Singer Scotland Archives

60th Birthday party at Carnbooth House Hotel Glasgow

January 20, 2017 By Lisa Martin Leave a Comment

I had the pleasure of performing at a 60th birthday party recently at the beautiful Carnbooth House Hotel in Glasgow. This hotel is not so far from me, so I’m surprised I haven’t come across it before. What a hidden gem though! Stunning surroundings and lovely old-world charm, it’s a real touch of class on the outskirts of the city centre.

The staff couldn’t have been more helpful, and the night went very well indeed, with laid-back easy listening classics to start the evening, and lively party songs for dancing later on. Gwen, our birthday girl, was truly the ‘hostess with the mostess’ and was on the dancefloor all night.

It was such a pleasure to meet Gwen and her friends and family, and to visit such a gorgeous place. Hopefully it won’t be my last visit.

Afternoon tea party at the Marriott Hotel Glasgow

October 21, 2015 By Lisa Martin Leave a Comment

The Marriott Hotel in Glasgow was the venue for a vintage-style afternoon tea party I performed at recently. Based in Argyle Street in the centre of Glasgow Scotland, the Marriott is a very popular choice for corporate functions and parties.

The event was hosted by a pharmaceutical company, who had invited patients to an open day and wanted to finish off with afternoon tea and entertainment. I came along with a mixture of golden-oldies to cheer up the visitors who had had a long morning taking in information, so they were glad of a little light entertainment with some tea and cake to refresh themselves!

Many thanks to Catherine Price from MPI for ensuring everything ran smoothly.

Glenburn Hotel Cabaret Shows

March 16, 2014 By Lisa Martin 2 Comments

I will be visiting the lovely Scottish Isle of Bute quite a few times over the coming year to sing at the Glenburn Hotel in Rothesay to perform some of my shows, including 1950s Rock n Roll, Swing and James Bond show.

One of the best things about the Glenburn Hotel is the fantastic staff there – especially the wonderful entertainment team. Host Gary MacKean is a great favourite among all the guests, providing lots of laughs plus a very popular Elvis tribute act. John and Marianne form the talented duo ‘Limited Edition’, supplying a wide variety of music for all the guests to enjoy. They all made me feel very welcome when I appeared there last week performing my 1950s show, so I am very much looking forward to my future visits to the Glenburn this year.

Fancy a weekend away on a beautiful island off the western coast of Scotland? Then come along and join us at the Glenburn Hotel.

Phone the hotel on 01700 502500 to check what dates I’m appearing and which show I’ll be performing. Looking forward to seeing you there!

PS, check out the stunning views from the hotel.

(Thanks to John Martin for the beautiful picture)

The view from your room!

Hogmanay in Perthshire

January 21, 2014 By Lisa Martin Leave a Comment

Happy New Year!

Well it’s been a busy time for me over Christmas and New Year. I’m just about settling back to normal routine and quite amazed that it’s nearly the end of January already!

I managed to get back home to see the folks for a couple of days over Christmas, so it was lovely to have a little break. New Year’s Eve saw me performing up north again, in a beautiful little Perthshire village called Alyth, where I celebrated Hogmanay with a mixture of locals and visitors.

Alyth must be a very healthy place to live, as there was a lovely gentleman at the bar in his 90s, still looking very fit and active, who had served in the distinguished ‘Black Watch’ Scottish regiment in his younger days. Him and his wife enjoyed the whole night and stayed well into the wee hours!

As it was Hogmanay I included several Scottish favourites, including the essential Loch Lomond and Auld Lang Syne at the stroke of midnight. I also added in some more contemporary Scottish songs by artists such as Rod Stewart, Frankie Miller, Eddi Reader, Paulo Nutini and Emeli Sande.

It turned out to be a very romantic night, as one young man proposed to his girlfriend just after midnight. I think that’s the first time that’s happened at one of my gigs – as soon as she said yes I launched into the traditional Scottish song ‘Mairi’s Wedding’ to get everybody in the mood!

I am booked to sing at quite a few weddings over the next few months, plus a few of my friends are also planning to tie the knot this year – looks like 2014 is going to be a very romantic one!

So, let’s get in the mood with this sentimental swing classic by Ella Fitzgerald: ‘I only have eyes for you’.

Airth Castle Hotel – A Vintage Fairytale Scottish Wedding

August 17, 2013 By Lisa Martin Leave a Comment

Professional vintage vocalist at fairytale Scottish Wedding Castle

Vintage Fairytale Scottish Wedding

I had the pleasure of singing at a beautiful vintage fairytale Scottish Wedding at Airth Castle Hotel last weekend.

Even though Airth is less than an hour away from me (near Falkirk), I’d never been there before (and was not even aware it had a castle!) so it was nice to get the chance to visit a new place.

Airth Castle Hotel provided a beautiful venue for this vintage fairytale Scottish wedding. The castle itself dates back to the 14^th century, and was once owned by the family of Robert the Bruce.

Of course, it’s now been refurbished to the high standards that people expect for a luxury vintage Scottish wedding, with outstanding facilities, plus an excellent team of friendly attentive staff.

