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from £1425 in North West
- from £1425 in Yorkshire & Humberside
- from £1425 in West Midlands
- from £1450 in Wales
- from £1500 in North East
- from £1550 in East of England
- from £1550 in East Midlands
- from £1575 in South East
- from £1595 in South West
- from £1595 in Scotland
- from £1650 in London
Hard hitting 6-piece Manchester based funk & soul band, recreating and refreshing the classic raw funk of the late James Brown and the J.B.’s, alongside similar artists from the same era.
Do you want to relive the magic of the Godfather of Soul? Do you want to ensure your guests dance with their smiles high. If your answer to both the above is a resounding 'yes', then The Jay Bees are your answer. A hard hitting six or seven-piece funk band, they recreate and refresh the classic raw funk of the late James Brown and the J.B.’s. The Jay Bee’s line-up includes Vocals, Saxophone, Guitars, Bass and Drums and Trumpet for the larger band. The group has been playing together since 2004. Every member is a top class professional musician with a wealth of experience. Vocalist Jon, the lead singer is currently recording his own material with legendry Grammy award winning producer Al Stone. Al is famous for producing platinum selling albums by artists including Bjork, Jamiroquai and The Stereo M.C’s. Guitarist Ben won BBC ‘Busker of the Year’ in 2005 and has toured with Chris de Burgh.
The Jay Bees standard show is made up of two 60 or 3 x 40 minute sets. These can contain any combination of the material mentioned to suit your needs. You are also welcome to request other songs which are not on this list but requests need to be made at the time of booking. Shows of shorter or longer duration are also possible, and thanks to the wealth of talent within the band other “extras” are available. These include an Acoustic Duo or Jazz Trio for background music or a Funk/Party DJ to continue the music into the early hours. The band provide their own sound reinforcement and stage lighting as standard. Off stage the band is friendly, professional and discreet. So if you’re planning a corporate function, wedding, engagement party, birthday bash, school reunion or anniversary get in touch with the Jay Bees, we guarantee that you and your guests will “get on the good foot” and have a “funky good time!”
Performance information
| Line-up | Male vocals; 2 guitars; bass; sax or keyboards; drums |
| Performance duration | 2 x 60 or 3 x 40 minute sets |
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Interval music
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Yes (included in price) |
| Lighting | Yes (included in price) |
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Arrival & set-up
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From 6pm; allow 60 minutes to set up |
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Requirements
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Space of 5 x 4 metres; power supply; rider |
Booking options
| Requests (if not in repertoire) | First request free (subject to suitability) |
| Late performances/Use of PA | £100 per hour |
| Early set-up/sound-check | £100 per hour before 6pm |
| Adds trumpet | Add £225 |
| Add 60-minute acoustic duo set | Add £200 |
What people say
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Donna, Wedding, Glasgow, May 2011The Jaybees were amazing!! My husband and I couldn't get ourselves off the dance floor whilst they were playing! A lot of our guests commented on how brilliant they were, and how they would happily pay money to watch these guys perform! We are sooo pleased to have had them play at our wedding, they definitely made it a night to remember! Our experience of dealing with Function Central was all good. From my initial discussions with Alastair Lion, who put us onto the Jaybees, to Beverley Davison who dealt with all the practicalities the service was always professional, friendly and helpful.
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Nicholas, Wedding, Lancashire, November 2010I cannot speak more highly of the JayBees. They were extremely professional: they contacted the wedding venue well in advance to ensure there were no issues, which put our minds at rest that everything would go to plan; they arrived and set up in time so as to be as unintrusive as possible and, most importantly, they put their heart and soul into the music which created a great atmosphere and got people dancing. They were a lovely set of guys and I’d certainly hire them again.
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Zoe and Steven, Wedding, Chester, August 2010The band were very flexible and willing to the learn a song for our first dance that was amazing, so good we requested it twice and they were only too willing to oblige. The music was great we danced the whole way through and they were helpful with all our requests. In relation to Function Central the service was very good, responding quickly to questions and willing to put us directly in contact with the band.
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Claire J., Wedding, Manchester, October 2009Just wanted to say how great The Jay Bees were for our wedding on 17th October. Although we obviously said thanks to them on the day, we wanted to pass on our official 'thanks' to them via yourselves and to say how brilliant they were. Could you pass this on to them? Many thanks!
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Sam B., Wedding, Manchester, August 2009I whole heartedley recomend the Jaybees they made my wedding so special. All of my guests commented on how amazing they were. The genre of music suited the wide range of ages and musical tastes. The band were so friendly and overplayed as my guests were pleading for more! We were absolutely astonished that the lead singer was a stand in- he was phenomenal. The band and function central were fantastic.
The band was well worth every penny! -
Jackie H., Wedding, Staffordshire, August 2009Just had to contact you to thank you so much for providing us with such an excellent band! The Jay Bees were superb! From arrival, to performance, everything was totally professional and well executed. The guys were charming, discreet and easy to talk to and as for the music, as my daughters and their friends said, they were 'HOT'. Jon has a very distinct voice, I love it! All in all, the party was a great success and a huge part of that is due to The Jay Bees. Just trying to think of another excuse to hire them again! Thank you so much! Jacqueline & family x
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Matt W., Birthday Party, Cheshire, July 2009Tight, soulful, dynamic and always funky. The band could have played all night long if you ask me.
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Rob D, Producer for Lisa Stansfield, London, May 2008You want relentless funk'til-you-drop delivered by one of the best outfits around? You've come to the right place...The Jay Bees have perfected the art of filling the dance floor with thier seriously infectious feel-good covers. This is as good as it gets!
Repertoire
- James Brown Songs
- Cold Sweat
- Doin' It To Death
- Drive Your Funky Soul
- Get On The Good Foot
- Get Up Offa That Thing*
- Give It Up Or Turn It A Loose
- Hot Pants
- I Feel Good
- I Got The Feelin’
- It’s A Man's World
- It’s Magic
- Lickin’ Stick
- Mother Popcorn
- Papas Got A Brand New Bag*
- Payback
- Please, Please, Please
- Sex Machine
- Soul Power
- Super Bad
- Talkin' Loud Sayin’ Nothin
- There Was A Time
- Think
- Try Me
- General Funk, Soul & R&B
- Aint No Stopping Us Now
- Alright
- Cosmic Girl
- Cross Roads
- Cut The Cake
- Express Yourself
- For Once In My Life
- Funky Stuff
- Green Onions
- Hard To Handle
- Higher And Higher
- Higher Ground
- I Wish
- It's About That Walk
- Jail House Rock
- Just The Two Of Us
- Lets Stay Together
- Living For The City
- Midnight Hour
- Mistra Know It All
- Moondance
- Musicology
- Mustang Sally
- My Baby Just Cares For Me
- Pass The Peas
- Pick Up The Pieces
- Rehab
- Rescue Me
- Respect
- Shake Your Tail Feather
- Signed Sealed Delivered
- Son Of A Preacher Man
- Soul Man
- Stand By Me
- Superstition,
- Take Me To The River
- This Old Heart Of Mine
- Too Young To Die
- Use Me
- Valerie
- Virtual Insanity
- Volcanos
- When A Man Loves A Woman
- You Do Someting To Me
Bookings
For all bookings please contact Function Central:
- info@functioncentral.co.uk
- 0845 643 2160
For more pictures and audio demos, please visit:
http://www.functioncentral.co.uk/acts/the_jaybees/



