Category: Band News

Every Britpop band & Blur fan instantly recognises the front cover of Parklife by Blur (By photographer Bob Thomas) featuring Greyhounds at Walthamstow Stadium Dog track races. But did you know Blur’s Parklife was going to be called a multitude of alternative titles first? Oh no? Well that’s hardly surprising, it’s not spoken about much.  Britpop Musician Andy Starkey from Brit pop tribute band Britpop Reunion takes you through the stories behind the naming of and various front covers of Parklife. Hire Blurred a Blur tribute band performing the songs of Blur by contacting me Andy now. 

Blur Parklife Alternative Titles

While Parklife by Blur was being recorded there were a number of possible alternative titles plus many different sleeves/artwork going around.  Chris Thomson & Rob O’Connor (Graphic designers at Stylorouge and designers of Parklife album sleeve) met Damon Albarn and Blur at Worlds End pub on Kings Road,  Chelsea where they proceeded on to a William Hill betting shop. Between them all they had been exploring “Britishness”. Including the atmosphere within betting shops and bookmakers and the types of punters visiting these sorts of establishments.

Damon was also reading ‘London Fields’ by Martin Amis, a novel about the seedier, working class side of London lives and realised his songs for Parklife were somewhat based on that book. (Drinking, sex etc). In fact I personally would say the book was a HUGE influence to Damon.  Subjects like visiting America…”Magic America”, fast cars driving curiously through London streets as in “London Loves” so too there are the lyrics “The mystery of a speeding car.” Certainly not a coincidence is it. 

Was London Fields by Martin Amis an influence on Parklife?

Having read ‘London Fields’ myself, I feel that Damon Albarn may have started reading it even further back than Parklife. Specifically during the recording of Blur’s second album ‘Modern Life Is Rubbish.’ There are multiple mentions of Portobello Road. There’s a character called “Missy” and going to “America” (Miss America)  There is a chance Damon was still reading it while writing songs from their fourth album “The Great Escape” as London Fields features a character called “Kwango”. A variant spelling for the song Mr. Robinson’s “Quango” perhaps? Side note: London Fields was made into a film and released in 2018, directed by Mathew Cullen and featuring Amber Heard & Jim Sturgess. It was unfortunately mainly disliked by critics and the average film lover. And I completely agree with those reviews. 

The alternative titles suggested instead of Parklife included:

• London.
• Sport.
• Soft Porn (Spelled as one whole word ‘Softporn’ on the album sleeve).
• Magic Arrows.
• Park Life (Two separate words)

Parklife artwork

Chris & Rob’s images depicted the class divide in London, but leaned more towards the Upper Middle Class of society. As can be seen in the 1960s image of a posh tennis player. But Damon wasn’t 100% sold on this exactly and seeing these images helped him to focus on his working class and social class ideas. Between them they were using images of every day mundane things in London and reappropriating them. “Tourist Tat” like images of The Queen’s Guards would now be made newly famous for use within a different format. This was similar to how Pop Art artists like Peter Blake had done so back in the 1960s with The Beatles and The Who. 

As you’ll see a number of different album sleeves were also trialed for Parklife including:

• Park Life (With a space) featuring the front grill of a Rolls Royce car.
• 1960’s image of a male model dressed as an upper class tennis player.
• Toy models of Buckingham Palace Guards aka The Queen’s Guards dressed in traditional red tunics and bearskin hats (Tourist Tat)
• Soft Porn featuring Buckingham Palace and its guards (Again)

Another alternative cover for the Parklife album cover featured a fruit and veg stall in London’s Portobello Road but no images of this are available (as far am I am aware but contact me if you have any). The alternative album sleeves were shown to the band at Maison Rouge Studio where they were recording and mixing Parklife with Stephen Street in London during 1993 & 1994. Finally of course they settled on the Greyhounds artwork and the name ‘Parklife’. But where did the name ‘Parklife’ come from?

A possible reason Blur’s third album ended up being called Parklife.

Dave Rowntree (Blur drummer) shared this image on Twitter from the Evening Standard newspapers ‘Flat Buyers Guide” that was pinned to the studio wall during the recording of Blur’s third album giving insight into the possible naming of PARKLIFE. It shows an advert for newly built flats for sale on Empire Wharf (On the banks of Hertford Union Canal) which overlook Victoria Park. Thus you can have a “Parklife” starting from £54,995 for a one bedroom apartment. Or £69,995 for a two bedroom flat. Imagine how much they must be worth now?

Track listing for Parklife

There are 16 songs on Parklife by Blur, two of which are instrumentals. The whole albums run time is 53 minutes.

• Girls & Boys
• Tracy Jacks
• End of a Century
• Parklife (featuring Phil Daniels)
• Bank Holiday
• Badhead
• The Debt Collector (instrumental)
• Far Out
• To the End
• London Loves
• Trouble in the Message Centre
• Clover Over Dover
• Magic America
• Jubilee
• This Is a Low
• Lot 105 (instrumental)

Other musings about Parklife.