The bride had asked me to provide some romantic vintage love songs while people were enjoying their Wedding Breakfast. She wanted some swing and jazz from the 1940s and 1950s – lovely old classics such as ‘The way you look tonight’, plus some more modern ‘chilled out’ music, including ‘Come away with me’ by Norah Jones. This is not a song I’ve ever done before, but it was a great suggestion, as it’s such a beautiful song with a very romantic sentiment. So I’ll keep that one in my set list for future weddings. It’s a waltz too, which always comes in handy at functions, as everyone loves to dance a waltz, and there are not so many great songs in that particular time signature.

Wedding photography was provided by the excellent TDH Media. Well, ‘wedding photography’ doesn’t really fully describe their service, as they also provided videography, and even the latest craze: ‘marryoke’. All the guests had a lot of fun singing along to the marryoke song, as they created a unique video to celebrate the occasion. I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot more of this trend, as media companies get creative and provide more fun interactive services for their wedding parties.

Idyllic surroundings, gorgeous suites and fabulous dining – not to mention the luxurious Spa facilities – make Airth Castle Hotel a very popular venue for wedding parties from all over the world. The bride was a big Disney fan, and it looks like she picked the right place for a perfect vintage fairytale wedding.

Prior to the guests’ arrival… the view from my microphone!

Vintage Wedding Show Glasgow

August 1, 2013 By Lisa Martin Leave a Comment

Last weekend saw me at the Trades Hall in Glasgow as I appeared at a wedding showcase for Freak Music which was part of The Vintage Wedding Show at the Merchant City Vintage Festival.

It was great to see Glasgow packed with all things vintage, with so many people showing up dressed for the occasion. Merchant City was transported back in time as people braved the weather to watch live bands, learn jive dancing and get hair and beauty makeovers. It certainly seems like the Vintage scene is alive and kicking here in Scotland.

First up at our showcase was the quirky and unique fourpiece ‘Banjo Lounge Four’ who performed a great mixture of songs both old and new. Playing banjo, guitar, double bass and drums, they had a cool acoustic sound and made every song their own – from classics such as ‘Just a Gigolo’ to the latest chart hits from artists such as Beyonce and Calvin Harris. We were even treated to a unique take on the theme from Knightrider, via their version of Punjabi MC’s remix ‘Mundian To Bach Ke’.

Next up was little ol’ me! I performed a range of songs from the 1940s and 1950s, and featured some of my favourite wedding songs such as ‘The way you look tonight’, ‘Let there be love’ and ‘At last’. I’m just an old romantic at heart!

Last but not least was the fabulous Swing singer Andy Miller. I’m always glad to get the chance to work with this superb performer, as not only is he a great singer, but he is also a really nice guy – always a bonus in this business! Andy is a true all-rounder, as not only does he do a fantastic Swing show, but he is also in great demand for his Robbie Williams and Michael Buble Tribute shows.

Afterwards I had a wander around to see some of the other exhibitors at the show. Bouquets, cakes, ph otography, f lowers, and of course, wedding dresses – all in a gorgeous vintage style – it makes me wonder why anybody would consider having a ‘normal’ wedding!

Then as luck would have it, I bumped into my good pal and ‘dancer extraordinaire’ John Ritchie from top Big Band ‘That Swing Sensation’.

Fred Astaire eat your heart out!

All in all, the day was a big success, with a great turnout of prospective Brides and Grooms looking for that stylish Vintage touch to add to their special day.

A big thank you goes out to Chris from Freak Music for being on hand throughout the day for help and support.

James Bond Tribute and Best of British Music at Berwick

May 18, 2013 By Lisa Martin Leave a Comment

Last weekend I nearly made it back onto English soil; travelling down to The Borders to perform my James Bond tribute show ‘Casino Royale’ at Berwick Holiday Park. They put on a special ‘Best of British’ themed night for the owners’ party – so of course ‘Bond’ fitted the bill perfectly!

The team at Berwick did a great job in decorating the room in true British fashion, with plenty of bunting and balloons to add to the atmosphere. The crowd were obviously up for a party and many had come in fancy dress (including one very inventive ‘postbox’ from Newcastle!) so I added into the set some uptempo pop songs from British favourites such as Emili Sande, Jessie J and Amy Winehouse to keep them on the dancefloor.

I was appearing with top Elton John Tribute Act Joel Coombes. What a great performer this guy is! He not only looks and sounds the part, but he is also a fantastic musician. A true professional and a pleasure to work with, he really got the crowd going with all the popular Elton John classics such as I’m Still Standing, Rocket Man, and of course the classic Candle in the Wind.

Joel Coombes as Elton John

James Bond Tribute Show London

December 5, 2012 By Lisa Martin Leave a Comment

Last weekend I performed my James Bond tribute show for a corporate Christmas function at the beautiful Grand Connaught Rooms in London. As it turns out, they only needed a short performance, so I flew all the way from Glasgow to London to sing for 20 minutes! Still, it was a great night, I was made very welcome, and it was lovely to revisit London – it’s been a few years since I was last there.

Even though it was a short show, I managed to fit in all my favourite James Bond songs, including Goldfinger by Shirley Bassey, Nobody does it better by Carly Simon, You only live twice by Nancy Sinatra, plus the latest Bond theme song Skyfall by Adele.

Of course, no James Bond tribute show would be complete without the classic song Diamonds are forever – so here it is!

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