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If you need any further information please contact us. Colin Davies – Email: colin@shadesofsimon.com Phone: 07931 362792

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LOGO

Band logo for use in publicity. Resizable image comprising shadow of Paul Simon’s face with Shades of Simon in graduated text. Size 2274 x 931 pixels 602kb jpg

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DESCRIPTIVE TEXT FOR USE IN PROGRAMMES

Shades of Simon, the UK’s most authentic sounding Paul Simon tribute band, present their highly acclaimed 2 hour theatre show in tribute to Paul Simon as one of the best songwriters and performers of his generation. With an engaging narration, exceptional musicianship and authentic renditions of the best of his songs from Simon & Garfunkel through to Graceland, this is a show that appeals to all generations…

Although the folk duo Simon & Garfunkel only performed together for a comparitively short period between 1963-1970 they have sold over 100 million records and their iconic songs like The Sound of Silence, Mrs Robinson, The Boxer and Bridge Over Troubled Water have become standards enduring the test of time. As artistes Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel had a stormy relationship and both pursued separate careers following their premature breakup. Although Art Garfunkel is renowned for his incredible vocal range it was Paul Simon who was the mastermind behind the writing of their songs and he continued to pursue a highly successful songwriting and solo career right through to his retirement from touring in 2018 at the age of 76.

Shades of Simon are a band of musicians with a lifetime of experience who love the music of Paul Simon and who have been brought together for the specific project of creating a theatre show to celebrate the story of his life, incorporating a narrative and authentic performances of the best and most memorable songs of his 60 year career, from solo acoustic through to full productions as a 5-piece band. Featuring Colin Davies (vocals, acoustic guitar & keyboards), Paul Bleach (piano & vocals), Kelvin Ward (bass guitar), John Austin (electric guitar), Dave Johns (drums & percussion).

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STRAPLINE

An outstanding 5-piece band presenting the story and authentic sound of the songs of Paul Simon.

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TEXT FOR USE IN PUBLICITY

The UK’s no.1 Paul Simon tribute band “Shades of Simon” will be bringing their highly acclaimed 2 hour show “The Paul Simon Story” to the .…..(name of theatre) in …..(name of town) on …(date).

The show has an engaging narration telling the story of Paul Simon as one of the best songwriters of his generation, with the outstanding 5-piece band performing authentic renditions of the best of his songs from his time in Simon & Garfunkel in the 60’s (Homeward Bound, Sound of Silence, Bridge over troubled water etc.) through to his South African inspired Graceland tour in the 80’s (You can call me Al.)

Performances have received rave reviews at venues ranging from the majestic Knebworth House, picnic concerts for the National Trust, to provincial theatres throughout the East of England.

The concert will be held on …(date) in the .…..(name of theatre) in …..(name of town). The concert will start at 7:30pm and finish just after 10:00pm.

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WEBSITE URL

www.shadesofsimon.com

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TYPE OF GIGS

The band’s show is designed primarily for theatre audiences and can include a supporting slide show. The full show comprises 2 x 60 minute spots. A shortened version of the show can be performed as a 1 x 60 minute spot. Adaptations of the show can be performed at music festivals, picnic concerts, clubs, as after dinner entertainment, and at other types of event.

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TESTIMONIALS

“Saw them last night at the Headgate Theatre, fabulous musicians who bring the infectious joy of Paul Simon’s first three decades of music along with interesting anecdotes from his life. Wonderful vocals with lovely harmonies. The whole sold-out audience was left happy and buzzing. I heartily recommend catching Shades of Simon and thank them for a brilliant evening.” Sari (Colchester)

“With this pedigree the band will be top notch! Colin’s voice is a natural Paul Simon…”

“The moment I heard that Colin and friends were putting together a band to celebrate the life and music of Paul Simon, I knew we were in safe hands. Colin is the ultimate professional and perfectionist when it comes to recording and performing his own carefully crafted songs and supported by an equally experienced and dedicated band of superb musicians, Shades of Simon are without any doubt the real deal.” Terry Hiscock (South Woodham Ferrers)

“Good vocals and harmonies. Excellent musicianship all round.” Ian (Wickford)

“Good arrangements. Well rehearsed and professional.” Jonathan (Enfield)