Considered by many to be ‘The Best Blur Album’ Parklife wasn’t just 16 songs. There were also eleven b-sides in total from various formats of singles Girls & Boys, To The End, Parklife and End Of A Century. They were all recorded during the same sessions as Parklife but we’re kept back for none album / b-side tracks. These included:

• Magpie
• Anniversary Waltz
• People in Europe
• Peter Panic
• Threadneedle Street
• Got Yer!
• Beard
• Supa Shoppa
• Theme from an Imaginary Film
• Rednecks
• Alex’s Song

All of which are featured on the “The Special Collectors Edition” Blur compilation album. If you’re a big Blur fan (Especially so of the ‘Britpop’ era) then this a great selection of tunes. You really can hear the Parklifeness in all of the songs……I bet ‘People In Europe’ very nearly made it onto the actual album.

Below is a nice bit of Blur memorabilia from back in the day. It is a tracking sheet for the song ‘This Is A Low’ recorded at Matrix Studios, Little Russell Street, London WC1.  A track sheet displays what track numbers were used for each instrument while being recorded.

Britpop Reunion perform numerous Blur songs from Parklife and their follow up Blur album Great Escape including Parklife and County House. Below is live video footage from a recent festival performance. After you’ve read this article then please follow Britpop Reunion on Facebook. Similarly contact myself to hire a 90’s tribute band for a festival, wedding, birthday, corporate event or party. 

Here’s Britpop Reunion‘s round up of the Top Ten Songs Of The 90s By Year. We’re only allowing one song per year from 1990 to 1999 and it can be from any genre. Be that Britpop, pop, rock….whatever, as long as it’s a great party tune. The nineties were such an amazing time for new and older artists to make their mark in this incredible decade. Bands like Nirvana, Suede, Smashing Pumpkins, Radiohead, Blur, Oasis, No Doubt and more. Many of these songs are performed live by 90s tribute band Britpop Reunion and are the main reasons we formed our professional group. There have been some tough decisions that you might not agree with but here’s what we think anyway. Contact band leader Andy Starkey to hire a 90s band for your special event to check on price and availability. 

Top Ten Songs Of The 90s – Nineteen Ninety to Nineteen Ninety Four

1990

The perfect pop song from Liverpool based band THE LA’S originally released in 1988 from their self titled debut (and only real release) album. Subsequently re-released in October 1990 so we can thankfully play it ourselves.  Note: This pop song has no real chorus much like ‘Losing My Religion’ by REM doesn’t have one either. A staple in our live set list and adored by all ages. This song just doesn’t age at all.

‘There She Goes’ – The La’s from the album ‘The La’s’

1991

Manchester based band James with their most well known song is our choice for 1991 (Although ‘The One & Only’ by Chesney Hawkes was nearly our choice). James singer Tim Booth belts out this anthemic chorus in a way that always gets everyone singing along when we perform it live at weddings, birthdays, festivals and corporate events. This song was recorded and released multiple times (The original clocks in at 8m 31s on the 12 inch record) before it eventually gained the chart respect it deserved. Fun fact: Tim Booth appeared as a baddie in Batman Begins as Victor Zsasz. No, honestly, look it up.

‘Sit Down‘ by James from the album ‘Gold Mother’

1992

Continuing with our top 10 songs of the nineties during the year that Black Wednesday occurred, Blur released ‘Popscene’ and Suede released ‘The Drowners’. This (arguably) was pretty much the start of Britpop as we know/knew it.  Yet one band who had existed since the the late 70’s / 80’s had one of their biggest chart successes to date during this year. ‘Friday I’m In Love’ written by Robert Smith was released May 1992 and reached number 6 in the charts.

An uplifting song and with much happier tones than what you’d come to expect from a “Goth” band. The Cure still perform this live to this very day and so do Britpop Reunion. Another notable tune from 1992 was Mrs Robinson’ by The Lemonheads from the album ‘It’s a Shame About Ray’. This was many peoples introduction to a ‘Grunge’ type sound later mass marketed by Kurt Cobain and Dave Grohl from Nirvana & Foo Fighters. 

‘Friday I’m In Love‘ by The Cure from the album ‘Wish’

1993

Carrying on with our top 10 songs of the 90’s but where to start? There was 4 Non Blondes with ‘What’s Up?‘, Lenny Kravitz with ‘Are You Gonna Go My Way’ and REM with ‘Everybody Hurts’. Plus Whitney Houston with ‘I’m Every Woman’ and Arrested Development with ‘Mr Wendal’. But then you had the amazing come back of  Duran Duran with their hit superb worldwide hit single ‘Ordinary World’ (Where they looked more like a Britpop band than an 80’s pop band).

Then also Irish-American rappers House Of Pain hit the charts with incredible ‘Jump Around’. All that said, for us, we have to move across the pond back home to Manchester. Our Top Ten Songs Of The 90s for 1993 is ‘James’ again with ‘Laid’. Very much a pure Britpop song about what you hear your neighbours getting up to. 

