal, you could be working somewhere hot! Powerhouse vocal harmony duo Reflections are back in the UK after ten successful years on the Costa Blanca….
Bringing the very best of the 60s, 70s & 80s, from Cher, Neil Diamond, Cliff Richard, The Carpenters, Shirley Bassey, Shakin’ Stevens, Queen and more, Reflections offer fantastic nights of classic hits & unforgettable entertainment.
Reflections return to the UK to fill venues up to 500 capacity. This vocal/harmony duo provides fantastic nights of entertainment. And they’ll be playing for free this Saturday, 13th September, at The Kings Arms in Amesbury. An early event from Stone Circle Events’ new outpost in Wiltshire, and something for all to enjoy, so dust off your gladrags and zip up your party boots!
“More deadlier than the male” is my usual corny pun for this, but if supergroup Female of the Species returns to Melksham this September, it looks like the last time I’ll be able to use it….
September 2017, when Devizine had merely eight articles published, I previewed a charity fundraising event in Melksham, The Female of the Species, and I’ve loved it and supported it since. A supergroup composed of the frontwomen of various local bands, they were already in their second year, but after ten years they announced this one will be their last….
Julie Moreton from Trowbridge’s ska and reggae covers band Train to Skaville, formed the supergroup Female of the Species with Nicky Davis from Warminster-based The Reason, Glastonbury’s Julia Greenland from Soulville Express, Frome’s Claire Perry from Big Mamma’s Banned, and solo artist Charmaigne Andrews, for an annual fundraiser at the Melksham Assembly Rooms; it became a much-loved institution and has raised over an estimated £25-30K for various local charities chosen annually.
It’s an incredible amount, but Julie revealed she wasn’t sure of the grand total over the combined years. “We’ve never really kept a total of what we’ve raised,” she modestly told me, “we sang a few songs, and someone’s life got a little better is how we think about it.”
Their tenth and final time performing the fundraiser as The Female of the Species will be at The Melksham Assembly Hall on Saturday 13th September 2025, and will be raising for Voices, a Bath-based charity supporting survivors and overcomers of domestic abuse and violence to recover and thrive. Tickets usually sell out quickly, you can grab yours HERE.
And you’ll be glad you did, the accumulation of five talented singers from different bands, coming together for a sizzling melting pot of all pop’s subgenres, from rock, soul and reggae, blended with some filthy banter is something to behold, a whole lot of fun and dancing. There’s always a quality support act too, the likes of Plan of Action, Becky Lawrence and Dylan Smith have all warmed up the audience in previous years, but the girls have called in Laura Jayne, their first ever support act, who has carved out her own career as a vocalist.
With only months to raise hundreds of thousands of pounds or face potential closure due to the building it leased being beyond economical repair, in 2024 Female of the Species raised funds for Trowbridge preschool Rainbow Early Years. 2013 was for Alzheimer’s Support, and previous years they’ve supported Mind, Young Melksham, Wiltshire Air Ambulance, and one very close to our hearts here at Devizine, Carmela’s Stand Up to Muscular Dystrophy.
They received a Civic Award in 2019, a letter from the Queen Consort, and thanks from the Chartered Institute of Fundraising. For a couple of years, with a misinformed council, they made the move to Seend Community Hall, but in 2024 they headlined Melksham’s Christmas light switch on and are now back at the Assembly Hall. Although, where and why did it all begin?
“I started The Female of the Species because I didn’t like the way women were perceived on the local music scene,” Julie Moreton told us. “Out with Train to Skaville, at a couple of local festivals I noticed I was the only female on the stage, so I went into the green room and asked ‘anyone got any girls in the band?’ The reply was, ‘we don’t have girls in our band because they’re unreliable, always gotta find a babysitter!’ At another festival I asked the same question, this time the reply was, ‘we get a few girlie’s in when we want some backing lyrics done!’ It bugged me for about a year, then I decided to do something about it, spoke to my co-founder Julia Greenland, we booked the Civic Hall, without really knowing what we were doing!”
They only ever planned the gig as a one-off in 2014, but went on for ten years. Julie concluded, “the rest is history,” until hilarious force of nature Claire “Big Mamma” Perry had to butt in with her welcomed thoughts too!
“I joined this crazy bunch after their first year of performing,” Claire informed me, “with, I have to admit, some apprehension!!” and continued to explain her reasoning; being “badly burnt” by another woman in a band; I didn’t dare delve deeper!
“But after Jules and Julia convinced me,” she continued, “I thought I’d be mad not to, ‘cos it’ll be fun! I have to say….I’ve never looked back, well, maybe once or twice, to tell the drummer he’s too friggin’ loud, or asleep, or pissed!”
