Adam Thomas News

One Snowy Friday in February...

2012-02-11T12:33:22Z

Last night's wedding took place at the Macdonald Ansty Hall in Coventry - a beautiful venue that we perform at a lot and really, really love. With a sprinkling of snow and lots of lovely guests, Lori and James had their perfect wintery wedding :)

Their Personalised Photo Frame

The evening reception took place in the Orangery and the happy couple were so excited about the live shows... a chance to finally let their hair down! Lori had initially wanted to surprise James by booking Adam Thomas and the Souljers but, eventually, she gave in and told him anyway!

Lori's beautiful bridal bouquetThe scene was set for a fantastic evening and, a little after 8pm, their guests gathered around the edge of the dancefloor for the final formality of the day: the first dance!

A first dance to Sigur Ros

They had an enchanting and very unique first dance choice (Sigur Ros - Hoppipolla) which really created a lovely mood for the beginning of the first live set as well.

Adam kicks off the first set of live entertainment

Act 1 saw their guests singing along to That's Amore, dancing to Save The Last Dance and high-kicking to New York, New York... in fact, even the bride joined the kick line!

After tucking in to the buffet, guests were treated to a second live set by Adam Thomas and the Souljers: particular favourites seemed to be Brown Eyed Girl, This Love and floor-filler Kissed A Girl.

During the first live set, Adam had gained a special little fan...

Adam and his side kick!... and , whilst we rocked the Orangery with the second set, he became a mini Souljer! This little dude copied every move we did and even got to wear Adam's glasses and Tom's hat!

Adam and Mini Me!

After a bit of 90's dance music and a chance for the male guests to show off their dance skills, the groom finally got his Madness fix and a jump around!

I'm guessing that Lori, James and their entourage are just as shattered as we are this morning... the only difference is that the lucky couple are jetting off to Paris as we speak! It's alright for some! :)

Pop over to our Facebook Fan page for more pictures of their big day too (and don't forget to press 'like' whilst you're there!)

Finally, we want to wish you both all of the luck in the world: have a great honeymoon and a great future together :) x x x

Pride Park Wedding Show

2011-10-13T07:00:32Z

Sue White from White Media has always been a big fan of Adam's and has always been extremely lovely and supportive. When she got wind of Adam's new soul show (Adam Thomas and The Souljers) she was on the phone within minutes to arrange a live performance on the catwalk at her Pride Park Wedding Show!

It was a debut for us in terms of catwalk shows (as Adam usually sings solo for these) and we were a little apprehensive about 'Geeking it up' on a Sunday afternoon at a wedding fayre! In for a penny, in for a pound as they say: we donned our golf socks, braces and geek glasses and gave it full throttle!

We couldn't have asked for a better reception from the audience: they loved it!!! We had people asking for flyers from the sound man before we'd even finished our first song!

So thank you to Sue for having us and to the people of Derby for being so lovely... We felt so welcome as we bopped away on that catwalk - it was so much fun :)

Bespoke Weddings, Shottle Hall and Free Weddings!!

2011-10-12T17:00:32Z

Adam is one of very few wedding entertainers that take the majority of their bookings directly, only allowing a handful of selected parties to even offer him on their roster (we're fussy about who we work with you see!) When Rebecca at Bespoke Weddings (a wedding planning company based in Derby) asked if we would mind her recommending Adam to her brides, this was an entirely different prospect!

As a wedding planner that looks after lots of brides each year, Rebecca wanted to offer Adam's shows to each and every one of them... So how could we refuse?!

Win A Wedding? No Really!

To kick start the relationship, Bespoke Weddings ran a competition for one lucky bride and groom to win their wedding for free - yes for free! - including Adam's solo show! Wowzers!! (The wedding will take place in August 2012 so watch this space for news and photos!)

As Rebecca works closely with the management team at the very beautiful Shottle Hall in Derbyshire, we are really excited about the quality and quantity of weddings that we'll be performing for... It's always nice to be booked by recommendation and we really can't wait to get started now :)

Here is a great review on Shottle Hall by Kelly at Boho Weddings along with some wonderful shots of the lovely Shottle Hall in full bloom!

The Donisthorpes in Bosworth Hall's lovely marquee

2011-10-12T07:00:43Z

We love it when it all comes together!

We love a marquee, we love Bosworth Hall and we love a loved up bride and groom... On August 28th we got all 3!

Nicola and Craig are the kind of couple that are so tuned in to one another that you can tell they even know what the other is thinking... So suited!

Party Time!

