Tag Archives: Out of the Blue

Best of British 2012: 4. Got To Get You Into My Life

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The Best of British 2012 is our unofficial countdown of the top ten UK a cappella tracks of the past year. Over the next few weeks leading up to the Christmas period, we will be counting down, from ten to one, what we believe have been the best tracks on show this year, ranging from awesome arrangements, sensational solos, marvellous mash-ups, punny parodies and everything in between.

Eligible Tracks

In order to determine which tracks were to be considered for this accolade, we decided to restrict our selections to songs that fell under ONE or BOTH of the following categories:
a) A song that made its live debut in 2012
b) A song that was featured on a 2012 album
For example, although all of the tracks featured on The Accidentals‘ EP made their debuts at the 2011 Voice Festival, because the album was released in 2012, all of the tracks on the album were considered. Also, several tracks were considered that were not released on albums, for example songs by The Oxford Belles or The Sons of Pitches from their 2012 repertoire.

The Process

We made a list of all the eligible songs from all the eligible groups, and then picked the top three tracks from each group, where possible. We then narrowed this shortlist down to 25, before picking our 10 favourite tracks. Opinions were divided, scores were combined, and in the end there was only one winner. But who will it be?

The countdown continues here:

10. The Other Guys – St Andrews Girls
9. The Sons of Pitches – Club Medley 2
8. The Oxford Gargoyles – Fields of Gold
7. The Accidentals – Rolling in The Deep
6. The Oxford Gargoyles – Dancing in the Moonlight
5. The Oxford Belles – Jar of Hearts

4. Out of the Blue – Got To Get You Into My Life

Awards:
‘Highly Recommended Soloist’, Voice Festival UK 2012, Oxford Regional
‘Outstanding Performance’, Voice Festival UK 2012, Final

Smashing in at number 4 is the lively cover of the Beatles’ Got To Get You Into My Life, as performed by Oxford’s finest, Out of the Blue. The track was one of the first track the 2011/2012 generation of the group learnt, with its debut coming at the groups’ annual debut performance at G&Ds Cafe, about 3 weeks after the new group formed, along with other album tracks, With or Without You and Stop. The song made its way into the groups’ Voice Festival set that year, being used as a powerful opener before Lippy Kids and Domino.

The song’s origins came about very much by chance, according to the group’s MD, Nick Barstow: “The arrangement came when Laurie [Cottam, the soloist on the song] and I were in the car on our way to the airport one day – Laurie only has Beatles albums and Brahms string quartets in his car, and we’d gone for Beatles. Got To Get You Into My Life came on, and I didn’t know it well, but Laurie really liked it. I did too but I thought it was missing something.” That ‘something missing’ was resolved when Laurie revealed the Earth, Wind and Fire cover of the same song. “At 7 minutes long, it was a little self-indulgent, but the arrangement is insane. I cut it down, mixed the best of the original and the cover together, and we had the basis for the arrangement.” Barstow’s addition of Isn’t She Lovely? was prompted by the desire for a strong baritone solo. “The solid baritone solo matched the epic tenor solo really well, partly because of the similar pentatonic motif.”

From the perspective of the group, the song has had its highs and lows throughout the year. “It’s definitely one of my favourites,” said Barstow, before continuing: “But we fell out of favour with it a bit halfway through the year; sometimes you go off a song when you sing it too much.” The group decided to use it more sparingly at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, which gave it a much needed rest, before breathing new life into it during their tour of Japan. “We sang at a special Beatles and Jazz circuit in Tokyo in September which was incredible and kicked it back into life. At that point, we all began to remember why it was so great in the first place.”

Barstow believes the song has become such a hit due to the variation contained within the arrangement. “There are some really chromatic passages and you’re constantly changing the vocal sound between scat vocal, instrumental style a cappella and real voice singing. Also, there’s nowhere to breathe.” Despite some snags the song hit during the year, because it was such an early part of their set, Barstow claims it maintained some of that initial, start of year hype. As or the album track, Barstow gives credit to Bill Hare, who is “fantastic in general but also a big fan of the Beatles so really got into it.”

Nick’s favourite song of the year remains their cover of Elbow’s Lippy Kids, because of the sentimental value it held for him. “Without being overly sentimental, it summed up my year with the group, and it is pure and poetic.” He is unsure whether Got To Get You will make a return to the group’s set in the near future. “There are some songs that you associate so much with one particular year and group of people that it wouldn’t be right without them.” However, he does concede that it might “come back in a year or two.”

You can buy Out of the Blue’s album, Music Up!, which contains the track, on iTunes.

Album Review: Music Up!

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Music Up! is Out of the Blue’s eleventh studio album, and was mixed and mastered by the likes of Bill Hare and Dave Sperandio.

Music Up! is Out of the Blue’s eleventh studio album and the group’s self-proclaimed ‘largest scale record ever attempted’, with production taking place in four different time zones. Of all the albums I purchased at the Edinburgh Festival in August (and believe me, there were a lot of them), this is by far the one I listen to the most, and great credit must be given to the boys, especially Musical Director Nick Barstow, for producing yet another album that is filled with fun, character and musical precision which is again ridiculously easy to listen to.

I have expressed my appreciation of Laurie Cottam’s skyscraping tenor previously, and so to hear him taking the lead on the opening song, The Beatles’ Got To Get You Into My Life, which remains my favourite on the entire album, made me very happy. This is one of those numbers which you can turn up loud in your car and sing along to shamelessly, not giving a damn about the odd glares that passers-by give you along the way. The arrangement itself is busy and energetic, but while the merge into Stevie Wonder’s Isn’t She Lovely works well as a refreshing change up, that particular section isn’t quite as musically interesting at the previous song. Still, it’s my most played song on my iTunes this month, so the boys must be doing something right.

