ITV, Meridian Tonight & New Recordings on the way

It’s been an exciting few weeks for Les Valentine, and very very busy (hence the lack of newsletters, sorry). We’ve had a number of gigs at the Old Market, The Sanctuary Cafe and The Cobden Club in London, as well as starting on a few new recordings. Not to mention being featured on ITV Local and also in a slot on Meridian Tonight!

 

The Latest News:

·         Meridian Tonight & ITV Local

·         New Recordings

 

 

Meridian Tonight & ITV Local

 

Over the next few months we’ll be working hard to promote the nationwide release of our single Nervous in June with Crash Records & Beat The Mix. It all began on 28th February at The Old Market venue in Hove with the Beat The Mix final concert.

 

The show was all captured on film and was even featured on Meridian Tonight with some clips from our set so we got a few excited messages from people who saw it -  thanks very much if you were one of them.

 

Footage from the entire show, all eight acts, was also edited together for a 10 minute programme on ITV’s broadband channel, ITV Local. This is our second time being featured by ITV after November’s Beat The Mix Live programme, and you can see the clip (keep an eye out for Rizzle & and Rubylux) by going to http://www.itvlocal.com/meridian/locallife/?player=MER_LocalLife_15&void=159326.

 

Enjoy!

 

New Recordings

 

As well as putting together a new recording of ‘Nervous’ for the single release, we’ve also started putting together recordings of a few of our new tracks. We’re hoping to have an album release to coincide with ‘Nervous’, and we’re lucky enough to have a drummer with excellent recording facilities!

 

So far the new tracks are sounding really good, and we can’t wait to play them to everyone! We will though ‘cos they’re not finished yet.

 

 

That’s it from us for now, just a quick thanks to the fantastic audience at our recent gig at The Sanctuary Cafe. I think by the end of the night we has spoken to all of you, and we’re glad you enjoyed our show and signed up to this mailing list!

 

 

Dates for the Diary

 

26th March – GIG – Caroline of Brunswick, Brighton (Free acoustic show)

 

29th March – GIG – The Joogleberry Playhouse, Brighton (Acoustic showcase upstairs)

 

1st April – GIG – The Sky Bar, Brighton (Free entry and excellent drinks deals!)

 

 

Beat The Mix Winner’s gig, THIS THURSDAY!

Six months of hard work gathering votes and promoting our song Nervous comes to fruition this week when we headline a massive gig being put together by Beat The Mix at the Old Market in Hove (http://www.theoldmarket.co.uk/events_08_feb.php#28). The tickets are selling fast and there should be around 500 people there, so it would be great to see some familiar faces!

 

The Les Valentine Latest:

·         Beat The Mix Live at the Old Market, Hove

·         A Successful Les Valentine’s Day

·         Coming Soon – New Recordings

 

 

Beat The Mix Live at the Old Market, Hove

 

If you’re free on Thursday night in the Brighton area (or even from further afield) it would be much appreciated if you could grab tickets for this gig while they’re still available! There will be representatives there from the music industry, so plenty of vocal support throughout our set could be very helpful indeed.

 

You can go to http://www.ticketweb.co.uk/user/?region=gb_south&query=detail&event=254644 for tickets. They’re only £4 and there’s a chance there won’t be any tickets left on the door so it’s probably best to buy them online and collect them at the box office on the night!

 

As winners of the first ever Beat The Mix contest, we’re proud to be top of the bill at their winners gig at the Old Market. Thanks again to everyone who voted for us over the last six months, this gig will be fantastic with a really wide ranging group of acts performing.

 

There really will be something for every taste on the night ranging from runners up The Breakers (Punk), to Rizzle (Rap), to Rich Lown (acoustic), and of course Les Valentine finishing the evening off with our set. We’ll have an encore prepared too! So make sure you shout for one!

 

For more information go to www.beatthemix.co.uk!

 

 

A successful Les Valentine’s Day

 

Just a quick word to say thank you again to everyone who made it down to the Charity Gig we put on for the British Heart Foundation in on Valentine’s Day. We raised just under £100 for the cause, so you can all give yourselves a pat on the back.

 

It really was a good night, so I also want to say thanks to Rob Key, Adam Kane, Stuart Duggan and Petrushka for doing a great job in their sets and bringing a few people along too.

 

The next gig we’re planning to put together will be around the time of May 20th, exactly one year after Les Valentine’s first official gig. It’s been a lot of fun, and when you think how far we’ve come in the last 9 months we don’t think we’ve done too badly – but we couldn’t have got so far without people taking an interest and enjoying our songs so thank you very much for all your support!

