The Band
Introduction
In the heady days of 2007, a small group of musicians gathered in a dusty, wasp-filled storage shed to the south of Cambridge. It was to be a relatively drawn-out meeting which would ultimately involve quite a lot of tea. Agenda point 1: the naming of the band. After most of the tea had been consumed, one rather spunky trumpet player shouted out ‘Charlie & the Funk Factory’, and that was that.
This was not the first encounter for any of the participants. Four members had been actively playing together in function bands since 2000, many had met before through college and others had been regular participants at Cambridge jam sessions. Now, through the accretion of some of the best musical talent Cambridge has to offer, we are a polished, professional outfit who can bring an upbeat, modern groove to just about any function.
Charlie & the Funk Factory plays a diverse range of music from James Brown to Justin Timberlake, Basement Jaxx to Beyonce; if it's funky, we've got it covered! Having performed at a multitude of venues and events, including weddings, private parties, University balls, festivals and corporate functions, we have the experience to bring high quality musical entertainment to your party. We maintain a friendly and relaxed but professional attitude at all of our gigs.
Members
Nell Halford
Lead Vocals
In addition to being a singer, Nell has a 1st Class Honours BSc degree in Music Technology and writes and produces electronic music - Nell has a Mac-based studio running Cubase. She also helps to run a music venue in Cambridge and freelances as a recording engineer.
Ian Pharo
Sax, Vocals
Ian has been blowing sax in function bands for quite some time, playing with Art, Charlie and Steve since 2000. He has only just discovered that he has a voice, a revelation which has caused him a little distress and prompted random people to challenge him at Singstar. Very fond of funky house, but unable to name any tunes of the genre, Ian is usually happy to go with the flow.
Nell Macleod
Trombone, Vocals
Nell has been playing the trombone for nearly 20 years, although she is now a classical singer first and foremost after studying music at Kings College London. She still studies singing with her teacher in London, and was in her first opera in 2009. After her degree she completed a PGCE at Cambridge University and is now Head of Music at a large secondary school near Cambridge. The job keeps her on her toes musically, and she still enjoys playing all kinds of music including a bit of funky trombone with the Funk Factory. She has enjoyed playing with the band since 2008 and will carry on playing that funky music for as long as they'll have her.
Paul Stubbs
Trumpet
Biog coming soon!
Steve Ford
Guitar
Music has always been Stephen's first great love. At the age of 5, Simon cowell singled out Stephen in his nativity play where he debuted as the singing shepard. Simon Cowell said that he was 250% sure that in Stephen he had found the greatest guitarist of all time. He now guest stars in the band that is Charlie & the Funk Factory.
Dan Ecclestone
Keys
At the age of eleven Dan was banned from further piano lessons for refusing to play his beginner repertoire without the addition of blue notes and quasi-bossa stylings. Determined, however, to oppose his parents regardless of principle, this proved the turning point and he promptly went to work on the canon of western art music. At Goldsmiths' College he indulged himself as a composer of deliberately atonal nonsense and then, via many years' work on orchestrations for West End Musicals, ended up playing jazz. He's a fan of the hohner clavinet, as used and abused by Stevie Wonder.
Charlie Burgoyne
Bass
Charlie has nearly 20 years experience of playing the bass guitar and together with Dan forms a tight rhythm section to his Funk Factory. He has performed with some amazing musicians and was signed to a major label whilst studying at Cardiff University. He likes his Fender Jazz Basses. ‘They're the dogs.’
Dan Halford
Drums
When Daniel is not drumming with the Funk Factory, he is a self-employed recording engineer and general doer of geeky sonic activities. You can often find him boring university students, one lecture room at a time, as he brings his unique approach to music technology to the masses. Although he likes a funky groove, his work life is usualy focused on recording contemporary classical music.