They had eaten their wedding breakfast within the main building of Bosworth Hall and then made their way over to the marquee for the evening reception. The marquee looked stunning and even had a special sweetie stand on the way in :)

Mr Thomas to the stage please... along with everyone else it seems!! :)

They had booked Adam's solo swing and jazz set to begin with and so the evening kicked off with a bit of Michael Buble and Rat Pack plus a first dance to Footprints in the Sand by Leona Lewis...How wonderful!

For the second set, rather than Adam's usual solo Act 2, he was joined by his Souljers to really get the night going... And what a night it was!

Adam and his Souljers were dressed in sharp suits and their usual (trademark) geek glasses: this drew a few queer glances as they first took to the stage but as soon as they kicked off with 'Same Old Song' it became clear that the whole place was up for a party!

The dance floor was overflowing ALL night long and the show covered everything from soul to pop, reggae to 80's (gaining quite a few geeky groupies along the way too!) I didn't see Nicola or Craig leave the floor at any point and they knew the words to every single song that was sung or played: "Two Can Play That Game" to "We Don't Have To Take Our Clothes Off"... they sang them all!

By the end of the show Adam and the Souljers were dripping wet (as were most of the guests) but they managed to keep the adrenaline going with a 90's filled disco as requested by the lovely bride and groom :)

We had so much fun performing for them and, according to their lovely 'thank you' email, they had just as much fun! They set off on the 1st of 2 honeymoons shortly after the wedding (greedy!) but we've already seen a sneaky peek at their fantastic wedding photos (courtesy of the talented Matt Glover) and we think the pictures above capture everything about the couple, the show and the day... Perfect! x x x

Christmas Comes Early at Sketchley Grange!

2011-10-11T16:17:23Z

When the staff at Sketchley Grange in Leicestershire got in touch to book Adam (as the Sketchley Grange recommended entertainment supplier) for a Christmas party I turned straight to December in his diary. Oh no, this particular Christmas party wasn't in December... It was going to be mid-September!

The lovely girls in the conference and banqueting team there had decided to throw a Christmas-themed evening so that they could invite local businesses and clients to see just what the hotel has to offer throughout the festive season! Clever eh?!

I happily accepted and booked Adam Thomas and the Souljers in for them... Lovely.

When we arrived on the day we were astounded to see that they really had gone the whole hog for this: full decor; an illuminated reindeer and sleigh; Christmas trees by the dozen; a 4 course turkey dinner plus a Christmas quiz and Christmas songs playing throughout! It felt as though we had been blasted into the future... So much so that at the end of the night I fully expected to see snow outside - I had forgotten that it was only autumn!

Christmas = fun = The Souljers!

Geek Chic is a treat!

We put on the full corporate geek show for them: golf socks, glasses, braces... The works :) The show went down a storm with a full dancefloor and guests singing along and jigging about - you would never have believed it was a Thursday night! A bit of Motown, Paolo Nutini, Bobby Brown, Blues Bros... They were mad for it!!

We had a really great time performing for them and, judging by the feedack, the guests loved it as much as we did! I'm sure the night will bring them lots of bookings (as will the new wing of the hotel which looks absolutely amazing!!) Thanks for having us guys... Oh, and Merry Christmas! :) x x x

P.s. The Snow Ball...

As great as Sketchley is for Christmas Parties (and they are!), the Premier Show in Leicestershire for Christmas 2011 is a full scale, glitz and glam affair called The Snow Ball at The Marriott, Leicester. More information can be found at www.LeicesterSnowBall.co.uk or take a peek at the showreel below!

The Snow Ball, Leicester's Premier Christmas Party from Adam Thomas on Vimeo.

Sarah and Tom enjoy the ride!

Bringing Back The Motown Sound to Leicester at Maiyango

2011-09-08T08:00:31Z

Since May, on the last Thursday of every month, we have been creating a new musical scene at one of Leicester's best restaurants, Maiyango and, in all honesty, we have been completely blown away by the support that we've received over the past few months.

The concept of Adam Thomas and The Souljers was originally conceived at the turn of this year (when we had the publicity shots below taken by Gary @ SMD Photography) but it has taken us a while to get up and running as we weren't sure what kind of show we were looking to create - purely soul and Motown? With some Reggae? Pop? Country? (Joking on the country!!)

In the end we decided that the energy of the show would carry any style of music through to the audience and, as luck would have it, it has turned out this way!

Barbie Girl to Need A Dollar, Two Can Play That Game to Seven Nation Army: our set list is an eclectic mix for sure, with many songs that the audience recognize... but they're not like the originals as we tend to give things a real soul feel! We always try to put together songs that are either fun, cool, energetic, cheeky, old school or just downright funky.