‘Laid‘ by James from the album ‘Laid’

Top Ten Songs Of The 90s – 1994

Argh, it’s pretty much impossible to choose ‘The best song” from 1994 as this really was the year that Britpop bands went mainstream and so many other fantastic 90’s acts broke through. Where to even start when you’ve got such poptastic hits like ‘Breakfast At Tiffany’s’ by Deep Blue Something from ‘Home’, ‘Cigarettes & Alcohol’ by Oasis from ‘Definitely Maybe’ & ‘The Day We Caught The Train’ by Ocean Colour Scene from ‘Moseley Shoals’. Also ‘Rocks’ by Primal Scream from ‘Give Out But Don’t Give Up’ & ‘You & Me Song’ by The Wannadies from ‘Be a Girl’.

Winning by default in our opinion though in our top 10 songs of the 90s for 1993 is ‘Parklife’ by Blur featuring Quadrophenia star (And Eastenders star) Phil Daniels. This song really is exactly what Britpop was about, telling tales about the every day lives of normal, common people. A highly Ray Davies/The Kinks inspired indie pop tune that caught the ears of many none indie folk, turning them on to Blur forever. Yet strangely topping out at only number 10 in the UK charts. At every single performance ‘Britpop Reunion‘ have done since we formed in 2014 we have performed ‘Parklife‘ live and it continues to be enjoyed by crowds many decades later. “All the people, so many people….”.

‘Parklife‘ by Blur from the album ‘Parklife’

Top Ten Songs Of The 90s – Nineteen Ninety Five to Nineteen Ninety Nine

1995

During the year of nineteen ninety five we were solidly into the era of Britpop bands dominating the UK charts. By this point in the 90’s it was VERY COOL to be in an indie pop guitar based band. Every late teen/early 20 something was in a Britpop wannabe band. You had ‘Country House’ by Blur, battling it out with ‘Roll With It’ by Oasis for number 1 in the charts. Also ‘Alright’ by Supergrass and another Oasis firm favourite ‘Wonderwall‘ (And the list goes on). But how do you choose just one song to sum up this amazing year of music?

Well, we’re going to give it a go. For us it has to be the Laura Branigan inspired corker ‘Disco 2000’ by Pulp. Again this is the epitome of what we consider to be Britpop. Songs about everyday folk like you and me. Agreeing to meet up with an old pal years later if things haven’t quite gone to plan throughout the rest of their life.

‘Disco 2000‘ by Pulp from the album ‘Different Class’

Top Ten Songs Of The Nineties – 1996

We’re still in the era of full on Britpop bands mode in the mid nineties with huge crowd favourites to choose from by Reef, Cast, Radiohead and The Bluetones. But also the 90’s were a huge mixed bag of genres too from artists like  Republica, Spice Girls, Mark Morrison, Gina G, Coolio and more. But Britpop artist Andy Starkey says there is only one song from 1996 that sums up this year, if not the whole 90s decade and Britpop movement. And thats ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’ by Oasis.

The song starts off with a piano tribute/rip off to ‘Imagine’ by John Lennon (Surely they had to pay some royalties along the way due to similarities?). Then goes full on Noel-Rock. Liam Gallagher takes a backseat and lets his brother sing this one. (As Liam, given the chance to choose one song had chosen Wonderwall instead). Probably the biggest song in our live performances enjoyed by every single person on and off stage.

‘Don’t Look Back In Anger‘ by Oasis from the album ‘(What’s the Story) Morning Glory?’

1997

Heading out of Britpop era now but still firmly in the realms of 90’s pop music. We had Blur with a totally new American sounding style with ‘Song 2‘ (Inspired by bands like Pavement). Also ‘Karma Police’ by Radiohead and the fantastic ‘Torn’ by Neighbours star Natalie Imbruglia (Did you know this is a cover version?).  Britpop Reunion perform the 1997 hit ‘Ironic’ by Alanis Morissette which always goes does incredibly well at weddings. Also ‘Tubthumping’ by Chumbawamba is an insane live song with people literally loosing their minds and going full on mosh-pit.

But for us the winner of 1997 has to be ‘Bitter Sweet Symphony’ by The Verve. Using a sample by the Andrew Loog Oldham orchestral cover of the Rolling Stones’ song “The Last Time” Richard Ashcroft and his fellow band mates created this new 8/4 looped time signature track. An absolute classic banger of a 90’s song about how life treats you.