“Brilliant gig guys, the standing ovation at the end said it all.” Roy (Chelmsford)

How do you secure such fantastic bands? That was sensationally good! Brilliant music masterfully performed. (Member of the audience at Headgate theatre, Colchester)

I loved it – great great sound! Dave (Manager, Headgate theatre Colchester)

Such an enjoyable evening, we loved it. Top class musicians and beautiful vocals, all interspersed with lots of interesting stories and anecdotes about Simon and Garfunkel. Thanks for a really great show and hope to see you again sometime. Pat (Dublin)

Thank you gents for a very enjoyable evening, some cracking musicianship and singing to back it up. I also loved the format, very informative. Tony (Purleigh)

Had a brilliant evening, thank you so much. Great music! Jenny (Cambridge)

What a wonderful evening! The show was superb. Great musicians, great songs that we were able to sing along to, and an interesting narrative about the life and career of one of the great song writers of the twentieth century. We will certainly recommend! Richard (Danbury)

We enjoyed a great evening at Knebworth House park, your tribute to Paul Simon was fantastic. Angela (Rugby)

We had a brilliantly fantastic evening, singing dancing and listening to a very talented band. Love to see you again. Sue (Herts)

Thank you for a fabulous evening, fantastic setting for a fantastic band. John (Essex)

REFERENCES

Knebworth House, Hertfordshire. Trish Washer, House Operations Manager. Email: twasher@knebworthhouse.com

National Trust Flatford Mill, Suffolk. Simon Peachey, Site Manager. Email: Simon.Peachey@nationaltrust.org.uk

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SUGGESTED PRESS RELEASE

Shades of Simon are a 5-piece band based in mid-Essex who are growing rapidly in popularity with their acclaimed 2 hour theatre show in tribute to Paul Simon as one of the best songwriters and performers of his generation.

The band are bringing their show “The Paul Simon Story” to the …..(name of theatre) in …..(name of town) on …(date).

The band’s leader Colin Davies explained how the concept of the band came together back in August 2019 speciﬁcally to put together a theatre style show in tribute to Paul Simon. The COVID then struck and after forming the band they had to put everything on hold for 18 months. But they persevered and their ﬁrst gig was a sell out charity concert at Maldon Town Hall Theatre in December 2021 in aid of the Brain Tumour Charity – and the band have gone from strength to strength since then!

Colin remarked how extraordinary it is that, even though Simon & Garfunkel’s last album was released over 50 years ago and Paul Simon himself stopped touring in 2018, there is still a huge appetite, across all age groups, to hear his songs played live and played well. He added, “Their ﬁrst big hit back in 1964 ‘The Sound of Silence’ is an absolute classic and everybody, whatever their age, knows it.”

“Paul Simon wrote some really melodic songs early in his career whilst in Simon and Garfunkel and we perform those in the ﬁrst half of our show. We try to add variety; some songs like the classic ‘Old Friends’, we perform as a duo with just an acoustic guitar featuring Colin and fellow frontman Paul Bleach, whereas others, like ‘Kodachrome’ beneﬁt from a full 5-piece band arrangement”.

“And the style of Paul Simon’s songs varies tremendously too – think of the simplicity of ‘Kathy’s Song’, the classic piano in ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’, the iconic ‘Mrs Robinson’ theme song from the film, ‘The Graduate’, the wistful ‘Homeward Bound’, through to his jazz inspired ‘Still Crazy After All These Years’”.

“We do find younger folk tend to prefer Paul Simon’s later, more rocky songs from his ‘Graceland’ era like ‘You Can Call Me Al’ and we play those in the second half of our show. In fact, we cover the most prolific period of Paul Simon’s career all the way from his early days in Simon & Garfunkel in the early 60’s through to his Graceland tour in the 1980’s – so there’s something for everybody!”

Colin puts the band’s success down to two main things. “All the musicians in the band have a lifetime of experience and excel at what they do, and together we strive to achieve the authentic sound of Paul Simon’s original recordings. And secondly, our show includes an engaging narration with many interesting anecdotes about Paul Simon’s life and career as a songwriter and performer – so audiences go home having been both entertained and informed!”