There are many highlights on this album: the wall of sound that hits you on the opening of Fat Bottomed Girls; the goosebump-inducing With Or Without You, which is magnificently and purely sung in two octaves; the mash-up of the Spice Girls’ Stop and 5ive’s Keep On Movin’ which, for a 90s kid like me, is a welcome blast from the past; the lively VF-UK arrangement of Jessie J’s Domino, sung by Nick Barstow with real emotion and character; and the musically superb California Girls, which is mashed-up from start to finish in a real triumph of originality. Oh, and the beatboxing in the bridges of the latter is frankly astounding. In fact, I could quite easily make a positive comment about every single track on this album, such is the quality of arrangement and execution of every single number.

There were few negatives. I’m still not won over by their Lippy Kids arrangement – I’m not sure why. It’s minimalistc, but still requires precise timing for the majority of the backing parts, which comes off well, but the number just doesn’t make me feel anything. It doesn’t make me tap my foot, nor does it appeal to my emotions. It’s musically flawless but I can’t help but listen with disinterest when it comes on. Their arrangement of Skinny Love is good, but does seem a little fast and again leads to a slight loss of emotion that the original otherwise provides. However, the dual solo section and the build up towards the climax at the end is phenomenal.

These are very churlish, personal criticisms on what is otherwise a very, very impressive album. I think the real triumph of this album is how different and unique all the arrangements are. While the boys do have a distinct sound and image, they are still able to distinguish between soul, pop, rock and hip hop, and inject the relevant elements of each genre into their music. Equally impressive is that at times I find their arrangements to be better than the originals, which, for a student a cappella group, is extraordinary.

Buy this album. You won’t regret it.

Tours Galore as Out of the Blue and The Techtonics Jet Off

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Two groups are joining or have already joined All the King’s Men on the tour circuit this September, as The Techtonics from Imperial College London and Out of the Blue from the University of Oxford head off to opposite ends of the globe to further increase their fanbases.

Out of the Blue set off for their tour to Japan a couple of days ago, and arrived just about 24 hours ago. They will be performing across the country, having performed their first show in a Tokyo Girl’s High School earlier today. For full updates on their performances, keep an eye on their Twitter feed.

Meanwhile, The Techtonics are heading off to the United States, and according to the group’s Facebook page, they will be touring for 12 days in 2 cars, travelling 1500 miles through 5 states and 8 cities – quite the program of events! The boys will be updating their fans from their USA Blog.

Albums Galore On Sale in Edinburgh

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We here at the UK University A Cappella Blog are almost overcome with aca-excitement as studio album after studio album are falling into our possession up here in Edinburgh. No less than six brand new albums, some full length, some extended plays, have become available over the past two weeks.

The Oxford Alternotives have released their sixth studio album, entitled Take Your Mama, with ten sensational tracks on it. Meanwhile, Out of the Blue are on an incredible eleventh, Music Up!, which is packed full of energetic, powerful numbers that the boys do so well, many of which can be heard in their Edinburgh show. On a different note, All the King’s Men have released a five-track EP It’s Reigning Men, which was recorded live, and should bring a slightly different perspective to their music. The majority of the album consists of their recent Voice Festival UK winning set, but there are some amazing extras on there too.

All-female group from Oxford In The Pink have released their sixth studio album, She Who Dares, while fellow Oxford group The Oxford Gargoyles have released Up The Scale, which is a mixture of studio and live tracks, and is sure to be a thoroughly professional effort. And We’re Not Kitten is the latest of a string of fantastic feline puns for the new album of The Alleycats from the University of St Andrews, the first group from Scotland to release a full length album this year.

If you can’t make it to the Fringe Festival, these albums are sure to be available for purchase online in the next few weeks, but why miss the chance to see the groups live at the best arts festival in the world? Details of each of the shows can be found below.

Alleycats
All the King’s Men
Alternotives
Gargoyles
In The Pink
Out of the Blue

Fringe Diary 2012: Part 1 – The Oxford Alternotives and Out of the Blue

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The Edinburgh Fringe Festival is well on its way now, with almost a week gone since shows officially started on August 3rd. We here at the blog have seen shows left, right and centre, including lots of a cappella and university groups Out of the Blue and The Oxford Alternotives. Our thoughts are below:

The Oxford Alternotives
Rating: 7/10

I was looking forward to seeing what ‘alternative’ things the Oxford Alternotives had to offer, and not only was I impressed by their at times hilarious set list, I was also blown away by the close harmony slower numbers, especially Regina Spektor’s Samson, which was tackled superbly by Jessie Reeves and the even more impressive Natasha Heliotis, whose smooth and silky alto mesmerised on Bonnie Raitt’s Can’t Make You Love Me, which was the best number of the night.
The alternative antics began with a song about Business Socks, which was a hilarious parody of the differing expectations from each gender of sexual interactions. The group also included a ‘blind date’ element to the show, whereby they invited a male and female audience participant onto the stage to be blindfolded and serenaded. As one of those picked, it was a very interesting and telling experience to be sat within the blend of the group – they had a very strong, solid sound that was perhaps not quite as evident from a few rows back in the audience.
There were some weaknesses though – at times, especially when there was a male soloist, the very bottom notes of the chord were a little weaker and lead to the ‘wall of sound’ not quite having the same effect as it did in some of the stronger numbers. The beat boxing was also very average, which worked for some of the slower songs, but perhaps needed a bit more oomph in some of the bigger numbers.
All in all, though, The Alternotives provided a pleasant hour of musical bliss, and they certainly opened and closed the show with two memorable numbers, Jamiroquai’s Canned Heat and Spandau Ballet’s Gold, which were both VF-UK numbers and clearly two of the most well rehearsed songs. I particularly enjoyed the entire male section imitating drums during the latter, and rounded off the show on an extremely high note. Worth watching.