‘Bitter Sweet Symphony‘ by The Verve from the album ‘Urban Hymns’

Up next 1998 in our Top Ten Songs Of The 90s

By 1998 what we classed as ‘Britpop‘ was pretty much completely totally over.  An indie band that remained though still releasing Brit pop esque songs were the likes of Catatonia (feat Cerys Matthews from BBC Radio 6 Music) with ‘Road Rage’. But even Shed Seven had moved on to become more like Happy Mondays/Black Grape with the lad chanty ‘She Left Me On Friday’. Ex Suede guitarist Bernard Butler re-emerged with his debut solo album ‘People Move On’ album. Featuring the dreamy esque single ‘Stay’ which is a little to derivative of late period Beatles (even though it had that amazing Bernard Butler guitar tone solo).  Still, there were massive chart pop hits emerging from B*Witched with ‘C’est La Vie’, Massive Attack with ‘Teardrop’ and Aerosmith ‘I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing’. 

‘Dance The Night Away’ by The Mavericks and ‘Let Me Entertain You’ by Robbie Williams are unstoppable to this day and still on heavy rotation on daytime radio. But for Britpop Reunion, the crazily big chart hit from Britney Spears ‘Baby One More Time’ is where its at. We’ve changed the key of this tune every so slightly and rocked it up a little bit. Feel the power of this 90’s pop tune below in our live video at a 90’s Night at a University in Cornwall.

‘Baby One More Time’’ by Britney Spears from the album ‘Baby One More Time’

Finally we’re at the end of the decade with 1999

1999 was a funny old year for music. Britpop had completely disappeared (Quite rightfully) and much of the charts were filled with R&B. Eminem broke though with The Slim Shady LP featuring ‘My Name Is’, Christina Aguilera had ‘Genie In A Bottle’ (Theres a great mash up of this with The Strokes’ track “Hard To Explain”). Mr Oizo ‘Flat Beat’ hit number one from Levis commercial and still sounds great to this very day. A little more guitar based The Offspring ‘Pretty Fly (For A White Guy)’ is a superb track. But pop wise for us it has to be ‘Livin’ la Vida Loca’ by Ricky Martin. This has to be one of the catchiest songs ever. Latino style melody, beats and horns combined with cool surf guitars. It almost has a Dick Dale feel to it.

‘Livin’ la Vida Loca’’ by Ricky Martin from the album ‘Ricky Martin’

Summing up Music In The Nineties.

Every decade of music has huge differences in genres dominating at certain points but the nineties for us is where it was all at. Pop, rock, indie, grunge, goth, baggy and dance all produced great high chart scoring songs. Indie became Britpop which then just became ‘Pop’ music for a few years. Record labels scrambled to sign ANYTHING that looked remotely like a Britpop band even into the mid nineties. But by then though Britpop had come and gone which lead to record companies folding due to huge loses and debt from lack of sales. Big lessons all to be learned from to this very day. It’s doubtful we’ll ever see anything as exciting as The Battle Of Britpop ever again.

Don’t forget to contact band leader Andy Starkey from Britpop Reunion to hire a 90’s band for your big event. 

Hire a Scottish 90s & Britpop Tribute Band for your event in Scotland and Northern Great Britain. Amazing live performances from a professional 90’s cover band playing all the best 90’s songs from the best decade in music.  Contact band leader Andy Starkey from ‘Britpop Reunion‘ to check on price and availability. Singalong with the Common People, jump down off that Wonderwall, see your friends, see the sights and feel Alright. It’s time to Place Your Hands with our superb cover band. 

Book throughout mainland Scotland and the various Isles and the Hebrides. Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Inverness and beyond. Book a Scottish 90’s tribute band and we’ll perform big hits by Oasis, Blur, Supergrass, Pulp, James and more. Hire a Scottish 90’s cover band throughout Scotland.

The UK’s best 90s & Britpop Tribute Band

Available for a birthday party, festival, wedding, corporate event or charity fundraiser. Remember when Oasis played Loch Lomond on Sunday 4th August 1996? They were supported by 90’s favourites Dreadzone, Ocean Colour Scene, Bootleg Beatles, Black Grape and Cast. You too can re-live those days with our selection of amazing 90’s songs. So hire a Scottish Britpop tribute band in Scotland and hear tracks by The Verve, Ocean Colour Scene, Reef & The Stone Roses.

We were asked to perform live at The Hilton Glasgow for the Hospitality Industry Trust Awards. And it was a very lavish affair that must have cost tens of thousands of pounds to put on. There was a mirrored dance-floor, huge PA system and also a brilliant size stage for us to perform on. The client clearly knew what they were doing when they book a professional Scottish 90s tribute band Britpop Reunion. You too can have an amazing retro night of 90’s nostalgia. 

Hire a 90s & Britpop tribute band in Scotland. 

Book a 90’s cover band in Scotland performing songs by Alanis Morissette, Deep Blue Something, Robbie Williams and also Chesney Hawkes. Similarly hire a Britpop cover band in Scotland with banging live tunes by James, The La’s and Primal Scream.

We’ve performed nineties music live all over Scotland and also beyond. Below are images from 90s Weekender festival at Hunters Quay Holiday Village, Dunoon, Argyll. 

