Backbeat Village is one of the UK’s grooviest bands playing Soul, Motown, Funk and Disco.
Ideal entertainment for weddings, corporate functions, birthdays, office parties, university & college balls and other special events. Their specialty is funk, soul and disco by the likes of Bill Withers, Stevie Wonder, Average White Band, Jamiroquai, James Brown and Al Green. They are also able to adapt to your specific musical preferences, covering many other styles of music.
Backbeat Village is not your typical wedding & party band. These musicians are some of the UK’s finest, and most were trained at top London music colleges like the Royal Academy and Guildhall. When these guys get together to play live music for weddings and functions, they are doing what they love – bringing the party to life with great songs that will get everyone moving and grooving!
Every song on their setlist is carefully arranged, some with their own unique interpretations! This, together with the standard of musicianship and the number of years for which they have been playing together is why Backbeat Village now have such a strong reputation as being one of the UK’s top wedding & party bands.
Members of the band have worked with many well-known artists, including Jamie Cullum, Brian May, Tom Jones, Lee Ryan, Roy Ayres, Bonobo, the James Taylor Quartet, Dennis Rollins, Ola Onabule, John Dankworth, Cleo Laine, and many more.
The musicians have worked throughout Europe at events and venues such as the Montreux, Edinburgh and North Sea Jazz Festivals, Buckingham Palace, Ronnie Scotts, The Royal Albert Hall, Barbican Concert Hall, Royal Festival Hall, Purcell Room, Bridgewater Hall, Café de Paris, The Vortex, The Jazz Café, Radio 1 and BBC Pebble Mill.
The band is available for hire in any size from 5 – 10 musicians to suit every venue and budget, and we have our own high quality sound and lighting equipment
Band options
The full band is a 10 piece, creating a particularly full sound. Although this line-up will happily squeeze in to surprisingly small venues, they can also offer smaller bands as follows:-
BackBeat Village (5 Piece) – One vocalist, Guitar, Keyboards, Bass, Drums.
(6pc) – Plus Sax, (7pc) – Plus Trumpet, (8pc) – adds Singer
(10pc) – includes 4pc Horn section
BackBeat Village have their own PA and lighting rig if required, available in various sizes to suit each venue.
Audio Samples
SELECT A TRACK
- 1. For Once In My Life 0:53
- 2. Never Too Much 0:52
- 3. September 0:30
- 4. Signed Sealed Delivered 0:38
- 5. Upside Down 0:57
Set list / Repertoire
60s Classics
Brown Eyed Girl- Van Morrison
Can’t Take My Eyes Off You- Andy Williams
I Feel Good James- Brown
I Saw Her Standing There- The Beatles
A Little Less Conversation- Elvis
Son Of A Preacher Man- Dusty Springfield
Soul & Motown
Ain’t No Mountain High Enough- Gaye/Terrell
Dancing In The Street- Martha & The Vandellas
Feel Like Making Love- Roberta Flack
For Once In My Life- Stevie Wonder
Gimme Some Lovin’- Spencer Davis
Hard To Handle **- Otis Redding
Higher & Higher- Jackie Wilson
Hold On I’m Coming- Sam & Dave
How Sweet It Is- James Taylor
Through The Grapevine- Marvin Gaye
In The Midnight Hour- W Pickett
Knock On Wood- Eddie Floyd
Love Man **- Otis Redding
Moondance- Van Morrison
Mr Pitiful **- Otis Redding
Mustang Sally- Wilson Pickett
Respect- Aretha Franklin
Signed, Sealed, Delivered- Stevie Wonder
Soul Man **- Sam & Dave
Take Me To The River- Al Green
Think- Aretha Franklin
What’s Going On?- Marvin Gaye
70s Funk, Soul & Disco
Ain’t No Stopping Us Now **
Blame It On The Boogie- Jackson 5
Brick House **- Commodores
Don’t You Worry ‘Bout A Thing- Stevie Wonder
I Feel For You- Prince
I Wish- Stevie Wonder
In The Stone *- Earth Wind & Fire
Lady Marmalade- Patti Labelle
Long Train Running- Doobie Brothers
Love The One You’re With- Luther van Vandross
Lovely Day- Bill Withers
Oh What A Night- The Four Seasons
Pick Up The Pieces *- Average White
Play That Funky Music- Wild Cherry
Relight My Fire- Dan Hartman
September- Earth Wind & Fire
Sex Machine **- James Brown
Sir Duke- Stevie Wonder
Street Life -Crusaders
Superstition- Stevie Wonder
Tell Me Something Good- Chaka Khan
Thinking Of You- Sister Sledge
Use Me- Bill Withers
We Are Family- Sister Sledge
What A Fool Believes- Doobie Bros
Why Did You Do It? **- Stretch
Work To Do **- Average White Band
You’re The First, The Last, My Everything-B White
You To Me Are Everything- Real Thing
80s Funk, Disco & Pop
Ain’t Nobody- Chaka Kahn
All Night Long- Lionel Richie
Always There- Laws / Jeffrey
And Love Goes On- Earth/Wind/Fire
Billie Jean- Michael Jackson
Burn This Disco Out *- Michael Jackson
Celebration- Kool & The The Gang
Copacabana **- Barry Manilow
Destiny **- Lionel Richie
Do I Do- Stevie Wonder
Just The Two Of Us- Bill Withers
Get Down On It **- Kool & The Gang
I Wanna Dance With Somebody- Whitney
Let’s Go Round Again- Average White
Need Somebody- Randy Crawford
Never Too Much- Luther Vandross
Power Of Love- Huey Lewis & The News
Rock With You- Michael Jackson
Somebody Else’s Guy- Jocelyn Brown
Time Of My Life- Dirty Dancing
Upside Down- Diana Ross
90s Funk, Acid Jazz & Pop
Canned Heat- Jamiroquai
Cosmic Girl- Jamiroquai
Dream Come True- Brand New Heavies
Dream On Dreamer- Brand New Heavies
Have A Good Time *- Brand New Heavies
I Wanna Be the Only One- Eternal
Midnight At The Oasis- B N Heavies
Sometimes- Brand New Heavies
Too Young To Die- Jamiroquai
Virtual Insanity- Jamiroquai
2000+
I’m Yours **- Jason Mraz
Mercy- Duffy
Smooth **- Santana
Super Duper Love- Joss Stone
Take Your Mama Out- Scissor S’rs
Valerie- Amy Winehouse
Ballads
My Girl **- The Temptations
Dock Of The Bay **- Otis Redding
We Have All The Time- Louis Armstrong
My Cherie Amour- Stevie Wonder
Let’s Stay Together- Al Green
Let’s Get It On **- Marvin Gaye
You Are The Sunshine Of My Life- Stevie Wonder
Knocks Me Off My Feet- Stevie Wonder
Just The Way You Are- Billy Joel
Nobody Does It Better- Marvin Hamlisch
Stuck On You- Lionel Richie
That’s What Friends Are For- Dionne Warwick
Saving All My Love For You- Whitney
Have I Told You Lately- Van Morrison
If I Ain’t Got You- Alicia Keys