Shades of Simon aim to perform only a limited number of their ‘The Paul Simon Story’ shows each year, generally in provincial theatres and at outdoor Summer Picnic Concerts. You can check where they are playing next and also buy tickets to their concerts on their website at www.shadesofsimon.com You can also sign up to their mailing list to be kept up to date with what the band are doing.

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PUBLICITY

We will advertise the event on our website and third party What’s On websites. We will also advertise extensively on FaceBook and to fans via our mailing list. We can also supply 500 A5 flyers and 10 A4 posters on request. We expect the venue to similarly advertise the event using their existing channels.

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BAND PHOTOS

These are our preferred publicity photos. But more photos can be found in the Gallery section of the website – view

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BAND MEMBERS AND BIOGRAPHICAL DETAILS

COLIN DAVIES Vocals, acoustic guitar, keyboards. Colin got his first acoustic guitar when he was sixteen years old precisely because he wanted to learn all of the songs on the Paul Simon Songbook album.The guitar has been his constant companion for almost fifty years and it is a rare day that he does not pick it up, even if only for a few minutes. From the early seventies to the early nineties, Colin wrote and performed with Tony Bakonyvari as the acoustic folk duo Two’s Company. In 1976, Two’s Company were approached by a London-based producer, Ray Cameron, who recorded and published a dozen or so of their songs. Colin and Tony kept the music going, still as an acoustic duo, but also in various cover bands, the most successful being the fundraising band Wheelz which was formed in 2005 and which raised and donated over £41,000 until they disbanded in 2019. Colin is still an active songwriter with two full, solo albums behind him (Still Waters, 2014 and Futureland, 2017).

PAUL BLEACH Keyboards & vocals. Paul started on piano at the age of nine, and has been a full-time musician for some thirty years. During that time, he has appeared at many of London’s top hotels as a pianist and vocalist and is currently Musical Director at the Friern Manor Country House Hotel which specialises in the wedding and Christmas Party markets – over the years about a quarter of a million people have seen him, and his piano, going up in the air at the start of a gig! A songwriter since the age of fifteen, Paul has also recorded two solo albums: ‘Songs of Innocence and Experience’ (2010) and ‘Only Create’ (2019), along with a self-produced EP ‘Songs from Lockdonia’ written and recorded entirely at home during lockdown. Paul’s influences and musical heroes include: Kate Bush, Billy Joel, Paul McCartney, and, of course, Paul Simon – one of the greatest songwriters in popular music.

KELVIN WARD Bass guitar. Took up bass at school at the age of 16 largely because nobody else in the band wanted to play it. Progressed through a number of pop bands in the 70’s before ending up playing bass in some quite well respected country bands for the next couple of decades including Tawny, Bob Bramley & Delta, and the Wes Cardy band. After a couple of years in function bands and jazz combos eventually joined the Wheres Spot Band and enjoyed some success on the folk music circuit until they split in 2017. He then started singing and accompanying himself on guitar around local folk clubs until intrigued by the prominent high range melodic style of bass playing from the likes of Joe Osborn and Bakithi Kumalo led him back onto 4 strings and into Paul Simon’s music with ‘Shades of Simon’.

JOHN AUSTIN Electric & acoustic guitars. Like other members of the band started playing in his school years, and would play bass or guitar for school bands, whatever was required. Leaving school played with various covers bands and in later years played guitar with Old Spice, Six Pack and Foxy Music (a Roxy Music tribute band). John went on to play with fund raising band Wheelz where he met Colin and Dave, playing guitar, bass and Ukulele over the eight years he was with them. He teamed up with Colin and Dave to form the popular trio The Busketeers and was asked to join up with the rest of the Shades of Simon to help create the guitar sounds that were needed for the band. John loves all kinds of music genres but is a particular fan of Paul Simons music.

DAVE JOHNS Drums & percussion. Dave has been playing drums from the age of 10, playing pots and pans and anything he could lay his hands on to play a beat, after being inspired by the Glenn Miller story. He started in the Boys Brigade, progressing to the school dance band, moving into the theatre and rock world playing street parties, festivals, Universities, Rock & Pop weekend at Knebworth in 1983, anywhere that would have them. Since that time he has been involved in mainstream cabaret, pub and club cover bands playing at many top corporate events. Dave met Colin when he was asked to sit in with Wheelz for one gig in 2006 and ended up staying until they disbanded in 2019!. Dave has always enjoyed Paul Simon’s music and is enjoying the challenge of recreating the beat and rhythms of his great music.