So no one told you life was gonna to be this way….that one day you were going going to hire a 90’s Themed Wedding Band. Did you know such things even existed? Well you do now. ‘Britpop Reunion‘ are experts in 90’s weddings. This is actual reason that we set the band up back in 2014. We saw a massive gap in the market and tailored the songs of the band around what you’d definitely want for your nineties theme wedding band. We lived through the nineties, so surely we’re your best option when booking a 90s wedding band. Contact band leader Andre Starkey to check on price and availability for your party to hire a band for your 90s wedding. 

What music do you want your 90’s themed wedding band to perform?

Big Oasis numbers like Don’t Look Back In Anger and Wonderwall. Huge Blur songs like Parklife, Country House and Song 2. Then how about Ironic by Alanis Morissette and Baby One More Time by Britney Spears. What about some one hit wonders like Breakfast At Tiffany’s by Deep Blue Something  and The One & Only by Chesney Hawkes? Throw in some Robbie Williams, the Theme Tune To Friends and thats the 90’s right there isn’t it. THAT sounds like the best nineties themed wedding ever doesn’t it. We’ll give you all this and so much more on your special day. No other 90’s covers band brings you all this and we even have smiles on our faces too. 

Videos proving our credentials as the UK’s best nineteen nineties wedding band.

Do you want a wedding like below clients Natalie & Jamie? They are crazy mad for 90’s music and we’re guessing you must be mad for it too.  Watch as the bride, groom and guests of all ages lose it to our live performances. All audio on all of our videos is 100% live from the wedding too so you know your big day will look and sound this great as well.

Or maybe you’re going for the DIY 90s festival themed wedding that Claire & James did? Do you know what? They told us it cost them a LOT less money to hire the grounds and everything else than it would have done hiring a proper wedding venue. Food for thought eh? So why not have the lavish 90’s wedding you’ve always dreamed of at a price that wont bankrupt you for the rest of your life.

Natalie & Jamie’s 90’s wedding was such an amazing time that we also created this photo montage video for them as they took advantage of our evening photographer services (Just ask about this when enquiring) 

Nineties wedding galleries

Images from various weddings we’ve performed at over the years that we’ve managed to capture photos from. There are so many more images you can view from when we formed back in 2014.

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Book ‘Britpop Reunion‘ for your wedding throughout the entire UK and beyond. 

1990’s Wedding Band ‘Britpop Reunion‘ are the UK’s only professional 90’s wedding band. We’ve been nineteen nineties-ing up clients weddings since our conception in 2014. All the best tunes from The Gallagher Brothers, Damon & Graham, Jarvis, Chesney and more. Don’t Look Back In Anger at your Parklife, just dance like you’re at the indie Disco 2000. This will be The One And Only time you get married and maybe its in a big old Country House. I’m A Believer that everyone at your wedding will not Sit Down, they will most definitely Dance The Night Away to ‘Britpop Reunion‘. Contact band leader Andrew Starkey’s 1990’s tribute band now to check on availability and price for your wedding reception party.

The UK’s only professional 1990’s wedding band

We’ve been performing as a professional 90’s wedding band since 2014 that we’ve amassed a great many videos of us performing live at wedding receptions. A few of our wedding videos are featured below and more are on our videos page. In every single video you’ll see how much brides and grooms like yourself love our live performances. Within these videos you’ll also see guests honest and open reactions too. Proving further that we are the 90’s party band for your very special day. Brides, grooms, guests and the band all smiling at each other, thats what you want at a wedding party. We’re not a moody 90’s band like Nirvana (Over even Oasis to an extent), we’re a fun nineties kind of band like Blur. Your happiness and satisfaction are always our number one priorities and we’ll do everything we can to help make your wedding that little bit more memorable.

Britpop Wedding Vlog

Britpop & 90s Wedding Band

Parklife Wedding Band

What we’ll bring along to your Nineties Themed Wedding.

We are a completely self contained wedding band (For up to approx 150 guests but we can handle any size party). For your wedding we’ll bring along everything thats needed to make your wedding party go off without a hitch. We’ll bring our state of the art PA speaker and lighting. All the bands instruments, backline, microphones, stands and cabling. You won’t need to order in anything else extra when you hire our 90’s function band. Also, we’ll provide you with iPad DJ services throughout your wedding until midnight (Extendable out past midnight for an additional fee).

All these amazing 90’s songs from our repertoire by Oasis, Blur, Pulp, Robbie Williams, James and more plus chart classics from other decades if you like as well. You know you’re onto a winner for all your guests when you book our 1990’s wedding band for your reception party. There’s no other nineties tribute band out there like us. All you need to do is give us a large enough space to perform and some electricity and we’ll handle the rest.

Reviews of ‘Britpop Reunion’ nineteen nineties wedding band.

We’ve never had one dissatisfied client ever, read our reviews they don’t lie. Every single bride & groom have absolutely loved our professional attitudes and blinding live 1990’s performances. View all of our many reviews & testimonials.

90’s Wedding Photos

We’ve performed at so many amazing 90’s themed weddings over the years. Here are just a few of the many fantastic wedding receptions ‘Britpop Reunion’ have performed live at.