Out of the Blue
Rating: 8/10

When a student group sells out a 500-seater venue, you know you’re probably about to witness something pretty special. As the boys from Oxford entered the stage, the crowds whooped and cheered in anticipation of an incredible hour of a cappella from their favourite group of them all. They were right to be excited.
We were instantly hit with a wave of sound as the boys kicked off with the opening chords to Fat Bottomed Girls, which was the perfect start to the set from the boys – kudos to whomever came up with that. There were so many highlights to the rest of the set it was difficult to single out certain songs, but their cover of U2′s With or Without You really gave me goosebumps (and clearly the person sat in front of me, who whispered to her friend “I just got goosebumps”), while their Voice Festival songs Domino and Got To Get You Into My Life were performed professionally and with much pizzazz.
Their soloists did leave a little to be desired though. While the group have a real gem in Laurie Cottam, who took the lead several times, including in the aforementioned Got To Get You Into My Life, and has one of the best voices I have ever heard, the rest of the group are not quite up to the same standard, and so while the arrangements and backing are at times superb, some songs are let down by merely above average solos. I commend the group for allowing several members of the group to take short solos on Mambo No. 5, but it never really allowed any of the boys to really get their teeth into the solo, and combined with a couple of shaky high harmonies made it one of the weaker numbers. And while their mash-up of the Spice Girls’ Stop and 5ive’s Keep On Movin’ was impressively arranged, I’m not sure the low solo quite worked within the Spice Girls segment.
Expectations are always high of Out of the Blue, and for the most part they really live up to them here, and add to their charm with a real surprise in their hilarious sketch involving a human drum kit, which I was not expecting at all. It served as an effective comic interlude midway through the set and was a refreshing new twist from the group. I recommend going to see the boys if at all possible, as you will be blown away by their infectious energy, charismatic choreography and catchy covers, and you won’t be able to get them out of your head.

Out of the Blue and The Oxford Alternotives both have brand new albums on sale outside their shows. The Alternotives’ album can also be purchased on iTunes.

Exclusive Interview: The Sons of Pitches Rewriting the Rulebook

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Birmingham-based all-male group The Sons of Pitches have been making extraordinary strides in the past year, having firstly reached the final of the university competition of The Voice Festival UK and proceeding to have commendable YouTube success with their fan-prompted ’3-hour arrange-rehearse-record’ videos. I was lucky enough to get the chance to speak to Tom Mackley, one of the departing members of the group, to learn a little more about the boys and their infamous orange jumpsuits.

UACUK: Tell us a little bit about how a cappella in Birmingham as a whole. How did it get off the ground?

TM: It basically started from the core group Augmented Seven, and the founding member of that group was Mark Nathan. Previous to that there was no a cappella group in Birmingham to my knowledge. Mark was a fresher, and he basically went around some of his friends asking if they wanted to be part of an a cappella group, and managed to get Tom Johnson involved, who was an ex-member of Cadenza from Cambridge University. Obviously he was very interested and brought quite a lot of knowledge and experience with him. They did some arrangements and some gigs, and it gradually got bigger: they actually entered the Voice Festival UK in 2010, I think they went to Cambridge, but didn’t get any awards or anything like that. Then in the following year, Tom and Mark, and the rest of the group, decided they wanted to make it a little bit bigger. So they formed the University of Birmingham A Cappella Network (UBAN), at which point they formed The Sons of Pitches, The Birmingham Songbirds [now known as the Uptone Girls] and The Lorelites, who were originally all-female but have since become the mixed group Voice Versa, and along with Augmented Seven they formed the a cappella network within the university. Then through Tom Johnson’s efforts, we managed to get a round of the Voice Festival going in Birmingham, which obviously raised the profile a bit and ensured a Birmingham-based group made it to the final, which was Augmented Seven that year. And since then the groups have become more and more renowned across Birmingham and, to an extent, across the UK.

UACUK: What’s the current situation?

TM: Well, at the start of last year, Augmented Seven split. I think everyone just decided it wasn’t quite what they wanted to do – some of the male members wanted to be involved with the Sons of Pitches, others had taken committee positions within the network and therefore had less time to commit to rehearsals – it might also have been a case of not getting enough enjoyment out of it to commit to weekly rehearsals. But for whatever reasons, the group disbanded, and so we’re currently left with the three groups, all-male Sons, Uptone Girls and mixed Voice Versa, who are the three that competed in VF-UK this year alongside 95 Keys from Leeds.

UACUK: Tell us about the Sons then – maybe a potted history?

TM: The Sons were formed in late 2010. The group was originally intended to be a barbershop quartet of sorts, but in the first year ended up with six members and decided to take it in a slightly different direction. The group entered VF-UK in March 2011 and won the award for ‘Outstanding Arrangement’ for the first Club Medley. After that they did a few gigs but remained fairly quiet until the lead up to the Voice Festival this year.

UACUK: You then joined the group in September last year. What were your experiences of the group and of a cappella before that?

TM: My experience of a cappella was very limited. I was friends with a couple of the Augmented Seven members, so I’d been to a couple of their gigs; I’d seen a few videos; I knew of The Other Guys, because my brother was at St Andrews and had shown me the Royal Romance video; and I saw a few groups on the Royal Mile at the Fringe Festival last summer, but aside from that I had no real experience in a cappella.