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DEMO AUDIO

We have created a showreel with snippets of some of the band’s songs to give you an idea of what we sound like! Play through hi-fi speakers or headphones for truly representative results.

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We have put together a promotional video of the band playing live on stage.

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VIDEO LIVE ON STAGE

Here are a couple of videos for illustrative purposes taken by members of our audiences of us live on stage.

The Only Living Boy in New York

Bookends – Old Friends – Overs medley

Graceland

(Videos may be enlarged to full screen)

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BROADCAST QUALITY DOWNLOAD

This is a live recording of the band playing “You Can Call Me Al” at Ingatestone Hall in July 2022. High quality stereo mp3 file, sample rate 44.1kHz, file size 7.3MB, playing time 5mins 5secs. (Right click on audio bar for download options.) Original composed & performed by Paul Simon 1986 PRS © Sony.

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PERFORMANCE SETLISTS

Examples of our typical setlists –

Songs in italics are performed solo or as a duo; all others feature the full 5-piece band.

2 x 60 minute sets

Duncan | Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard | Mother and Child Reunion | American Tune | Kodachrome | April Come She Will Come | I am a Rock | 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover | Slip Sliding Away | Still Crazy After All these Years | Under African Skies | Graceland | You Can Call Me Al | Late in the Evening || Diamonds on the soles of her shoes

A setlist with all the information required for a PRS live performance royalties report will be provided straight after the show.

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TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS

Details of our technical requirements can be viewed and downloaded here. view

We will normally bring our own Sound Engineer with us, either to set up and operate our own PA system or to liaise with the venue’s in-house technicians.

A copy set list will be provided with prompts for the sound and lighting operators.

For theatres with video projection facilities our show can be augmented with slides on a Keynote / Powerpoint presentation.

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STAGE PLAN

Stage plan showing layout and position of instruments on stage. download pdf

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STAGE DRESS

The band dress smartly on stage with a red & black colour theme.

A secure dressing room should be made available in which the band may change before and after the show. A supply of drinking water, clothes rail, seating and a separate WC is appreciated.

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HOSPITALITY REQUIREMENTS

The band do not expect any specific hospitality provisions to be made for them.

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PARKING REQUIREMENTS

It is essential that provision is made for the band to unload heavy equipment at the venue and to then park up to 6 cars nearby during the performance.

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ARRIVAL TIME

By default the band will aim to arrive at least 3 hours before the show, and earlier if access is possible.

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SETUP TIME

The band need a minimum of 2 hours within which to unload and set up their stage equipment, and a further 40 minutes to do a full sound check and get changed.

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ADVANCE TICKET SALES

The band have the facility to manage advance ticket sales via their website. This can be agreed to be either by the band processing credit card payments and issuing electronic tickets, or as a simple link to the venue’s box-office ticketing system.

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BAND MERCHANDISE

The band may wish to sell their own merchandise (eg: CDs) at the venue immediately before, during and after the performance.

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PUBLIC LIABILITY INSURANCE

We hold Public Liability Insurance in the sum of £10M with the Alliance of Musicians and Performers. You can verify the insurance by clicking here

Similarly, all our electrical equipment is regularly PAT tested and marked accordingly.

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FEES

We do not use an Agency to represent us and negotiate the fee for each gig or theatre show direct with the venue. This may be on the basis of a fixed fee, venue hire or a percentage of ticket sales.

A lot depends on the type and size of venue and where it is, so do please talk to us – we will always try to reach an agreement!

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CONTRACTS

Confirmation of a booking may be by means of an exchange of emails or a simple contract along the lines of those produced by the Musicians Union.

Link to Musicians Union contract templates

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TRAVEL DISTANCE

The band particularly welcome gigs within approx 75 miles of our home town of Chelmsford Essex UK. As a guide this includes all of East Anglia, the South East of England and the Home Counties. Further afield necessitating an overnight stay is by negotiation.

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EMERGENCY CONTACT

If you need to contact the band urgently on the day of a gig, please phone Colin Davies on his mobile 07931 362792.

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