St Georges Hall, Liverpool

90’s Festival Themed Wedding

Where Britpop Reunion’ can be hired.

‘Britpop Reunion‘ 90’s wedding band are available to book across the UK and beyond. You can hire a Staffordshire 90’s wedding band or book a Derbyshire 1990’s wedding band. Or hire a Leicestershire nineties wedding band, book live music for a Nottinghamshire nineteen nineties wedding and more. Contact to check on price and availability to book a live band for an event.

Wands at the ready…..I mean rings at the ready….No actually go on, what core is your wand? Surely unicorn hair is the best and coolest right? Hmm, but what about Dragon or Phoenix? Sorry we digress, but we just love to talk Harry Potter….You’re both huge Harry Potter fans right otherwise you wouldn’t be looking at this web page? Both you and your other half can’t get enough of the exploits of Harry, Ron & Hermione. You watch all 8 films multiple times a year. When you’ve finished reading all 7 books, you just start over again. You listen to the audio books read by Stephen Fry (Or Jim Dale if you’re in the USA) in the car on your way to work or on a driving holiday.

Now you’re getting married and you fancy doing a bit of Harry Potter music at your Harry Potter themed wedding. So you’re going to need a Harry Potter wedding band. Go on, do it, you’ve always said you would. We, Britpop Reunion and everyone else love HP don’t they? (Only weirdos don’t).

About Harry Potter Wedding Band

‘Britpop Reunion‘ (Established 2014) perform all three songs by ‘The Weird Sisters’ featured in The Goblet Of Fire film including Do The Hippogriff, Magic Works and This Is The Night. Also we’ll hand all your live entertainment throughout your entire wedding reception and throw in DJ services until midnight as standard too. Also we have lots of optional extras for you to choose from such as late night DJ, PA hire for speeches and more. Just contact band leader Andy Starkey and let him know what wedding services you need and he’ll be happy to assist you.

We’ll either perform massive 1990’s tunes (Because H.P. is set in the 90’s) by Oasis, Robbie Williams, Britney Spears, Chesney Hawkes, Pulp, Supergrass, James and more. Or we’ll play you a brilliant mix of music from all decades including Amy Winehouse, Elvis, Florence And The Machine,  Stereophonics, Arctic Monkeys, Van Morrison and more. It’s your wedding party so you decide. Contact us as soon as possible to check on availability and price.

Our credentials as a Harry Potter Wedding Band

It’s not absolutely impossible to meet actors from the Harry Potter films, they sometimes show up at conventions. Imagine having the guts to ask three of these actors to appear on stage with you while you perform ‘Do The Hippogriff‘ from Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire though? Well that’s what we did in the below live video. We were at a Harry Potter Convention performing live for the guests at their Yule Ball style event and we asked Chris Rankin (Percy Weasley, brother of Ron Weasley), Jon Campling (Death Eater) & Chris Rithin (Dudley Dursley’s gang member) to join us on stage. What good sports they were, look at them jump around and rock out. What other band out there can say they’ve done anything like this? The answer……NONE!

These Harry Potter actors even reviewed us after the event and said these lovely things about us.

Chris Rankin  / Percy Weasley “Awesome band, awesome night”

Jon Campling / Death Eater “Britpop Reunion freakin’ owned it tonight at the World Of Wizardry Ball. Serious #britpop #skillz #livemusic”

Just how authentic will you go at your Harry Potter themed wedding?

So what will it be? Are you going to dress up like Fleur Delacour (Clémence Poésy) in her peacock wedding dress & Bill Weasley (Domhnall Gleeson) in his velvet purple suit when they got married at The Weasleys Burrow in Devon in The Deathly Hallows? Have a right old jig with us handling all your nights entertainment. This just sounds like a magical night doesn’t it. 

Will you go the whole Hogwarts and recreate the Yule Ball from Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire? Might you dress up like Hermione Granger in her pink dress and Viktor Krum in his red military jacket, fur and black boots as you walk down the aisle to Harry Potter music? What about having the Marvolo Gaunt Horcrux ring as your wedding ring? Whats the worst that could happen, a blackened hand?

Professional wedding band ‘Britpop Reunion’ other videos.

‘Britpop Reunion‘ are a professional wedding band. Watch our wedding videos below and many of our other live videos, view images from the  hundreds of weddings we’ve performed at. Enjoy our below wedding Vlog too and watch our other Vlogs. Client satisfaction is our number one priority. 

Just how big a Harry Potter fan are you?

All band members in Britpop Reunion are Potterheads, but none more so than lead singer Andy Starkey. He’s been to Harry Potter Studios in London on multiple occasions and has even visited The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Japan. He’s read the books and films many, many times, he’s got the t-shirt and everything. Find out more about hiring our Harry Potter Band for your Harry Potter themed event. Use the below contact form to book us for your Harry Potter Wedding Reception.