UACUK: Why did you decide to join then?

TM: Well basically, my housemate Joe Vetch wanted to go and audition for them, and basically convinced me to go with him! The problem with universities with less established a cappella groups is that the influx of freshers who have actually heard of the groups is lower than that of St Andrews or Oxford, for example, who may well have seen The Other Guys on YouTube or Out of the Blue on Britain’s Got Talent, and so we were worried that the influx wouldn’t be that big. In the end we had quite a lot of people auditioning, but the problem is that the people who might in the first instance be attracted to a cappella are people already involved in, say, musical theatre or G&S, and won’t want to touch the a cappella scene because it’s not well established enough. But we’re getting there – we’ve taken it upon us as a group to get a cappella out there, to get it noticed, and it seems to be working.

UACUK: That’s what we like to hear. So let’s talk about your early experiences in the group – what did you guys get up to before VF-UK came about?

TM: The group developed quite a new sound because of the influx of new people such as myself. As such, it took time to develop an identity and blend. It didn’t help that for some of us, including myself, the group wasn’t our first priority. I was already involved in two musicals before joining the group and as such I was rarely available for rehearsal, and so it was difficult to give it the commitment it required or deserved, really. So we did a few gigs before Christmas, but only really had a repertoire of about three or four songs. After Christmas, VF-UK was always something to work towards, so commitment to rehearsals became a lot more important, and as we hit our stride, we began to enjoy things a lot more, and learn new arrangements a lot faster. Over the Christmas break, Joe Vetch and Mark Nathan had both arranged a song each, which would eventually form part of our VF-UK set, Settle Down and Club Medley 2, and we really started to click, not just as a group but also as friends. And under the pressurised circumstances that VF-UK brings, we pushed ourselves that little bit harder and tried to polish our set through busking and added rehearsal time. We tried to develop a wider fanbase by creating our Facebook page and starting to really go for the publicity angle – we posted a video of us busking on the streets of Birmingham and extended our network of fans on Facebook and, well, it paid off in the end.

UACUK: Indeed. Tell us more about the Voice Festival – what were your hopes and expectations?

TM: Well firstly, we loved every moment. With the Regional Round, we went in with a goal to win it. We knew we had the talent and the arrangements to win the round, and Ben did a kick-ass job with the choreography for Club Medley 2, really bringing it to life, and, as you know, we ended up winning the round, which we were so happy with. Of course the final was a completely different experience – up against the likes of Out of the Blue and The Other Guys who had been there and done it so many times – and so to be up against the best of collegiate a cappella, give or take, was a really big thing for us. We had about two weeks to tighten our set up, and so we sat down and really worked out what we wanted to do: whether we wanted to go and win it, or whether we wanted to be ourselves. We looked at Out of the Blue and All the King’s Men, and they’re both really good at what they do: the classic all-male a cappella stuff. We knew we were never going to beat them at their own game. We realised that our sound was very Top-40, hip-hop, dance sort of thing, and not boyband-y in the slightest. So we kept our own identity, with our flair and charisma on stage and, of course, our boiler suits. We kind of wanted to say: “We are what we are. We’re different.” And we’re happy with how it worked out – we ended up not just making up the numbers, but actually competing with the big boys.

UACUK: Tell us about your middle song in the final – you’ve come under criticism and received high praise for it. What was the thinking behind it?

TM: We went with the Pentatonix arrangement of Somebody That I Used To Know. While it was basically the same arrangement with a few personal touches, we simply felt that it was a better song for us as a group than our previous song, which was a Maroon 5-Bruno Mars mash-up. We were already original, we’d already played the originality card, and so we just felt the Pentatonix song showed us off musically better than the other one and gave us a better chance of winning. In my eyes, Pentatonix are the best group out there, so why not take a cue from the best?

UACUK: Fair enough. Tell us about the ‘Stagecraft’ Award.

TM: Haha! To be honest, whether or not it was made up on the spot, we’re just delighted to have received it, and there were actually people who came up to us afterwards saying that they’d never seen a cappella performed in such a way on stage before, something completely different, and we kind of set a bar for future performances – not necessarily a higher bar, but a parallel bar – so technically it was a deserved award. As I say, we were never going to beat the other groups at their own game, so we invented a new one!

UACUK: What did you think of the other groups in general?

TM: At the end of the day, the Voice Festival is about the voice, and for that reason, All the King’s Men totally deserved to win. I think despite there being four all-male groups in the final, I think they all have very different identities and it made for a very interesting and varied final. But we thoroughly enjoyed meeting everyone and networking, as well as seeing the groups broken down in the very male-dominated masterclass, and yeah, it was a great weekend and a great experience, with a deserved winner.

UACUK: You seem to have gone from strength to strength since the Voice Festival. Tell us more about what you’ve been up to.

TM: For many groups, the Voice Festival is the pinnacle of the year, but for us it kind of acted as a stepping stone to better things. We received and took up a lot of gig offers; we started busking a lot more often in Birmingham – we made enough money to pay off the boiler suits, which was good! – but it was only during the Easter period that one of the lads suggested doing a vote on the Facebook page, to allow the fans to pick songs to arrange and then record and stick up on YouTube. Basically, we all picked one song, and then the winning song we would arrange, rehearse and record in a three hour rehearsal. And I think it’s been a really good idea – obviously, the fans are the ones that are coming to the gigs, and if they then hear a song they voted for at those gigs, then they’re more likely to keep coming along.

UACUK: I watched a couple of the videos and thought to myself – how the hell did they do that in three hours?