 

 

Coming Soon – New Recordings

 

As part of the Beat The Mix prize, we will be re-recording Nervous to release as a single in early summer. To coincide with that, we’re planning to put together some recordings in the meantime and make our first Album!

 

More news on this when it comes, but drummer Pete ‘Panache’ Macfarlane is a dab hand at recording, so soon you will be able to get hold of new songs such as ‘Don’t Leave Yet’, ‘See The Light’ and ‘Maybe Definitely’ as well as re-recordings of old favourites with changes made since Pete and Jo joined the ranks! Ooooh!

 

 

This Week’s Gig Watch

 

The massive gig of this week is the Beat The Mix show at the Old Market. Again you can order your £4 tickets online for collection at the box office at the following site:

http://www.ticketweb.co.uk/user/?region=gb_south&query=detail&event=254644

 

However, if you can’t make it on Thursday due to other commitments, we are also playing on Friday at the Sanctuary Cafe in Hove. To be found on Brunswick Street East, just off Western Road, the Cella Bar is well known for being a good venue for live music and it’s just been refurbished so it would be good to get a few people along to that. Again, entry is £4 on the door. For more information go to www.sanctuarycafe.co.uk.

 

 

Website of the Week: Reverb Nation

 

Reverb Nation is an excellent website allowing Bands and Artists to connect directly with fans, labels and management. You can sign up as an artist to increase your exposure or as a listener so you can discover new, independent music for every taste!

 

You can now become a follower of Les Valentine on Reverb Nation – www.reverbnation.com – by signing up to the site as a fan and finding our profile – http://www.reverbnation.com/lesvalentine.

 

 

Dates for the Diary

 

28th February – GIG – The Old Market, Hove (Beat The Mix)

(http://www.ticketweb.co.uk/user/?region=gb_south&query=detail&event=254644)

 

29th February – GIG – The Cella Bar, Sanctuary Cafe, Hove (£4 entry)

 

5th March – GIG – Cobden Club, West London.

 

19th & 20th April – RECORDING – Re-Recording ‘Nervous’ for single release with Crash Records!

Sussex & Hampshire’s #1 Band

This week the Les Valentine newsletter’s reins are handed over to me, Jo, to take you through the latest news. In this week’s update…

 

·         Les Valentine WIN Beat the Mix – thank you!

·         Les Valentine’s Day

 

Les Valentine win Beat the Mix!

 

The big news this week is that we won Beat The Mix! Thanks for all the support and to everyone who voted for us (and we promise never to ask you again to text anything to 83070!) We celebrated with some champagne from Somerfield (as we’re very classy like that) and planning how to make the most of our prizes which include a video shoot, photo shoot, another appearance on ITV local and a big gig at the end of February.

 

Les Valentine’s Day – 14th  February

 

Preparations and rehearsals are underway for Les Valentine’s Day with press releases out and more heart-shaped balloons on order! We’re working on a new song and reviving a classic so whether you’re single or taken it’s an evening of great music (and heart-shaped balloons!) and all in aid of the British Heart Foundation. Come and spread some love!

 

For those of you that missed our Pressure Point gig this would be a great chance to see the new line-up and hear the new versions of your favourite LV classics. Not to mention the four other brilliant Brighton acts playing on the night! Go to www.myspace.com/lesvalentinesday for more information!

 

It’s £3 on the door, but if you’re on the guest list you can get in for just £2! Bargain! Just reply to this e-mail and lets us know if you’re coming and we’ll put you on!

 

Website of the Week

 

This is a new section to the newsletter (to replace asking you all to vote for us!) in which we point you all in the direction of websites which may well be of interest. This week, it’s the site for our aforementioned Les Valentine’s Day gig!

 

Make sure you visit www.myspace.com/lesvalentinesday to see what all the fuss is about and check out some of the other acts we’ll be playing with.

 

Dates for the Diary

 

We also wanted to say sorry to anyone hoping to catch us at the Joogleberry Playhouse this weekend as the gig was unfortunately cancelled but don’t worry as we’ll be back there on the 18th February.

 

10th February – AUDITION – Nationwide talent competition, www.liveandunsigned.uk.com

 

14th February – GIG – ‘Les Valentine’s Day’, Hare & Hounds, Brighton (£3)

                                    www.myspace.com/lesvalentinesday

 

16th February – FILMING – Beat The Mix live

 

18th February – GIG – The Joogleberry Playhouse

 

28th February – GIG – The Old Market, Brighton (Beat The Mix final gig) (£4)

 

29th February – GIG – The Sanctuary Cafe, Brighton (£4)

 

5th March – GIG – The Gate Restaurant, Notting Hill Gate, London

 

9th April – Steve’s Birthday

 

19th April – John’s Birthday

 

19th May – Pete’s Birthday

 

12th September – Jo’s Birthday

 

 

 

Thanks for your support and we hope to see you at a gig soon

 

 

John, Steve, Jo & Pete ‘Panache’ McFarlane

The Pressure Point & Beat The Mix’s final week

The Pressure Point gig on Monday was absolutely superb – thank you to everyone who came along. The new four piece line up makes a huge difference to the sound, as those who saw the show will be able to tell you. So now its full speed ahead with the next step – winning Beat The Mix! The entire competition ends on Thursday, so there are only a few days of voting time left! Text ‘Mix 339’ to 83070!

