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Player Biographies
Biography - Warren Ringham - Bandleader
Warren is a fourth generation brass player and a third generation professional Brass player. His father, Paul, was Co-Principal Trumpet with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and BBC Symphony Orchestra as well as founder of the famous London Tijuana Showband, whilst his great-aunt was the first ever female Brass player to hold a professional position: Principal Trombone of the Hallé Orchestra.
Warren grew up in Surrey where at various times he was principal Trumpet of all the leading orchestras including Surrey County Youth Orchestra and Surrey County Youth Wind Orchestra.
He attended the Royal College of Music, studying under Paul Beniston and graduated in 2002 with 2:1 degree as a Batchelor of Music (Hons). Whilst there, he won the David Mason Trumpet Prize and held the position of Principal Trumpet in all the orchestras. In his time there, he worked with renowned conductors including Bernard Haitink, Martyn Brabbins and Sir Charles Mackerras.
Warren has performed with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, English National Opera and London Philharmonic Orchestra amongst others. He has also performed on TV and Radio several times, including recently when he performed at Buckingham Palace by invitation of the Queen as part of Brass10 on BBC Radio 3. In 2000 he performed a solo feature with SCYJO on Jazz Radio, Berlin. More recently he has been heard on BBC Radio 2 and made several appearances on TV - BBC 1.
Warren has also shared the stage with Jim Davidson, Bobby Davro, Jethro, The Stylistics, The Drifters, Mike Reid, The Brotherhood of Man, Jim Bowen, Cliff Richard, Roy Castle and was booked to fulfil an ambition - to play for James Bond artist Shirley Bassey, but was out of the country playing on a cruise ship! Warren has also worked with John Wilson, who is a close friend. John Wilson arranged and conducted all the music for Kevin Spacey's film "Beyond The Sea".
Warren has performed at all the country's leading venues including the Royal Albert Hall, Royal Festival Hall, Barbican, Lakeside, Fairfield Halls, Royal Opera House and Guildford Cathedral.
In 1998, Warren reformed the London Showband and he now takes it nationwide
as a function band. In 2004,
he added 'The Bond Band' - a James Bond Tribute
Band.
Biography - Dunken Francis - Singer
Dunken, a professional singer for more than 20 years, now spends the majority of his musical career working in the functions market. As well as singing in his successful duo, he sings in several function bands.
Over the years he has performed with members of The Damned, The Stooges, The Sex Pistols, Womack and Womack and Roxy Music.
He is a former member of The Wildhearts and The Ragged Boys. With The Ragged Boys, he sang and co-wrote the song "Who You Are" a top 20 hit in Australia and New Zealand.
Dunken has an extremely powerful rock/soul voice and many of his colleagues regard it as one of the best soul band voices on the function band circuit.
Vertically challenged at 5'9", Dunken claims to be taller when he stands up.
Biography - Jeff Walker - Bass
Jeff has established himself a reputation as one of the top bass players in the country - just wait until you hear him!!
He has been playing for 26 years, 20 years as a professional. His fantastic, all encompassing technique gives him the freedom to be one of the funkiest bass players around, but he still provides a rock solid, engine-room-type performance needed from a bass player!
He has performed with (amongst others) Junior Giscombe, Dana Gillespie, Idjut Boys, Faze Action, Mitchell and Dewbury and the Audio Whores. Through these groups, he has been on Jazz FM, BBC Radio 4 and some of the recordings he has made were even heard at some of the World Cup Matches!
Jeff plays with many function bands throughout the country, but even though widely regarded in such high esteem, you can still find Jeff jamming down local pubs just for the love of playing!
Biography - Steve Barnard aka 'SMILEY'
Steve has been playing the drums for more than 25 years, 15 of those years as a professional. With a fantastic feel and outstanding technique, Steve quickly established himself as one of the countries leading drummers.
His larger than life personality and enthusiasm for playing has earned him the nickname 'Smiley' - coupled with the fact that he is always smiling!
He has performed with some of the country's leading groups and artists including Robbie Williams, The Mock Turtles, Joe Strummer, Achive, Chesney Hawkes, Squeeze and Andrew Lloyd Webber. With these groups and others he has performed numerous times on Top of The Pops, Jools Holland, MTV, VH1, TFI Friday, The National Lottery and Richard and Judy - the last of which he is particularly proud!!
Recently, he started writing music for adverts and films as he starts to broaden his horizons…
Biography - John Goodwin - Trumpet
John is undoubtedly the longest serving member of the London Showband, since he spent around fifteen years touring with its precedessor, the London Tijuana Showband playing trumpet, singing and pretending to be able to play the tambourine and maracas in time. He was also occasional roadie and chief buyer of those 4 pint tins of Ruddles County! John started playing at the age of seven, meeting Paul Ringham a few years later at the Guildhall School of Music, a friendship which lasted until the end of Paul's life.