TM: Well I think that was the stage at which we finally figured out our real strength – group arranging. Not just one person sitting at home with a keyboard and Sibelius and writing parts for voices that he doesn’t necessarily know that well, but rather all of us, unable to argue about song choice, all chipping in with our own little bits here and there. It’s really stressful, as you can imagine, because of the time limit, but totally worth it, because you have nine guys with completely different musical backgrounds with completely different tastes all contributing to an arrangement which becomes completely original and unique to the group. Once we had finished with the first one, which was Jessie J’s Who You Are, we put it on YouTube and the response we got was amazing. Everyone loved it, there were some great comments, and everyone wanted to know when our next arrangement was going to be. So we just kept going, did three more videos and kept getting some great feedback.

UACUK: Do you use these arrangements in live gigs now?

TM: Yes – and the best thing is that you come up with your own part, so whenever we come back to the next rehearsal and give the new arrangement a bash, it’s amazing how much of it you actually remember. And as each part is tailored specifically to your own voice, it’s never going to be in an uncomfortable area of your voice, which allows for a greater amount of blending within the song. Some of those video arrangements are now our favourite songs to do, simply because they’re so unique and original and so easy to sing. Also, during live gigs we’ve started asking the audience for four or five potential songs that we can sing completely unrehearsed – something which can seem very impressive, although we do have a few tricks to drop the beat into reggae or dubstep which we have developed over the past few months. We’ve definitely come into our own since the success of the Voice Festival and the YouTube videos – really found our niche.

UACUK: What’s your favourite moment been since joining the group?

TM: We did a gig organised by the University called Vale Fest which was just incredible. They basically got a load of university music groups as well as some bigger local bands together to perform at one big end-of-year festival. And we managed to get on the main stage at around 2-3pm in the afternoon. When we started the set, there was barely anyone there, and by the end of it there were about 600 people watching. It was amazing. Plus, the fact that the whole group were there for a gig, which is a rarity, made it for me, and meant we ended the year on a real high note. Although there wasn’t quite the national exposure as the Voice Festival provided, the atmosphere was just amazing and our reputation around the university has really been boosted because of it, and should hopefully stand any future incarnations of the group in good stead.

UACUK: So what does the future hold for the Sons of Pitches?

TM: It’s a sticky issue. Obviously the Sons of Pitches in some aspect has to carry on, if a cappella in Birmingham is to become as big as it is in Oxford and St Andrews. However, we do feel as a group that this current incarnation is really something quite special, so we’re reluctant to let it go. But that’s difficult, because five of us are graduating and going to opposite ends of the country. The group might reform a couple of times next year depending on whether we have the time and the gig offers. But we’ll see.

For more information about the Sons of Pitches, check out their Facebook Page

Fringe Focus: All the King’s Men

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In the lead up to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, every week we will be producing special focuses on our collegiate groups who will be performing at the world’s largest amateur arts festival in 2012. In the eighth and final edition, we’ll be looking at All the King’s Men, the Voice Festival UK 2012 champions and 3rd best group in the world, who are returning to the Fringe for the third time.

Fringe History

All the King’s Men and their punnily titled Fringe gigs first arrived in 2010, and in both previous years they have performed for a short period of time at the Spaces @ Surgeon’s Hall. Although their Fringe debut was a quiet one, their return in 2011 brought several successful reviews and a sell-out run, and they even gave viewers a special first-chance to see a documentary of their recent US Tour, which went down a treat.

Previous Praise

“I love you! Sign my bra!” – ThreeWeeks, 2011 (*****)
“Truly incredible.” – BroadwayBaby, 2011 (****)
“Thoroughly impressive.” – UACUK, 2011 (8 out of 10)

This Year

The boys have had an incredible year, and to top it off they are bringing not one, but two shows to the Fringe. They’re not here for long, mind, so catch them while you can. Their main show, It’s Reigning Men, is at the Spaces @ Symposium Hall from 13th-18th August – just six nights. In their second show, they will not only be performing, but also introducing fellow a cappella acts such of Out of the Blue, The Alleycats and fellow King’s College group, The King’s Chix in All the King’s Men Present…. These will be happening on two separate occasions – 13th and 14th of August, with different guest acts each night. We admire the work the boys are doing to further collaboration within a cappella, and you’d be mad to miss out on either of these performances.

What To Expect

With international experience, the boys have come on in leaps and bounds in the last three years, and will undoubtedly bring a five-star show to the Festival again this year. Their Voice Festival set this year, which I assume will feature in their set for the Festival, was utterly astounding, and if the rest of their music is at that high a level, any audience will be in for an evening of sensational a cappella. As their press release reads: “One thing is guaranteed: the audience will leave smiling and utterly entertained.” Agreed.

Further Details

Fringe Listing (AtKM Present…)
Fringe Listing (It’s Reigning Men)
Website
Facebook Page

Fringe Focus: Out of the Blue

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In the lead up to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, every week we will be producing special focuses on our collegiate groups who will be performing at the world’s largest amateur arts festival in 2012. In the first of seven editions, we’re looking at two-time ICCA runners-up, Out of the Blue.

Fringe History

The boys from Oxford have been performing at the Edinburgh Fringe since all the way back in 2003, their very first year performing in C Venues’ C (-1) venue, with their first performance to merely 9 audience members! How times have changed since! Between 2006 and 2009, they achieved Fringe Sell-Out Awards and therefore opted in 2010 to move to C Venues’ then largest theatre, C Plaza, located on George Square, where they became the biggest selling show in C Venues that year – another Sell-Out run. Last year, they opted to work with Pleasance and achieved yet another Sell-Out run, their fifth in a row. Clearly the boys have gained a significant following in their nine years of participation at the Festival.