 

Our news this week:

• ·         The Last Few Days of Beat The Mix
• ·         The Pressure Point
• ·         Les Valentine’s Day

 

 

The Last Few Days of Beat The Mix – Text ‘Mix 339’ to 83070

 

In this update you’ll probably lose count of the number of times we ask you to text ‘Mix 339’ to 83070 and we make no apologies for it! The voting ends for the entire competition at www.beatthemix.co.uk this Thursday and we’re in an excellent position to win it.

 

We are leading the pack as the final furlong begins, but we will need some more votes from you lovely people to secure us these fantastic prizes so please please remember to text this week!

• Two day recording session at the state of the art music complex Soundlocker studios
• Track released on CRASH records and entry into talks for signing album deal
• Two day music video shoot and production with Regions TV
• Professional one day photo shoot with Image Catcher
• Headline sell out gig at prestigious venue…..priceless!
• Episode dedicated to the overall winner on BEATtheMIX’s very own ITV Local programme (www.itvlocal.com)
• Extensive local radio and press coverage
• A selection of top musical equipment kindly donated by Solutions Inc and Beyerdynamic

As always, your support will be very much appreciated and this will be the last few days we will ask!

In other Beat The Mix news, filming for the next Beat The Mix Live programme goes ahead on February 16th, and the Beat The Mix final gig is scheduled for February 28th! More news on these in future weeks.

For now though, please text ‘Mix 339’ to 83070, as many times as you realistically can, and hopefully next week we will have some VERY good news for you.

 

The Pressure Point

Our show at the Pressure Point on Monday felt like a real turning point for Les Valentine; Pete and Jo on drums and piano make a huge difference to the live sound and as a four piece there’s a whole new dimension to getting on stage.

We knew it was different while practicing for the gig, but as soon as we soundchecked ‘Nervous’ on the stage at the venue it was suddenly completely different. The Pressure Point sound technician Andy is very good at his job, and throughout the gig the sound of the four of us playing together was amazing and a fantastic experience.

Thank you again if you managed to come along, all your support was brilliant. By next week there will be live recordings, photos and videos from the gig online so you can see it all again!

 

Les Valentine’s Day

With the passing of the Pressure Point gig, we are now looking ahead to future gigs, particularly the one we are organising for Valentine’s Day. The venue and acts are now booked. Now the wheels are starting to turn on publicising the event.

The MySpace page is now up and running with links to various external websites as well. Take a look at www.myspace.com/lesvalentinesday and add us as a friend/les us know what you think.

We have also booked radio time with Juice 107.2FM, Radio Reverb and Bright FM in Burgess Hill as well as sending press releases to Latest 7 and The Argus. We’re hoping to get a very good crowd in on the night, so let us know early if you want to come so we can put you on the guest list.

All proceeds from the night will be going to the British Heart Foundation (including door money, Raffle and an auction for a date with our very own John Fitzpatrick) so it is lining up to be an excellent night.

 

Beat The Mix Update – Text ‘Mix 339’ to 83070

We were fortunate enough to win the weekly vote again this week, so thank you very much. Again though, this will be the last weekly update to include his section, so please text ‘Mix 339’ to 83070!

 

This Week’s Gigwatch

This week we return to the Joogleberry Playhouse for the re-launch of the Sunday acoustic chill. Or at least we think we do….we are waiting for confirmation of the gig from the promoter but as far as we’re aware it will be going ahead.

So unless you hear different from us come along to the Joogleberry Playhouse next Sunday, February 3rd to see the show! Thanks!

 

Dates for the Diary

3rd February – GIG – The Joogleberry Playhouse, Brighton (Acoustic chill re-launch)

 

10th February – AUDITION – Nationwide talent competition, www.liveandunsigned.uk.com

 

14th February – GIG – ‘Les Valentine’s Day’, Hare & Hounds, Brighton (£3)

                                    www.myspace.com/lesvalentinesday

 

16th February – FILMING – Beat The Mix live

 

18th February – GIG – The Joogleberry Playhouse

 

28th February – GIG – The Old Market, Brighton (Beat The Mix final gig)

 

29th February – GIG – The Sanctuary Cafe, Brighton (£4)

 

5th March – GIG – The Gate Restaurant, Notting Hill Gate, London

 

9th April – Steve’s Birthday

 

19th April – John’s Birthday

 

19th May – Pete’s Birthday

 

12th September – Jo’s Birthday

 

 

Please text ‘Mix 339’ to 83070

 

Thanks!