Call within UK 07794 659405, outside UK 00447794 659405. Alternatively our wedding reception band britpopreunion@gmail.com

You probably didn’t even know that ‘Britpop Reunion‘ also perform as a Harry Potter band did you? We perform all three songs featured in The Goblet Of Fire film including Do The Hippogriff, Magic Works and This Is The Night as well as handling your live entertainment throughout the whole event. So that’s Harry Potter music plus amazing pop tunes sorted for the whole of your Harry Potter themed event. We even perform live at Harry Potter themed weddings too. Contact band leader Andy Starkey to check on price and availability of our live stage show for your wizarding event.

The only Harry Potter band to appear on stage with actual cast members.

Here we are with actual cast members live on stage with us performing “Do The Hippogriff” featuring Chris Rankin (Percy Weasley, brother of Ron Weasley), Jon Campling (Death Eater) & Chris Rithin (Dudley Dursley’s gang member) at a Harry Potter convention. There’s no other band on the planet with these kinds of Harry Potter credentials. Go on, check out the video below, it will make you smile. Just as we smiled all the way through performing it. What an amazing and memorable experience it was for guests, the band and the actors themselves. Dreams really can come true.

Re-enact the Yule Ball Dance at Hogwarts

Remember the magical Yule Ball dance from Harry Potter and The Goblet Of Fire. That scene were Harry Potter dances with Parvati Patil. Neville Longbottom is dancing with Ginny Weasley.  Hermione Granger dances with Viktor Krum and Ron Weasley dances with…well no one because he doesn’t like his odd looking dress robes? Imagine recreating something like that and book our Harry Potter tribute band to perform at your Harry Potter themed event. Speaking of that dance, do you know the EXACT date of the dance? It’s 25th December 1994. Do you know who was at number one in the UK charts on that exact date? It was East 17 with ‘Stay Another Day’. Have a look at the rest of the top 10 on that date in the mid nineties.

What type of Harry Potter party are you having?

Are you getting married and need a Harry Potter wedding band? Are you throwing a Harry Potter party? Do you need to book a Harry Potter band for your corporate event? Maybe it’s a Harry Potter convention you’re organising and need live entertainment? We’re all massive Harry Potter fans which is why we set up this Harry Potter tribute experience for likeminded folks like yourself.

What was the name of the band in The Goblet Of Fire?

Pop Quiz hot shot, what’s the name of the band from the Yule Ball scenes in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry? Quick…Yes, you remember don’t you, it’s “The Weird Sisters”.

Those incredibly hairy guys that all the students and teachers dance along to midway through the Triwizard Tournament. Well you can call us The Weird Sisters tribute ‘The Weirdo Sisters’ while we’re at your party or event.

Did you know that the Harry Potter Band ‘The Weird Sisters’ from Harry Potter and the Goblet Of Fire are actually real life famous musicians themselves?

No, they really are, some are a little more easy to spot than others.

List of ‘The Weird Sister’ band members and their proper bands:

• Myron Wagtail (Vocals) – Jarvis Cocker from Pulp.
• Kirley Duke McCormack (Lead guitar) – Jonny Greenwood from Radiohead.
• Donaghan Tremlett (Bass guitar) – Steve Mackey from Pulp.
• Orsino Thruston (Drums) – Phil Selway from Radiohead.
• Heathcote Barbary (Rhythm guitarist) – Jason Buckle from All Seeing I.
• Gideon Crumb (Bagpipes) – Steven Claydon from Add N to (X).

We can perform all three songs at your Harry Potter party originally performed by ‘The Weird Sisters’ including

• Do The Hippogriff
• Magic Works
• This Is The Night

As The Goblet Of Fire was set in the 90’s we can either perform a fantastic selection of 1990’s pop hits from Robbie Williams, Oasis, Blur, Alanis Morissette, James, Pulp, Supergrass and more from our 90’s tribute band repertoire. Or we can perform a splendid mix of pop hits from all decades including artists like Amy Winehouse, Stereophonics, Florence + The Machine, Chuck Berry, Kaiser Chiefs and more from our other decades repertoire. No matter what type of music you wan’t for your Wizards Event, we’ve got you covered.

You absolutely love Harry Potter and we do too.

Trust in a band that have such a passion for faithfully recreating the music of Harry Potter that we’ve been to The Making of Harry Potter at Warner Bros. Studios London on many occasions and have even visited The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Japan.

Harry Potter and The Goblet Of Fire band – Lets get dressed up

So get dressed up in your favourite house colours of Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Slytherin, or Hufflepuff and dance like a Hippogriff. Put on your best witch and wizard costumes, grab your Nimbus 3000 broomstick and fly around the dance-floor. Go on a quest to find your goblin made sword of Gryffindor and boogie down like a unicorn. Put on your worst house elf pillow case or rags and dance by yourself. Dress up like your favourite death eaters Bellatrix Lestrange, Severus Snape or Lucius Malfoy and move your body like a hairy troll. Go full on evil as He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named…(Oh go on then) Lord Voldemort (aka Tom Marvolo Riddle) and stamp your feet like a leprechaun. Then get ready for your Dementors kiss and shake your booty like a boggart in pain. Just don’t put on the Marvolo Gaunt Horcrux ring. Are you team Hogwarts, Beauxbatons or Durmstrang?