We didn't want to become just another Leicester Soul Band or Motown Show but something truly different. So, we put together a fully choreographed show, along the same lines as The Temptations, mashed together with a wonderful bit of geek chic (#geeksarecool) and so far the demand has been phenomenal! :)

So, if you haven't been along to see the best Soul Band in Leicester at one of Leicester's best kept secrets then you're missing out on the best cocktails, food and entertainment by the biggest geeks in town!! :)

Last Thursday of every month at Maiyango, Adam Thomas and The Souljers - Bringing Back The Motown Sound!

This is a review of our show from our friend Gary's blog at SMD Photography (obviously he's a little biased but hey!)

We really, really, really had a great time at Restaurant Maiyango last night. Adam Thomas has created a three piece group who put on a fantastic show singing and dancing to modern classics… with a twist. It’s a really clever and entertaining show with great singning and dancing. I’m not going to say why it’s so clever… you’ll just have to go yourself and find out.

You can catch the show at Restaurant Maiyango every last Thursday of the month. The next one being on the 29th September. You can book a table for a meal or just turn up later for the drinks and the show.

It was thirsty work watching all of the dancing going on so it was an added bonus that I found my new best mate… sorry my new favourite bottle of beer. It was called Viru, it comes in a funky bottle and it goes down a little too well. It took me about six or seven bottles to realise this.

Gary @ SMD Photography

Mr and Mrs Higham's Wedding Entertainment at Ramada Jarvis

2011-08-31T15:57:57Z

The day had finally arrived... Sian and Stephen were getting married after years of planning and organising!

There was a real buzz about the Ramada Jarvis in Leicester as preparations got underway for Sian and Stephen's wedding bash: the grand staircase was decorated with white swag, fairy lights and pale blue bows, Adam's star cloth was twinkling away and their evening guests began to make their way into the King's ballroom for the party.

Special Guest!

The lovely couple have been Adam Thomas groupies for quite some time (even attending our Snow Ball Christmas event with their family). They had thought of every little detail and the room looked really beautiful... As did their brand new baby girl, Emma :) she wasn't on the original guest list (!) but was a wonderful early wedding present for the happy couple!

Romance From The Balcony...

The most unique part of this wedding was the first dance. As usual, Adam gathered their guests around the edge of the dance floor and introduced the new Mr and Mrs Higham onto the floor. It's usually quite a surprise for wedding guests when Adam performs the first dance live however, in this case, the surprise was even more breathtaking: Adam snook up the stairs to the small balcony which overlooks the ballroom and, from there, performed Adele's "Make You Feel My Love" from above the dance floor! It was awesome... I had to video it as a little keepsake of the day!

Make You Feel My Love by Adam Thomas

The guests were treated to the usual live sets from Adam followed by a predominately 80's/Girly disco (at the bride's request.) There was still plenty for the boys and a nice Take That-style round up to the party with EVERYONE on the dance floor... What a night!!

I'm sure we'll see plenty of the happy couple in the future and, who knows, maybe Adam will be the old crooner that gets booked for Emma's wedding :0) x x x

Ricky Dicky Cards, Bespoke Stationery

2011-08-12T11:40:53Z

Bet you did a double take on the title of this blog didn't you?! Well I promise it isn't made up, this is the quirky name of a fabulous stationery company based in Leicester. We first met the owner Rikesh at a Wedding Fair at The City Rooms and quickly became great friends. His work really stood out and made a great impression on Adam and I (and the guests seemed to love it too!)

I mentioned Rikesh's company in my last post about the Leicester Wedding Club and warned you that I had to talk about him a little bit more. We've fallen in love with Rikesh's charming personalilty and his modesty about his work. He is clearly incredibly talented and is doing very well with his newly formed business. Whilst he specialises in Asian wedding stationery, he also creates for non-Asian weddings, birthdays and pretty much any event that you could think of! We love his modern approach whilst keeping some elements of tradition in his designs. I've added a few of my favourites to this post but please do visit his website, or follow him on twitter.

We also love him for creating these fabulous chocolate wrappers for our nephew's Baptism... imagine how cool it would be to hand out personalised chocolate bars to your wedding guests: pretty, classy and yummy all at once! Just make sure they save you one :)

The Baptism / 2nd Birthday Chocs!