3 words: Practice, Practice, Practice

More accurately, that’s one word three times. But this is the name of the game this week in the run up to January 21st’s massive gig at the Pressure Point. Rehearsals are going very well, with Pete and Jo doing excellently well on drums and piano respectively. We can hardly wait for the night to come and there are a few changes to some of our songs you will love.

 

In the news this week:

• ·         LEVY tickets are sold out – but don’t fret, get on the guest list!
• ·         Les Valentine on TV
• ·         New Gigs

And of course, the Beat The Mix update, Gig Watch & Dates for the diary

 

 

LEVY tickets are sold out – but don’t fret, get on the guest list!

 

We are very sorry to say that our limited number of £4 tickets for the Levy gig have sold out, and if you’re one of the lucky few well done on already guaranteeing your entry. However, due to the fact that we did so well in getting our tickets out there Pressure Point have kindly said that anyone else who would like to come along FOR JUST £4 can do so – as long as they know in advance they’re coming.

 

By putting you on the guest list, we can save you £2 – that’s 2/3 of a pint or four packets of crisps, depending on your preference. It’s going to be a hell of a show, with four great bands (that’s £1 for each band!), a new Les Valentine line up and a few musical surprises thrown in by us for good measure. We’ve literally just got back from the practice rooms and we’re grinning from ear to ear because it’s sounding so much better than expected, Pete and Jo make such a massive difference we can’t tell you so you’ll have to hear it for yourself.

 

So to get on the guest list click ‘Reply’ now and type in PUT ME ON THE GUEST LIST! It shall be done.

 

 

Les Valentine on TV

 

Another week at the top of the charts at www.beatthemix.co.uk has cemented our place on top in the overall competition, and also guaranteed us an extended slot on their next ITV Local programme. We’ve been fortunate enough to be featured and interviewed on the programme last time we had a run of success (http://www.itvlocal.com/meridian/locallife/?player=MER_LocalLife_26&void=117910), so his time you can look forward to different songs and another chat with all four of us!

 

John & Steve will also go in front of the cameras this week for a documentary on the current acoustic/folk scene and its chart success, featuring acts such as KT Tunstall who have found massive mainstream coverage with what used to be a somewhat niche genre. The documentary team heard our music and thought we would be a good pair to interview so we’ll let you know how it all goes and where you can see it. We’ll be part of the doc soundtrack as well!

 

 

New Gigs

 

This week we have been invited to play in London again, this time in the West End. A promoter from a number of venues came across our MySpace and enjoyed our songs, so has asked us to play at Notting Hill Gate’s ‘The Gate Restaurant’ on March 5th. Times and finer details are to be confirmed but it’s another opportunity to reach a new audience and if you know you are going to be in the area (or within travelling distance) a few friendly faces would be great too!

 

Other than that we have continued to work on planning the publicity for our February 14th ‘Les Valentine’s Day’ gig in conjunction with the British Heart Foundation. We will be playing on Radio Reverb the evening beforehand to spread the word.

 

Speaking of radio, thanks to everyone who managed to tune in to Brighton’s Juice 107.2FM on Thursday night to hear us play. It was a great show, and a good introduction to Pete – on the radio before even playing a gig with us – and Ace was, as always, on top form. The recording will be up on the website (www.lesvalentine.com) by midweek all being well, but we’ll remind you to have a listen next week. Subjects covered include our new line up, Beat The Mix, the Levy Pressure Point gig, Julian Bromage, finding John a wife and our need for new artwork (sorry Jo). Enjoy!

 

 

Beat The Mix Update – Text ‘Mix 339’ to 83070

 

The contest at www.beatthemix.co.uk ends on the 31^st January. The good news is, we’re winning! The bad news is we can still be caught so we still need your votes!

 

We won’t be asking much longer, we promise! Please text ‘Mix 339’ to 83070 again this week and see if we can make it five weeks in a row!