“It’s been hard work every year, to get the time needed to rehearse, as all the band have their own commitments be it musically, or with their own families and lives, but what a privilege it’s been every year to raise not only awareness of our chosen charities, but of course the money that has helped them all, in whatever way they chose to put it to use.”
“I think, if I may speak on behalf of all of us, what being in the Female of the Species has done for us, is to firmly secure the respect, admiration, and amazing friendships we have made amongst us all. Every year, we come out, smiling, (teeth & tits!!) to our trusty, and loyal audiences, professional to a fault, to put on, what we hope- will be a great show…but often hiding, or certainly masking, our own sometimes sad or heartbreaking dilemmas!”
Claire described how every year one of the members had issues in their personal lives, “whether that be, broken hearts, broken limbs!” and here I recollected the year Nicky Davis hobbled out with a broken leg, and stunned the audience standing for her solo, but Claire reflected back three years past, when she lost her mum the night before the show.
“Ten years at the top of our game, we hope we can raise the rafters on this, our big celebration of music, friendship, and helping decent people, working to help others in chronically under funded charities, and get the place bouncing!! For me, it’s been a blast, boosted my confidence and morale, and it’s made me proud of what a bunch of musos from the West can do, when we put our collective skills in the pot. Over the last ten years we have been The Female of the Species band, we have raised somewhere in the region of 30K for some very deserving people. It’s been a slog, it’s been a grin, but most of all…it’s been a pleasure!”
The pleasure has been ours, as we turn the final page, The Female of the Species will become an historical landmark on Wiltshire’s music scene, and I still didn’t get any of their phone numbers. For one last time you’re invited to help them raise the roof of the Melksham Assembly Hall on Saturday 13th September 2025, but you need a ticket from HERE.
Chippenham folk singer-songwriter, M3G (because she likes a backward “E”) has a new single out tomorrow, Friday 19th December. Put your jingly bell cheesy tunes…
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Sometimes I believe we don’t know how lucky we are in Devizes. Sunday afternoon live music is a thing here, and we’re often spoiled for choice. This Sunday Phil Cooper played the White Bear, and it was the celebrated Jon Amor Trio monthly residency at the Southgate. But the meter was running on Dad’s taxi and I was left with a few hours to kill in Swindon; at least this means I might find something new to me, which I did, and was pleasantly surprised….
More sporadically the trend seems to be in Old Town. The usual circuit pubs like the Vic, Beehive and Castle were mostly having quiz nights (which my general knowledge level doesn’t permit me to engage in,) or nought; the place was relatively void of entertainment; shocking! I scanned social media, assuming there had to be something going on in a town this size on such a sunny afternoon. I guess it’s a case of knowledge of the scene, of which I thought I had some, but being I could only find one happening, it had to be this.
On a pastel-pink cloud poster, Fran Daisy was advertised to be singing at the Plough on Devizes Road. As I know neither, and she looked like one of these singers who karaoke with a PA and phone, which isn’t usually my cuppa, but I shrugged at the notion it was this or nothing, and took a chance.
The surprise element is far stronger than knowing the venue and the act, and was certainly true last Sunday. Starter for ten, The Plough is a humbling pub, simple L-shape plan with a low rising stage area, friendly staff and regulars, and comfy too; I felt quite at home there. Though it’s slightly off Old Town’s main drag, there are three pubs on that corner of Devizes Road and Newport Street, The Wheatsheaf and Royal Oak, and The Steam Railway is a lively sports bar a stone’s throw away. The Plough holds its own against this competition, hosting regular music nights on Saturdays with a variety of local acts on the circuit; I must add them to our event calendar.
But the biggest surprise was Fran herself, while, yeah I was right, she was singing pop covers over a karaoke app from her phone, she delivered them with crystal clear precision, gusto and were vocally powerful and confident. An era-spanning repertoire of sing-a-long classics, I arrived an hour into her set, where I recognised the contemporary tune but after a trio of Abba songs forgot what it was! Because Fran Daisy has the skill to adapt her voice to suit the cover, and she nailed Abba, in fact, she nailed them all. She asked for requests, gave the audience options, and joyfully put in the overtime.
An encore involved a song from Greace, in which she explained she performed it with a theatre group some years ago, to the hail of her entourage who obviously appeared in it too. It was clear through the diversity of her song choices and her lively, amusing audience banter alone, although Fran told me she had only been doing this on the local circuit for a year, that she had musical theatre experience.
It never ceases to amaze me when I discover a DIY singer on the circuit, seemingly content to do the rounds, promote and cart their own kit around, that is as an amazing performer as Fran is, that which should be fronting a popular function band, at the very least. But Fran explained she was a full-time nurse when I put this to her, so as a sideline perhaps this is a big enough bite for the additional workload, and dammit, we don’t need to be convincing nurses to follow the star! All said and done, though, Fran has the proficiency and potential to go much further, should she wish to, and the gorgeous voice to mimic divas and legends.