Previous Praise

“An emotional performance” – Broadway Baby, 2006 (*****)
“Infectiously charming…reached levels of emotion Sting could only dream about” – Broadway Baby, 2007 (*****)
“Exquisite harmonies” – ThreeWeeks, 2011 (*****)

This Year…

The boys are moving to Assembly @ George Square this year, a 500-seater venue, which is another big step up in terms of audience, but one the boys are very confident of handling. “We’re sure it will be a positive experience for us, our audiences, and the student presence at the Fringe in general,” says co-producer of their Edinburgh show, Dominic Stockbridge. He adds: “A lot of student acts are rising to prominence and we really hope to be part of that. It’s so great to see student stuff get taken seriously, especially as, when you think about it, students in acts now are probably going to evolve into professionals in acts in only a few years’ time.”

What to Expect?

Out of the Blue are one of those consistently good groups that never fail to put on a good show. When I first saw them in 2010, they completely blew me away with their wall of sound and their fantastic harmonies. The very fact they have been allocated to one of the largest venues at the Festival is testament to the reputation they carry throughout the UK, and I guarantee you will not be disappointed if you found yourself attending their show. They are a sure fire bet to make your day, whether through their infectious energy, immaculate blend or merely the thought of several Oxford students prancing about on stage. I’ll be going to see them at least twice. I’d advise you all to do the same.

Further Details

Fringe Guide Listing
Facebook Page
Official Website

Ed Fringe Guide: The Hills of Edinburgh to Come Alive With the Sound of A Cappella Music

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by John Lau

With the Summer months around the corner, the last day in May saw the publication of the programme for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2012, and with it the confirmation that the crème de la crème of UK College-based a cappella music and countless other contemporary a cappella groups from inside & outside the UK’s Universities would be decamping from all parts headed towards the capital of Scotland, to fill the High Street and the seven hills around Edinburgh with the sound of music for the enjoyment by the population of the city, which is said to treble in the month of August. We do hope that the comprehensive gig listing in this article will help you to plan your a cappella fix throughout the month of August.

Before the groups and their show information are listed below, you maybe interested to know that most of the groups are very kind to offer previews of their shows on a selection of stages (4 or 5 of them) throughout the High Street on the Royal Mile, for approximately 20 minutes, at various times every day in August. The schedules change on a daily basis and they are managed by the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, but each stage has a timetable next to it. So, there’s really no excuse for you not to plan your entertainment. Talking of which:

The best collegiate a cappella group in the UK (and let us not forget the third-best group in the world), All the King’s Men have not one but TWO shows in the Fringe programme. Their own show, It’s Reigning Men, will provide the first opportunity for the public to be mesmerised by the King’s College students, however they do only have 6 shows as listed below, so I guess it’s a case of catch them while you can:

Dates: Monday 13 – Saturday 18 August
Times: 15:10 – 15:55
Venue: theSpace@Symposium Hall, The Royal College of Surgeons, Hill Square, EH8 9DR
Prices: Adults £8/9, Concessions £6/7

In their later show All The King’s Men Present…, the boys promise a late-evening of stunning singing with the very best of the collegiate a cappella scene, including distinguished guests such as Out of the Blue, The Accidentals and The Oxford Gargoyles and more. Again it’s a case of catch them while you can for there are only 2 of these shows:

Dates: Monday 13 & Tuesday 14 August
Times: 23:05 – 00:00
Venue: theSpace@Symposium Hall, The Royal College of Surgeons, Hill Square, EH8 9DR
Prices: £6

Further details about their shows can be found here.

From the University of St Andrews, the pioneers of a cappella music at the Singing University, those ever-popular Alleycats, who are bidding goodbye to 7 of their 2011/12 litter, will bring their show to the masses once again in Edinburgh this August, and I know I am looking forward to this as they shall have shiny copies of their brand new album from earlier this year.

Dates: Sunday 12 – Monday 27 August
Times: 17:30 – 18:20
Venue: C Venues, Chambers Street, EH1 1HR
Prices: Adults £9.50/11.50, Concessions £7.50/9.50

If you like your barbershop a cappella mixed in with a theatrical rendition, you may be interested in the Barbershopera version of The Three Musketeers, where the 3 men and 1 girl reinvent this story with fresh 4-part harmonies, bringing a new perspective on this legendary story, it will definitely be all for fun but maybe not fun for all comers, judging by the start time:

Dates: Wednesday 1 – Friday 3 August (previews); Saturday 4 – Monday 27 August
Times: 23:05 – 00:05
Venue: Pleasance Courtyard
Prices: £6 on preview days; £11.50/12.50

The Oxford Alternotives, veterans of the Oxford University a cappella scene, will bring their show to Edinburgh for the third year in a row in 2012, with their combination of stellar vocals and choreography out of this world and their renditions of all types of music.