 

 

This Weeks Gigwatch

 

No gigs this week, too busy practicing for Levy. In the meantime though, get yourself on the guest list for the night, keep an eye on the website for the upload of our Juice session and watch this brilliant video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5P6UU6m3cqk

 

 

Dates for the Diary

 

21st January– GIG – The Pressure Point, Brighton (Supporting Levy, £4 advance tickets)

 

3rd February – GIG – The Joogleberry Playhouse, Brighton (Acoustic chill re-launch)

 

10th February – AUDITION – Nationwide talent competition, www.liveandunsigned.uk.com

 

14th February – GIG – ‘Les Valentine’s Day’, Hare & Hounds, Brighton (£3)

 

19th February – GIG – The Joogleberry Playhouse,

 

29th February – GIG – The Sanctuary Cafe, Brighton (£4)

 

5th March – GIG – The Gate Restaurant, Notting Hill Gate, London

 

9th April – Steve’s Birthday

 

19th April – John’s Birthday

 

19th May – Pete’s Birthday

 

12^th September – Jo’s Birthday

A Very Happy New Year

Happy New Year everyone, and the very best of luck to everyone in keeping their various resolutions. It’s been a while since our last update, and we’ve been very busy since the turn of the year planning the first few weeks of 2008!

 

Supporting Levy on their European Tour – January 21st, The Pressure Point

 

Until the big night on January 21st we’re working very hard to get all the pieces in place to make it an excellent gig! Tickets are going fast (so if you want some of the Limited £4 ones you’d better get in quick) and rehearsals with our new line-up are going very well!

 

In the meantime we will be promoting the gig this Thursday when we return to Brighton’s Juice 107.2FM and their Damo and Ace show. Our two previous sessions on the show have been great fun, and you may even get to hear from one or two of our new members….so tune in to Juice 107.2FM at 9pm on Thursday (or listen online at www.juicebrighton.com).

 

(You can hear the first of our previous visits to Juice at our website – lesvalentine.com/music.html)

 

Beat The Mix

 

Another reason we have been invited to Juice FM this Thursday is because of our continued success in the chart at www.beatthemix.co.uk. As you know, we won the Christmas number 1 prize. Since then we have also been lucky enough to win the following two weeks’ votes too!

 

Thank you everyone for voting. The contest finally ends on January 31st, so please keep texting ‘Mix 339’ to 83070 – only a little while to go and we’re out in front in the overall competition at the moment, so anyone who can help us consolidate our position would be much appreciated.

 

Our victories over the last three weeks and resultant rise to the top of the leader board have also secured us another spot on Beat The Mix’s ITV Local programme, so watch this space for when you can peep that. Until then check out the videos at www.youtube.com/lesvalentine and let us know what you think!

 

Les Valentine’s Day

 

In another new experience for us, we are in the midst of organising a gig at the Hare & Hounds venue in Brighton on February 14th. It will be called ‘Les Valentine’s Day’ and all proceeds will be going to British Heart Foundation. There will be plenty more news on this in the coming weeks, but suffice to say we’re looking forward to it loads and it will feature some great live Brighton acts we have got to know in our time gigging.

 

We have also added another gig to our schedule, as we have confirmed another charity gig at the Joogleberry Playhouse on the 19th February. More news on this as we get it.

 

 

Beat The Mix update – text ‘Mix 339’ to 83070

 

Given the above, there’s not much more to say here as it’s pretty much covered. However we would like to take this opportunity to say a massive thank you to everyone who has voted for us since we entered the competition.

 

We’re aware that many of you have voted, some of you a number of times (you know who you are) so thank you very much for that. Not long left now!

 

 

This Week’s Gigwatch

 

No gigs per se this week, but don’t forget to tune in to Juice 107.2 FM/www.juicebrighton.com on Thursday at 9pm!

 

You can still (just about) get your tickets for the January 21st gig from us too! Be quick!

 

 

Dates for the Diary

 

21st January– GIG – The Pressure Point, Brighton (Supporting Levy, £4 advance tickets)

 

3rd February – GIG – The Joogleberry Playhouse, Brighton (Acoustic chill re-launch)

 

10th February – AUDITION – Nationwide talent competition, www.liveandunsigned.uk.com

 

14th February – GIG – ‘Les Valentine’s Day’, Hare & Hounds, Brighton (£3)

 

19th February – GIG – The Joogleberry Playhouse,

 

29th February – GIG – The Sanctuary Cafe, Brighton (£4)

 

9th April – Steve’s Birthday

 

19th April – John’s Birthday

Our Bid to be Christmas Number 1

All the talk this Christmas will be about whether another X-Factor winner can top the charts for the prestigious number one spot this year. However, Les Valentine are far more concerned about topping the charts this week in the online chart at www.beatthemix.co.uk.

 

Competition is hotting up as the contest moves towards its close in the New Year, and there are some brilliant prizes on offer for the act who is crowned as winners of this week’s chart. The Beat The Mix number one will not only win the usual weekly prizes of radio play and other coverage, this week’s winners will receive a hamper and an Electric Guitar!