There are a few I’ve found in a similar position, our Kate Mills for one, who also works in the acoustic duo Sour Apple, and has stolen the voice of Alison Moyet! For the customary pubs without a reputation for hosting regular progressive or risque bands, who want their punters entertained, the karaoke-style singer is an affordable option. But when you’ve got the skills of someone like Kate or Fran, this is a guaranteed chicken dinner. Therefore I’m warming to the option, and judge accordingly on if it does what it says on the tin, and Fran goes above and beyond to create that engrossing entertainment.
A landlord would need to know the tried and tested, or take a leap of faith, but if you want your whole pub up singing along, Fran Daisy is a perfect option.
Follow her Facebook page, or deliberately injure yourself, cross your fingers and hope Fran Daisy is your appointed nurse!!
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Forget your pedal board setup for a moment, it was as if The Clones knew precisely what buttons to press to rouse the party crowd at The Three Crowns in Devizes last night, and whilst I’d admit it doesn’t take a lot to get them going, this four-piece certainly put an earnest shift in…
It seems irrefutable, the Three Crowns is the go-to pub to party and let your hair down in Devizes right now, particularly for Millennials and those tipsy enough to think they’re also twentysomething, like, I dunno, me?!! These wheels have been in motion for a few years and show no sign of slowing yet. It’s busy but hospitable, uses card-only payments to speed up service, inside it serves a respectable plate, and if previous generations favoured DJs in club format, the modern method of live cover bands is the epoch The Three Crowns abides by, and delivers in a spacious heated and covered beer garden, with zest ….but you knew this already, right?!
Whilst there’s the obvious popularity of regularly returning local bands such as People Like Us, The Roughcut Rebels and Illingworth, it’s a blessing to see a new band to the pub attract the same colossal positive response. The Clones hail from Corsham, I was unaware of them and my curiosity paid off. As we witnessed in Devizes last night, they sure put the cor in Corsham. Akin to when Pewsey’s Humdinger arrived in a blaze of glory, the punters showed them the Devizes appreciation and the atmosphere was electric.
Through a motley genre-mapped setlist they delivered a range of covers all with gusto, sharp class and attention to detail. Two lead singers generally adopted different stances, one taking the funky, soul numbers, with a sublime medley of Superstition and equally funky classics, the other with a penchant for eighties new wave, mod to Britpop; the Jam’s A Town Called Malice being my fav of the set, if I was forced at gunpoint to provide one.
Yet both duetted on a number of miscellaneous pop and rock classics. There were few tunes you might consider cliché, but they handled this well because often the crowd wants this, and mostly though sing-a-longs, they weren’t the archetypal songs to falter a cover band setlist. Daring attempts too, from Bowie to Jacko’s Billie Jean, there were some your average cover band should only try at home! It was nonstop fun, never attempting to sooth with a love ballad, or experiment with a synth, just the rock n roll four-piece format of drums, bass and lead, brought up-to-date with an exemplary setlist to rouse any diverse demographic audience.
It was loud, proud, and teetering with polished enthusiasm and professionalism. Landlords, if you want a band to make your punters thirsty by jumping for joy, this might be the cover band for you.
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The grand finale of popular local covers band, Indecision stormed Devizes Corn Exchange last night, Saturday 21st May, for one last hoorah. A hugely successful turnout in the-hard-to-fill Ceres Hall……
From Seend Beer Festival to Potterne Cricket Club’s, Indecision has been a firm favourite for many-a-year now, playing across the south west from Bromham’s long lost Owl community centre to as far away as Portsmouth, the six-piece Potterne-based band have demanded many to the dancefloor, but last night the time was nigh to say farewells.
Keyboardist Martin Spencer, who also owns Potterne’s Badger Set studio, gave me a never-say-never shrug when I asked him if it was really the end, but for now, he assured me it was.
They came out all guns firing, kicking off with Otis Redding’s Hard to Handle, and preceded to knock out every timeless classic you could name, weaving from Johnny be Goode to The Cult’s She Sells Sanctuary as if they were recorded in one session! There were nuggets of phone torch waving, particularly adroit was The Stereophonics’ Dakota.
Here is, essentially, a function covers band, but if you had them at your function it’d make it night to remember. Proof of this was evident in the huge crowd, with such a wide demographic, it seemed like everyone who had ever attended a function or event where they had played descended upon Devizes’ Market Place, and in knowing what was coming, flooded the dancefloor in anticipation. That’s one mighty accolade.
Yes, they smashed the predictable, and cliché covers apexes at Wonderwall, a point lovers of original compositions will no doubt sigh at, but for a covers band, it sure was accomplished, and they stood confident and experienced, raising funds for the Fatboys Charity and Wiltshire Rescue.
