Room With A View

9th March 2013

It’s my twin sisters, Jenny and Sue’s, 50th birthday.

Sue is having a party and has asked me to provide the music. It’s a black tie do, at the Grange City Hotel, near the Tower of London. I’ve been advised that the Presidential Suite which she’s hired has it’s own sound system, so I decide to just bring along my mixing deck which I can plug into their equipment. Sue wants a few lights to add atmosphere, but as there won’t be much space I bring along a simple four par can setup on a tripod t-bar stand.

Jacqui and I get there with an hour to spare before Sue’s guests arrive. The room on the 12th floor is a very stylish hotel room, complete with a bar, two bathrooms and magnificent views over the Tower of London, with the river and Tower Bridge behind. The sound system turns out to be a Bose home system, with small speakers dotted around the rooms, including in the bathrooms. Hooking up to this proves very simple, but there isn’t a dance-floor as such, just an area clear of sofas, tables etc. The whole room is carpeted - not very conducive to dancing! Sue also tells me that the hotel is concerned that loud music later in the evening may upset their other guests! This could be interesting...

I start off playing some vintage lounge tracks (Frank, Dean, Nat, Ella) interspersed with more contemporary music (Adele, Ed Sheeran, Paloma etc) - this seems to fit the mood of the evening, as the guests in their cocktail dresses and dinner jackets, begin to arrive. I leave my lights off for the time being, just using the dimmed hotel room lights. Bowl food (a new but effective concept for me) is handed out by the efficient hotel staff.

I’ve brought along a retro 50s style microphone, which again fits in with the ambience of the evening, and I use it to introduce the amusing and heart-felt speeches, firstly from Derek, Sue’s (and my) dad, then Sue’s daughter, Becky and finally Sue’s BFF, Fiona. Then Sue herself responds with another lovely speech.

Speeches over I risk turning on my lights and turning up the volume. I’m still not convinced that anyone will dance. How wrong can I be!! I forgot that the mix of flowing wine and a group of parents free from the critical gaze of teenage children equals an opportunity to throw caution to the wind and enjoy yourself! I soon have a full (carpeted) dance floor enjoying a mix of current chart and 80s tunes, with a few Motown classics thrown in for good measure.

I was only once asked to turn the volume down a bit by a hotel manager, and that was at 11.40. The evening was to finish at midnight, so I reckoned we’d done pretty well, and hopefully hadn’t kept the other guests awake... it was a Saturday night, after all!



All in all a most enjoyable evening.  Now looking forward to Jenny’s birthday lunch celebrations next week....