 

So please remember this week to text ‘Mix 339’ to 83070 as many times as you can (think of it as a very small Christmas present to us) to help us in our bid not only to win in our own Christmas number 1 battle, but close the gap on the overall leaders of the competition! X-Factor shmex-factor!

 

In other news, we are also gearing up for promoting our very own events for the first time around Valentine’s Day (see what we’re doing there?). Preliminary plans involve organising two gigs. The first will be on 13th February on the University of Sussex campus somewhere, while the second will take place in town.

 

Seeing as it’s Valentine’s as well, we may well be operating traffic light party rules (singles wear green, couples wear red, and if you wear amber, well…..) so we will see you in February! You never know, you might just meet someone special…

 

Finally, this week also saw the conclusion of our Kent tour in Walmer at the Cambridge Arms. The people at the venue were great, giving us glowing reviews despite being quite quiet for a Friday night. There was a slight miscommunication in the build up to the gig as we were expecting to play our usual 45 minute set only to find out they were expecting two…..

 

Still we managed to pull it out of the bag, and have been invited back sometime in the future for a repeat performance! So we must have done well.

 

 

Beat The Mix Update – Text ‘Mix 339’ to 83070

 

Everything you need to know is above, so please text ‘Mix 339’ to 83070 to help us win! If you can, more than one vote would be fantastic – It’s nearly Christmas!

 

Every vote counts in weeks like this and every single one is much appreciated, especially this week and as the competition ticks towards its conclusion.

 

 

This Week’s Gigwatch

 

No gigs this week, in fact no more until our massive gig on January 21st supporting Levy at the Pressure Point!

 

Don’t forget to book your advance £4 tickets by e-mailing us! There’s a limited number!

 

 

Dates for the Diary

 

21st January– GIG – The Pressure Point, Brighton (Supporting Levy, £4 advance tickets)

 

3rd February – GIG – The Joogleberry Playhouse, Brighton (Acoustic chill re-launch)

 

10th February – AUDITION – Nationwide talent competition, www.liveandunsigned.uk.com

 

29th February – GIG – The Sanctuary Cafe, Brighton (£4)

 

9th April – Steve’s Birthday

 

19th April – John’s Birthday

 

 

Thanks all! Keep voting! Please!

Tour news and Recruitment – www.lesvalentine.com

It’s been another week of hard work for Les Valentine, planning and starting our Kent tour, practicing for a wedding gig on 1st December and trying to find a drummer.  As we announced earlier this week, at tour has now been planned for Kent during November and December with room still available for more gigs to possibly be added to the calendar.

We now have a fourth date to add to those in Bromley (last Sunday night, more about that below), Beckenham (2nd December) and Dartford (8th December). The 14th December will see us play in Walmer at The Cambridge Arms, and we’re really looking forward to the prospect of playing in a completely new area.  It’s also worth noting we’re still open to booking more gigs for the tour, possibly running into January if we get enough bookings, so if you know of any venues in Kent and think we would go down well then let us know and we’ll get in touch with them. We are also in the early stages of talking to a venue in Maidstone so fingers crossed!  

The first tour gig took place on Sunday and went really well. Not only did we bring a large group of people to watch us but it seems we made a good impression on the regulars and staff. A number of them have promised to turn up to our next gig in Beckenham, and we would definitely be high on the venue’s list for repeat bookings. All in all we’re really pleased, and thanks very very much to everyone who came down to support us.  

On a side note, our unofficial 2nd date on the tour (not mentioned above) sees us play cover songs at a friend’s wedding and we have been working

very hard on a number of soppy love songs for the big day. So following this week our repertoire will also include Disney songs, ‘A Million Love Songs’ by Take That and ‘Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now’ to name a few. Bet you can’t wait.  Finally this week, we have started searching for a drummer to join Les Valentine. So if you know someone who might be interested in joining us then get them to get in touch! Thanks!

 Beat The Mix Update – text ‘mix 339′ to 83070  

Another solid week of voting in the Beat The Mix chart has seen us closer than ever before to the overall top spot. We came third in the overall vote this week – incredibly, this is the first time since joining the competition that we haven’t been in the weekly top two – so thank you so so much for voting again.

It’s been three weeks since we last held that top spot that we had begun to make our own, so we want it back!  This week the prize is a great pair of Bongos, perfect for us given that we’re looking for a percussionist/drummer.

So please keep texting ‘Mix 339’ to 83070 if you can and keep an eye on www.beatthemix.co.uk to see how we’re doing!