Dates: Sunday 5 August (preview); Monday 6 – Saturday 18 August
Times: 14:05 – 14:55
Venue: theSpace@Symposium Hall, The Royal College of Surgeons, Hill Square, EH8 9DR
Prices: £7 (preview); £10

Not quite a collegiate group, but The Consort of Voices, one of the best vocal ensembles in Scotland return to the Canongate Kirk, with a programme of Scottish and French Music across the ages in a one-off concert named Auld Alliance:

Date: Saturday 11 August
Times: 18:00 – 19:00
Venue: Canongate Kirk, Canongate, EH8 8BN
Prices: £12

Some more French now, but only in the show title for The Oxford Belles gig in 2012, aptly named Belles Amies! who shall bring back their repertoire from classics to chart hits as well as their choreographic and beatboxing skills to the heart of the city:

Dates: Wednesday 1 – Saturday 18 August
Times: 17:25 – 18:10
Venue: Spotlites @ The Merchants’ Hall, Hanover Street, EH2 2EP
Prices: £7.50/8.50

From London, the Blossom Street a cappella vocal ensemble will present their varied programme of various genres of music at the Canongate Kirk, in a 1-week run:

Dates: Tuesday 14 – Saturday 18 August
Times: 14:00 – 15:00 Tuesday 14 to Friday 17; 19:30 – 20:30 Saturday 18
Venue: Canongate Kirk, Canongate, EH8 8BN
Prices: £10

The Wordsworth Singers chamber choir from Cumbria will hold a one-off gig full of rich sounds and inspired programming, led by the chorus master of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Mark Hindley:

Date: Saturday 11 August
Times: 12:30 – 13:30
Venue: St Cuthbert’s Parish Church, 5 Lothian Road, EH1 2EP
Prices: £9

The best thing to come out of Finland, FORK, who well and truly wowed me when I saw them in August 2011 and January 2012 in London, will return to Edinburgh this August with a revamped production. There are promises in store of ingenious rearrangements, electrifying vocals, glitz & glamour and even downright sauciness:

Dates: Thursday 2 & Friday 3 August (previews); Saturday 4 – Sunday 26 August
Times: 22:25 – 23:25
Venue: Assembly George Square, George Square, EH8 9LH
Prices: £10.00 (previews); £14/15

In what may possibly be the youngest group of a cappella singers to grace us the public with their presence this August, the London group named Chacapella formed in 2010, will bravely bring their show Glory of the Mainstream to Edinburgh. I am pretty sure theirs will also be the cheapest a cappella ticket in town this year:

Dates: Sunday 12 to Tuesday 14 August
Times: 19:00 – 20:00 on Sunday 12; 17:30 – 18:30 other days
Venue: St Cecilia’s Hall, Junction of Niddry St & Cowgate, EH1 1LJ
Prices: £2

From young girls to some more girls, Oxford University’s In The Pink are back in Edinburgh for an eighth year of Fringe fun, another highlight in their Summer 2012, which will already have seen them perform in Berlin in June, an experience which I hope will stand them in positive stead.

Dates: Sunday 12 – Monday 27 August
Times: 14:00 – 14:50
Venue: C Venues, Chambers Street, EH1 1HR
Prices: £9.50

Possibly Scotland’s solitary LGBT a cappella singing group, Loud and Proud, will hold a one-off gig with a proportion of the proceeds going to the local Waverley Care charity:

Dates: Saturday 25 August
Times: 20:30 – 21:30
Venue: Stockbridge Parish Church, Saxe Coburg Street, EH3 5BN
Prices: £12

Described by the Daily Telegraph as “A Cappella Maestros”, The Magnets have a season in Edinburgh, no mean feat considering they are in the throes of their current UK Tour and even have another gig a mere 8 days after their last date in Edinburgh this year:

Dates: Thursday 2 and Friday 3 August (previews); Saturday 4 – Wednesday 15 August
Times: 19:30 – 20:30
Venue: Assembly Hall, The Mound, EH1 2LU
Prices: £10 (previews only); £14/15 other dates

All the way from Australia, the Australian Voices group specialising in a cappella choral-theatre work, will bring their play Moon to Edinburgh this August:

Dates: Friday 3 – Saturday 25 August
Times: 19:00 – 19:55
Venue: theSpace@Symposium Hall, The Royal College of Surgeons, Hill Square, EH8 9DR
Prices: £8.00

The only collegiate a cappella group in the UK who will have a full month-long season in Edinburgh will be the Oxford boys from Out of the Blue. Their reputation precedes them, and as such they will be performing in the huge 500-seater venue at George Square, a further step up in terms of audience numbers after their record-breaking show last year:

Dates: Wednesday 1 – Friday 3 August (previews); Saturday 4 – Monday 27 August (except Wednesday 15)
Times: 14:00 – 14:50
Venue: Assembly George Square, George Square, EH8 9LH
Prices: £5 (previews); £9.50/£10.50

Former winners of the Voice Festival UK, the gorgeous Oxford Gargoyles will return in August to entertain us all with their eclectic mix of jazz, pop, soul numbers and even Disney pieces!:

Dates: Sunday 12 – Monday 27 August
Times: 15:00 – 15:50
Venue: C Venues, Chambers Street, EH1 1HR
Prices: £9.50

The beatboxer extraordinaire Shlomo will return to Edinburgh this August with his show Ministry of Mouth, following a sell-out debut run in 2011 to take vocal music to new heights with his choice of intricate beat patterms, loops and basslines. He also has a children’s show as well .. Which begs the question where does his versatility end? I wonder whether he could be called upon to provide a workshop at the London A Cappella Festival 2013?:

Dates: Monday 13 & Tuesday 14 August
Times: 20:50 – 21:50 on Monday 13; 22:15 – 23:15 on Tuesday 14
Venue: Underbelly Cowgate, Cowgate, EH1 1EG
Prices: £12.50

From one genre of music to the other, and Scotland’s prodigious chamber choir Coroedina who will present a sublime contemporary music set inspired by the American composer Eric Whitacre in a one-off gig at the St Giles’ Cathedral right in the heart of the Festival City:

Dates: Tuesday 23 August
Times: 20:00 – 21:30
Venue: St Giles’ Cathedral, EH1 1RE
Prices: Adults from £10.00