After a spell as principal trumpet of the National Youth Orchestra (following Paul by a couple of years!) and a three degrees at University he has continued to play professionally. John has played for the BBC Prom concerts and at the funeral of a Hells' Angel, with most things in between. He has the guilty secret of having taught the young Warren Ringham how to play his scales. (He can nearly do them properly now!).
Biography - Jenny Vince - Sax
Jenny first started her musical life at the age of seven, taking piano lessons with a local teacher, and quickly began playing in festivals and competitions. She started playing the saxophone at the age of 12, progressing onto the sax after playing the clarinet for a few years beforehand. She played the clarinet in Staines Youth Wind Orchestra, becoming leader of the orchestra in 1996 and also played for Surrey County Wind Orchestra and toured with Surrey County Orchestra.
She joined Surrey County Jazz Orchestra on the sax in 1996 and played in many venues such as the Royal Albert Hall, the Royal Festival Hall and the Barbican Centre in London. She played in many parts of Europe with various orchestras in places such as Vienna, Prague, Berlin and Paris.
Jenny graduated from Royal Holloway University of London in 2001 with a degree in Music. During her time there she played with the university orchestra and played for two summers at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival as part of the university.
Since leaving Royal Holloway, Jenny taught the keyboard for Yamaha School of Music for two years, but now teaches the clarinet and saxophone for Surrey County Arts and teaches the piano locally. She also conducts a small saxophone group for Surrey County Arts. She is part of a Jazz Trio and sings and plays sax for a big band based in Surbiton.
Biography - George Bartle - Trombone
George Bartle studied at the Royal College Of Music. After graduating he has been busy freelancing throughout London and the UK.
George has performed with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and English National Opera as well as performing on Sackbut with His Majesty's Sackbuts and Cornetts and The King's Consort. He has also been performing on cruise ships.
George also plays in many Jazz and Pop ensembles and can be heard on several film sound tracks, adverts and pop albums.
Recently George has toured China, USA, South Africa, Poland and Europe extensively. Somehow, as busy as he is, he even finds time to sing in the Royal Hospital Chelsea Chapel Choir each week and is a published composer and arranger.
George also runs his own brass ensemble - also one of the countries leading.
Biography - Huw White - Piano and Keyboards
Keyboardist Huw White is currently studying piano on the prestigious jazz degree course at the Royal Academy of Music under the guidance of Gywneth Herbert pianist Tom Cawley. Having studied piano and violin from a young age, Huw became principal violin of the Southampton Youth Orchestra at the age of 16, touring throughout Europe as well as China. In 2001, he performed the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in the UK and France, and was offered a place to study violin at the Academy, which he initially accepted. However, by this time Huw was beginning to get recognition as an up-and-coming jazz pianist, and he soon made a permanent switch to piano.
At 14, Huw became a founding member of the Southampton Youth Jazz Orchestra, with which he toured New York and Boston in 1999, and Cuba in 2002. During his time with SYJO Huw was awarded for his rhythm section playing three years running at the National Festival of Music for Youth. In 2002, Huw entered his own trio into the festival. They went on to win the Outstanding Performance Award, and as a result were invited to perform at the Royal Albert Hall in November 2002.
In a recent concert review in “Jazzwise” magazine, reviewer Duncan Heining comments, “great piano from White”.
Biography - Peter Ibbs - Guitar
Peter has been playing the Guitar for 36 years! A musician with unbelievable technique, Pete is fondly known for his solos – the almost infinite amount of notes he squeezes into them! This has earned him the nickname “Shedder Pete!”
Pete has played in many, many bands including Royal Scam, The Guilty Party, Just Did It, Whistler, Sly Fox, Output Select, No Junction, Two Heroes, Six of Ten, Ram and a Tina Turner tribute band.
Self taught by ear, Pete is heavily influenced by Hendrix, Clapton and Beck. Eventually, Pete took jazz lessons and studied, learning to read music at a basic level. Now, although Pete classes himself as a non-reader, Pete learns all the songs to perfection and you can guarantee that he knows the set better than anyone else!
Pete started as a Rock Guitarist and moved to Funk, Soul and Disco. In his early playing days he played in bands that played all their own material before he moved onto function tribute and covers bands.
He has supported, amongst others Jethro and Level Two and has appeared at the Lakeside, Manchester Apollo and Blackburn Town Hall.