  This Week’s Gigwatch

 Two gigs for us this week, one is wedding so I’m afraid you can’t come! (Unless you were invited of course…)  

The second is our second Kent date, next Sunday December 2nd at The Slug and Lettuce in Beckenham. It would be great to see as many familiar faces there as we saw in Bromley last time, so if you can make it it would be great! If you can bring friends, Romans and countrymen as well then we would love you forever (if we don’t already).   

See you in Beckenham!  

Dates for the diary (e-mail us or go to www.myspace.com/lesvalentinemusic for more info on gigs)

 2nd December – GIG – The Slug & Lettuce, Beckenham – 7pm

  8th December – GIG – The Odd Fellows, Dartford – 9pm  14th December – GIG – The Cambridge Arms, Walmer – 7pm

 3rd February – GIG – The Joogleberry Playhouse – Sunday acoustic chill launch  

10th February – AUDITION – Nationwide talent competition,

www.liveandunsigned.uk.com  

29th February – GIG – The Sanctuary Cafe, Hove – £4 entry

  9th April – Steve’s Birthday

 19th April – John’s Birthday

 And remember – SPREAD THE WORD!

 If you like our music, tell people about it. Copy our CDs for friends who you think would be interested, bring people to gigs. The hardest part really is getting heard, so if you can help in any way, please do. As always, your support is very much appreciated.

 Thank you,

 Les Valentine

New Gigs and Opportunities

The last few days have seen a number of unexpected gig requests for Les Valentine come out of the blue, and some of them really indicate how our reputation is starting to spread around Brighton. That and our impressive number of votes in this week’s Beat The Mix chart have made for a satisfying time of late, even if we didn’t manage to win the guitar!

 

To everyone who voted for us at www.beatthemix.co.uk this week, we owe you a massive thank you and we’re very grateful and surprised at the sheer volume of votes we received from everyone. We smashed our own personal votes per week record by over 100% thanks to your help, but it seems everyone really wanted this week’s prize guitar and we came second! Still, it’s great to know what great support we had and thank you again for your votes.

 

It seems word has been spreading on our successes lately following our radio, internet TV and magazine exposure, and we are genuinely building a reputation for giving good live performances around Brighton. This has led to a few messages in our e-mail inbox asking whether we can come along and play in new venues for new audiences, all of which will be a great help in spreading our name further than ever.

 

The first of these e-mails was from a member of the audience from our recent gig at the Pitcher & Piano, who is putting on a charity show in January and asked us to come along and take part. The night will be raising money for a charity called ‘Water Aid’ and we will keep you updated on times and dates when they are made available. So far on the calendar this will be our next gig in Brighton, so plenty of time to get yourselves ready if you’re a Brightonian.

 

Also this week we played a gig at the Pav Tav, and went down very well with a great crowd mostly made of Sussex University sports people in fancy dress! Again, it must have been a good show as the next day we received a message from the promoter offering us a slot for the re-launch of his Sunday Acoustic Chill evenings, moving to the Joogleberry Playhouse from February.

 

To be asked to be a part of something such as this is great news for us, and we’re really looking forward to promoting the evening in early February.

 

Beat The Mix Update – text ‘mix 339′ to 83070

 

As mentioned above this week has seen us come second in the weekly chart at www.beatthemix.co.uk despite getting more votes than ever before. The guitar prize was obviously a great incentive as the vote numbers shot up across the competition, and this week’s prize is a Marshall Amplifier. Thank you very very much for all your votes last week, they were very much appreciated and overall saw us narrow the gap between us and the leaders of the overall competition.

 

As usual, any texts of ‘Mix 339′ to 83070 would be much appreciated, and we’ll let you know where your votes take us next week.

 

This Week’s Gigwatch

 

Our gig this week is one of the London gigs which has come as a direct result of our Beat The Mix chart success. Details on this gig are yet to be clarified, but we will let you know when we do!

 

In the meantime, you can still see us perform on our Beat The Mix Live programme with ITV local by going to http://www.itvlocal.com/meridian/locallife/?player=MER_LocalLife_26&void=117910 and viewing our ‘Beat The Mix November’ show.

Dates for the diary (e-mail us or go to www.myspace.com/lesvalentinemusic for more info on gigs)

 

25th November – GIG – London Venue TBC

 

2nd December – GIG – London Venue TBC

 

8th December – GIG – The Odd Fellows, Dartford – 9pm

 

3rd February – GIG – The Joogleberry Playhouse – Sunday acoustic chill launch

 

29th February – GIG – The Sanctuary Cafe, Hove – £4 entry

 

10th February – AUDITION – Nationwide talent competition, www.liveandunsigned.uk.com

 

9th April – Steve’s Birthday

 

19th April – John’s Birthday

 

And remember – SPREAD THE WORD!