Pricing and availability

Use the contact form below to get in touch with us and advise us as much as you can about your event. We can then accurately advise you on our availability and fee. ‘The Weirdo Sisters’ can be booked throughout the UK, Europe and the whole of the word. If you’re having a very small party or working towards a much smaller budget, you can hire lead singer Andy Starkey solo acoustic (But still amped up for a louder sound) performing the three songs from The Goblet Of Fire and other 1990’s and chart pop hits from all the decades. If you’re having problems with the below contact form call within UK 07794 659405, outside UK 00447794 659405. Alternatively britpopreunion@gmail.com

Images from a Harry Potter Convention.

All the fun we had with guests and cast members at a Harry Potter convention.

Stars of the film testimonials of how fantastic we are

Will you be serving Butterbeer at your Wizarding event?

Andy from the band still isn’t quite sure if he likes it or not. He much prefers his own home recipe (Contact Andy above for his special recipe).

Britpop = Indie Pop, so ‘Britpop Reunion‘ returned once again to The Guildhall, Lichfield, Staffordshire for a special event. This time to perform as a 90’s Indie Wedding Band for Luke & Matt. This is the second time we’ve performed for these awesome guys having played for them a few years ago in the exact same venue for Matt’s 40th 90’s birthday party band. The first time we gave them a Glastonbury 90’s Festival Band themed event. We performed music from Britpop & 90’s artists who have played at the internationally known Glastonbury festival over the years. If you’d like something similar at your chosen wedding venue across the UK and beyond then contact Andy Starkey now for a quote.

At this 90’s Indie Wedding Reception

Matt & Luke (Isn’t it funny how they have the same name as the main two guys from 80’s band ‘Bros’ eh) are huge 90’s fans and wanted something a little different to the normal same-old-same-old funk, soul, modern pop bands out there for their unique wedding reception.  This time they chose our 90’s indie wedding band and added in our ‘Other Decades‘ option. Our 90’s package gave Matt & Luke all of their favourite 90’s cover band songs from Oasis, Blur, The Cure, James, Supergrass and more. Then our ‘Other Decades‘ option also gave their 150 guests amazing tunes from Amy Winehouse, Stereophonics, Florence + The Machine, Van Morrison, Arctic Monkeys, Chuck Berry, Kaiser Chiefs and more. The dance-floor was full the entire night, shapes were thrown up in the air, everyone had a good sing-along to our entire repertoire of “Don’t Look Back In Anger“, “Parklife“,  “Friday I’m In Love” and much more.

Prior to our indie band performing live Matt & Luke had worked out an entire dance routine to a mash-up of the 1991 INXS track “Never Tear Us Apart” and “The World Is Not Enough” by Garbage from the 1999 James Bond film of the same name. This was a smash hit with everyone including ourselves and it started the night off brilliantly. So even they themselves covered songs from the start to the end of the nineteen nineties. Absolutely brilliant eh what a unique way to celebrate your love for each other. 

Standard 90’s indie wedding band packages we provide our clients with

• Two live performance sets of 90’s banging tunes (Or one long performance with no break which we usually recommend to clients)
• PA, speakers, mixing desk, guitars, amps, drum kit and all cabling
• Lighting for the dance-floor and stage area
• iPad DJ services until midnight and when the band aern’t performing live
• Hard copy contract/booking form
• No agencies fees saving you £400+

Chargeable wedding extras we can provide you with

• Late night DJ services past midnight
• Acoustic performances throughout the day
• Fog
• Customised projector lighting featuring your names, the date and a custom logo or corporate logo
• Wedding projector hire
• PA hire for speeches
• Professional photographer for your evening event

These lovely guys had gotten married a few weeks before in Bath and so this was their full on wedding party back in their home city of Lichfield, Staffordshire. Having received their photographers photos a few days before the event they took advantage of our wedding projector hire option. As you will see their wedding photos displayed up on stage with us looked absolutely brilliant. They also took advantage of our evening photographer services as you can see from the below images gallery.

Below you can watch a video of previous 90’s Indie weddings receptions that our professional wedding band have performed at. Here is Natalie & Jamies 90’s wedding in a tipi. Just look at the amazing time everyone had with ‘Britpop Reunion‘ handling the live entertainment.

Here is Vlog style video of our experiences at Claire & James’s festival style wedding that they put together entirely themselves. You’d be surprised how much cheaper doing this is than hiring a proper wedding venue.

To enquire on price and availability for 90’s tribute band ‘Britpop Reunion’ to perform at your 90’s Indie Wedding contact for a quote. We are the only band to have performed with actual 90’s musicians such as supporting The Bluetones and more nineties artists.