For me personally, my impressed expression didn’t falter, at times though I felt this collective had the skill and ability to create some tunes of their own, but in this consider they know their audience and give them what they want; they came here to dance the night away to the tunes they love, and who am I to deny them their enjoyment?
But I confess, I slipped out for a short while, for a pint down the Gate, because my focus and first love is the creativity of an original act, and there’s only so much disco swinging classics I can handle, no matter how skilfully handled. This, coupled with the fact I knew no one there, astonished as to how they can ram such a vast venue and not see one recognisable mug of town’s usual live music aficionados.
The audience reaction was upstanding, as if the Beatles were on stage, ergo my dilemma is to rate this highly upon the tenet just because it wasn’t wholly my cuppa, Indecision do what they say on their tin. Disgruntled at what appeared to me to be a village-fashioned clique with some audience members, upon trying to take an empty seat for the temporary moment I wished to sit, as this was so danceable, I was waved off with a warning the seat was reserved, despite the fact no one was obviously sitting on it, as if I was going to take the chair with me; bit weird and uncalled for, an eighties cheesy nightclubber come of age?! No, kind sir, I didn’t look at your girl!
Still I intended to return, but when I did the band had finished and a DJ was spinning Tiffany and other terrible pop mush, but they liked it, and that’s what’s important here, sadly I winced and escaped! Which was a shame, Indecision certainly tore the house down, were professional and beguiling, and I hope raised some serious wonga for the charity. Ah, the fault isn’t there’s, it’s all me! A massive congratulations to Indecision for staging a vibrant evening, of which the delight of their audience reviewed itself.
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Red level weather warning, they said, only make essential journeys they said, but fail to define the terms of what is essential. Is helping an elderly relative essential, getting to work, or a doctor’s appointment? What about People Like Us playing the Three Crowns, Devizes?!
To those hunting original live music, perhaps not, for this local trio covers is their game, fully aware what will rouse a standard pub crowd, and they do precisely this with such uniqueness and deliver it with such passion, for everyone else it is, totally essential!
To catch Nicky, back on two legs after an injury which I might add, failed to prevent her performing, and behind that faithful scarlet keyboard, Dean at the strings, switching lead to bass guitars, and now skinheaded Pip, (shaved his head fundraising for our Carmela, but seems to like it,) who, even not best postured for delivering vocals, slouched over a cajon, still somehow manages to professionaly grace the moment, is, in the words of the great Yogi Bear, smarter than the average pub covers group.
Putting a finger on why opens a Pandora’s Box, aforementioned drive, skill and professionalism evident in many a covers band. Still, People Like Us submits all these qualities as if a sponge cake, then they add icing. Observing the demographic of the crowd at the Three Crowns holds a clue, every landlord desires a cross section of punter and the repertoire of this trio truly caters for them all.
Short notes I make to jog my gradually degrading memory mystify me this morning, as one simply read, “new song” adding my daughter’s name; she knows it! Silly to have thought it useful at the time, but relevant to my point. Expect a few contemporary among their plethora of pop hits, but an also era-spanning setlist to leave you guessing.
Yep, walked in to an Oasis cover, Adele’s Rolling in the Deep, Snow Patrol’s Chasing Cars, and The Stereophonics’ Dakota particularly adroitly enacted modern indie tearjerkers followed, with eighties electronica power pop such as Together in Electric Dreams, or even The Police’s Every Little Thing She Does is Magic, blended with this balanced collection. Yet with similar dedication Metallica’s Nothing Else Matters got the breathtaking PLus makeover.
Yet I believe, for People Like Us, no decade within the crowd’s indivdual most cherished era is as off the cards as genres are. They will take you back to the seventies with ELO, Fleetwood Mac, even a possible Abba(?!) covers, and with similar assertion slip in nineties britpop and indie anthems too. Tonight saw plenty of this, wonderful was Take Your Mama, by the Scissor Sisters, but particularly captivating was their rendition of the Cranberries’ Zombie, with perhaps a little too “lite” on riotous version of the Kaiser Chiefs’ classic, but Nicky wowed with authority upon covering Alanis Morissette’s You Oughta Know.
Bottom line is, it makes zero odds what the tune they’re covering is pigeonholed as, they add their stamp, and with banter between songs often verging on near tiffs, they represent reality, comfortable being what’s written on their tin; people, just like us.
Zero multiplied by anything is zero, and that should be a landlord’s percentage of doubt in considering booking this trio, if they wish their punters to return home satisfied they had a fantastic night, for that’s precisely how I’m certain the crowd at the Three Crowns last night feel this morning, perhaps with a shadowing hangover!
Chippenham folk singer-songwriter, M3G (because she likes a backward “E”) has a new single out tomorrow, Friday 19th December. Put your jingly bell cheesy tunes … Continue reading “Rooks; New Single From M3G”
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