 

If you like our music, tell people about it. Copy our CDs for friends who you think would be interested, bring people to gigs. The hardest part really is getting heard, so if you can help in any way, please do. As always, your support is very much appreciated.

 

Thank you,

 

Les Valentine

Two Radio shows and a comedy club – www.lesvalentine.com

Go to www.lesvalentine.com or write to lesvalentine@hotmail.co.uk to join the mailing list and receive this update straight to your inbox!

As reported last week, this past seven days have been exciting ones for Les Valentine, beginning in surreal fashion with a gig last Sunday at the Pitcher & Piano. Usually quiet on a Sunday night, the bar that night was full and everyone was drunk! It was a good fun gig to play, with plenty of people dancing along.

The real action of the week started on Thursday however, as we returned to Brighton’s Juice 107.2 FM for the second time to play live on air and talk about our upcoming gigs at Komedia and The Joogleberry Playhouse (more information on these below). We also talked bout our return to the top of the www.beatthemix.co.uk chart and the recent launch of our own website at www.lesvalentine.com.

As before, the interview went very well and Ace was an excellent host, the recording will be up on the Website shortly!

It will be joined on our Music page by a recording of our Radio Reverb interview from their ‘Latest Soup’ programme the following day. Linked with Brighton’s popular publication ‘Latest 7’, the show is hosted by Jeff Hemmings who we are also speaking to about hosting a regular Les Valentine column as part of Latest 7’s online expansion! This would be excellent for us, a great chance to receive some much needed exposure on a higher level. So watch this space!

Finally, we came to our first gig at Komedia. With an audience which included both our Mums and John’s Dad as well we knew it would be a big show, and that was before taking into account the reputation of the venue. All in all we gave a good account of ourselves (in spite of Steve’s mysteriously detuning guitar) and brought the vast majority of the audience, making it an excellent lead up to our massive Joogleberry Playhouse show this coming Wednesday.

More details below, but for members of our mailing list there is a special prize (clue: alcohol) for those who can make it down!

Beat The Mix Update – text ‘mix 339’ to 83070

Our stay at 2nd place in the Beat The Mix chart was very short thanks to your support, and we returned to 1st place in the weekly chart this week by a massive margin. So massive in fact that we are now closing in on 2^nd place in the overall competition, our next major milestone.

Please keep texting ‘Mix 339’ to 83070 to help us take second place and begin on the home straight in the competition. With only around 8 weeks left the end is coming ever closer, and we would absolutely love to come out on top! But we can only do it with your help. Thank you!

This Week’s Gigwatch

Arguably our biggest gig yet (definitely the close to our biggest week ever) our show at the Joogleberry Playhouse includes Les Valentine and two other brilliant acts. And that’s not even mentioning the venue which is known in Brighton as one of the best for live music! (www.joogleberry.com)

THE BOBBY McGEE’S….

….are fresh off their tour, continuing to build their huge following with their hilarious lyrics and quirky approach to performance. For them this gig is one of several leading up to playing for the BBC soon. http://www.myspace.com/thebobbymcgees.

PLANS AND APOLOGIES….

….have been described by Radio 1′s Huw Stephen’s as “One of the best [unsigned] indie bands in the world” and have also featured on Zane Lowe’s show as well! Go to www.plandandapologies.com.

Both of these bands are held in extremely high regard for the high standard of their live shows as you can see, and you can catch them both on the way up with support from ourselves for just £5!

A fiver is a bargain for this kind of show, and just as an added incentive if you join the Les Valentine mailing list beforehand by writing to band@lesvalentine.com then come and speak to us at the show we will enter you into a draw for a fantastic MYSTERY PRIZE! (Whooooooooooooooooooooooo!)

Clue: The prize will involve alcohol and be definitely worth considerably more than the entrance fee….

See you there! And bring everyone you know! It’s going to be a great night!

Dates for the diary (e-mail us or go to www.myspace.com/lesvalentinemusic for more info on gigs)

7th November – GIG – The Joogleberry Playhouse – £6 entry

11th November – GIG – East Slope, University of Sussex

14th November – GIG – The Pavilion Tavern/Pav Tav, Brighton

29^th February – GIG – The Sanctuary Cafe, Hove – £4 entry

10th February – AUDITION – Nationwide talent competition, www.liveandunsigned.uk.com

9th April – Steve’s Birthday

19th April – John’s Birthday

And remember – SPREAD THE WORD!

If you like our music, tell people about it. Copy our CDs for friends who you think would be interested, bring people to gigs. The hardest part really is getting heard, so if you can help in any way, please do. As always, your support is very much appreciated.

Thank you,

Les Valentine