So, to Ricky: thanks again for the beautiful chocolates... everyone commented on how personal, special and delicious they were! And to you brides: get designing those choccies... your guests will enjoy them on the day (Mmmmmm!) and they'll be sure to keep the wrapper as a souvenir of your day too! x x x

Mr and Mrs Chawner, Bradgate Suite at Sketchley Grange

2011-07-31T16:20:56Z

Jodie and Matthew had booked Adam to perform at their wedding very early on in their planning and I had met and chatted to them at several of the Sketchley Grange wedding fayres after that too. Their wedding had always seemed so far into the future that, when their Big Day finally arrived, I couldn't believe that it had finally come around!

Lots of couples take at least a year (sometimes two) to plan their wedding and, when we arrived to set up for their evening entertainment, we suddenly realised just how much planning this lovely couple had needed to put in!

The Bradgate Suite at Sketchley Grange had been fully decked out in white and hot pink with huge ostrich feather table centres, table runners, balloons, chair covers, fairy lighting... The works! To complete the 'fairytale princess' look, their cake was a sparkly Princess castle!

Their evening guests were treated to casino tables to kick the evening off, a delicious buffet, a chocolate fountain and a fully stocked candy table too! In between munching on all of this and having a flutter on the casino, guests were invited to leave video messages as well as sign the interactive guestbook... Never a dull moment!

'Fun-filled' would be the word that best describes the finishing touches that this lovely couple sprinkled over their big day... They then spoilt their guests with two live sets by Adam Thomas :)

A Very Different First Dance...

Their chosen first dance song was Earth Angel (The Penguins): this was the first time that we'd ever had this song requested so it was a really nice change to see this used for a first dance (the lyrics are surprisingly apt and the tempo is perfect) :)

Following on from this, their wedding entertainment really kicked off with Adam's live performances: a little bit of Michael Buble's Everything to get everyone singing and swaying along!

Everything by Adam Thomas

This was then followed by a full-on Pop, Soul and Indie second set for dancing: Soul Man to Valerie, Paolo Nutini to Mr Brightside! Act two also had one or two numbers from Adam's new soul show thrown in for good measure (Forget You (Cee Lo Green) still proving to be the evening's favourite!)

The atmosphere was electric and the bride and groom had a good boogie too. The dance floor was full all night long with the wedding party jigging away to everything from Take That to The Human League, Hot, Hot, Hot to Dirty Dancing! They even requested a springling of reggae, which is always something we like to accomodate - we love a bit of Bob Marley, Jimmy Cliff and Musical Youth!

(One of my personal favourites, however, have you ever seen dancing like this before!!)

A gorgeous day weather-wise was rounded off with a fantastic evening entertainment-wise. Here's to Jodie and Matthew: we'll miss you at the wedding fayres guys! Can't wait to see the photos though... Congratulations! :) x x x -- This is just for Jodie! :) ...

Debbie and Mark's Big Day at McDonald Ansty Hall

2011-07-26T16:00:18Z

I had met Debbie and Mark so many times at various wedding fayres that I had almost forgotten that they were one of our wedding couples - they felt more like old friends!

'Unconventional' would be the word that best describes the finishing touches that this dynamic duo sprinkled over their wedding day at the wonderful McDonald Ansty Hall... Mark even arrived for his nuptials by helicopter! Show off! :)

Amazed by Lonestar Performed Live by Adam Thomas

Amazed by Adam Thomas

As I've said before, every wedding is unique and, other than the helicopter, the other thing that stood out for me was their choice of second dance: following on from Adam's live performance of Amazed (Lonestar) the bride's colleagues (fellow school staff) were ordered to join the lovely Debbie in a rendition of... (drum roll please)... the Birdie Song! What a way to break the ice! (Watch the video below and join in!!)

Michael Buble, Hey Ya and Swinging!

When it came to the rest of their wedding entertainment, Adam's live performances kicked off with a little bit of Michael Buble and swing followed by a full-on Pop and Soul second set for dancing. Once again this was slightly adapted to include a few of the numbers that we've been performing in our brand new Soul show: Forget You (Cee Lo Green) and Hey Ya (Outkast)... Both were well received as always with lots of shimmying and shaking being done by all ;)

The atmosphere was fantastic (you would never have believed it was a Sunday night!) The dance floor was full all night long with the wedding party jigging away to everything from Take That (Debbie is a mahoosive Take That-ite!) to Amy Winehouse, Erasure to Scissor Sisters... There's nothing better than a couple with an eclectic taste!

A beautiful day weather-wise was rounded off with a barbeque plus a wonderful evening entertainment-wise. Here's to Debbie & Mark, all the very best guys... Congratulations! :) x x x