From the Republic of South Africa, the Soweta Entsha quartet of a cappella male singers, offers a feel-good experience, which may even culminate in one even dancing in the aisles of the venue. Opportunities to hear a cappella music African style do not come along too often, so make the most of this opportunity:

Dates: Friday 3 & Saturday 4 August (previews); Monday 6 – Monday 27 August (except Sunday 26)
Times: 20:00 – 21:15; 16:00 – 17:15 (9/16/21-25 August)
Venue: ST John’s Church, princes Street, EH2 4BJ
Prices: £8 (previews), £14.50

Closer to home, The Vocal Orchestra will celebrate everyone’s favourite tunes in the manner that we all like (7 mouths, 7 mikes and no instruments):

Dates: Thursday 2 & Friday 3 August (previews); Saturday 4 – Monday 27 (except Tuesday 14)
Times: 17:15 – 18:15
Venue: Underbelly Bristo Square, EH8 9AL
Prices: £10 (Previews), £14/16

The last of our collegiate groups, The Accidentals are making their Fringe debut this year in what will be a short but sweet run of six nights. The best all-female collegiate group in the country last year will be hoping to wow their audiences with their gutsy, feisty and fierce beats. Catch them while you can – this is their first gig outside of St Andrews for a long time!

Dates: Monday 13 August – Saturday 18 August
Times: 11:15 – 12:05
Venue: Space Cabaret @ 54, North Bridge, EH1 2HE
Prices: £4.50/£4

Finally, an a cappella sketch show that highlights the side-splitting situation that surrounds the decisions we make when it comes to choosing what to wear day in day out, CappellaJuice: Beyond the Wardrobe will be my last recommendation which will harmonically delight one and all who watch it:

Dates: Sunday 12 – Monday 27 August
Times: 17:05 – 18:05
Venue: C Venues, Chambers Street, EH1 1HR
Prices: from £8.50

In closing, the programme is full and varied in terms of musical repertoire covered by the individual artists and groups, and I hope to find space to see most of them in about 8 weeks time. Bring on the Summer and here’s hoping to see some of you a cappella fans from the UK Campus on our travels.

Don’t forget to check out the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Website for more details about all of these acts.

Event Review: VF-UK 2012 Final

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by John Lau

With 26 University-based groups whittled down to the 5 Finalists, the stage was set at the City of London School for Girls to determine who the best UK University-based a cappella group was and who would get the opportunity to represent the UK in New York City later in April.

The line-up for the 2012 University Competition Final, which took place on March 17th, was as follows:

THE SONS OF PITCHES
University of Birmingham
Winners of Birmingham Regional Round
2nd VF-UK
1st Final

ALL THE KING’S MEN
King’s College, London
Winners of London Regional Round
2nd VF-UK
2nd Final

HOTTUBBS
University of Bristol
Winners of Bristol Regional Round
1st VF-UK
1st Final

OUT OF THE BLUE
University of Oxford
Winners of Oxford Regional Round
4th VF-UK
4th Final

THE OTHER GUYS
University of St Andrews
Winners of St Andrews Regional Round
4th VF-UK
2nd Final

Before the sets though, we were introduced to our host for the evening, the former Swingle Singer and beatbox extraordinaire Jes Sadler, and the four judges laid with the impossible task of determining who the best group would be:

Mr Ben Parry, a former Swingle Singer and now co-Director of London Voices;
Mr Russell Scott, a music industry professional for over 30 years);
Mr Dominic Peckham, Assistant Musical Director for the National Youth Choirs of Great Britain and VFUK Workshop Leader;
and Ms Joanna Forbes L’Estrange, another former Swingle Singer and now in constant demand for her capabilities as a music coach, workshop presenter and adjudicator.

The nine men who make up The Sons of Pitches, clad as always in their token red boiler-suits took to the stage first, and as this was the first I had seen or heard of them, I didn’t know what to expect in terms of repertoire, but they sure did provide a highly musical three-piece set interspersed with some smiles and humour, specifically the confetti they threw at themselves towards the end of their set which resulted in one of their number being left on the stage to brush as much away before the next act.

In terms of their set, the music started with their rendition of Kimbra’s Settle Down, which when compared to the original sounded a treat to begin with, courtesy of the opening soloist Mr Hinds, which is no mean feat considering the original is sung by an American female. A sky-scraping solo worth high praise. The vocal percussion is also worthy of mention here, for despite being relatively simple, it really came through in this piece. They mixed things up a bit towards the end of the piece with some rather bouncy “Oh!” sounds which kept the song from stagnating.

With the audience suitably ‘settled down’ after the opening piece, the Sons then launched into Gotye’s Somebody That I Used To Know. They had not sung this song in the Regional Round of the Festival, so I took this as a brave move to try an untested song for the first time in the midst of the largest UK-wide collegiate a cappella competition. As soon as they began I knew instantly they had taken the majority of the arrangement from Pentatonix’ highly successful YouTube video, and was put off straight away as I knew that would be difficult to top. And unfortunately, despite the impressive and fitting choreography, it was pretty much a like-for-like copy. Granted, they almost did the cover justice, but a cappella should be about adding a personal touch of individuality to an already existing song. The boys failed to do this.

Their final piece was described as the “Club Medley 2″, which was an impressive mash-up of various tracks such as Dynamite from Taio Cruz, You Spin My Head Round from Dead or Alive and Ke$ha’s Tik Tok, to name but three. I had heard good things of this arrangement, and I was not disappointed. This was a piece I would happily pay money for and add to my collection of songs to play while preparing for a night out. Some really sweet modulating just before the merge into You Spin My Head. Again, the rapping was impressive. I did a miss a little bit of tenor throughout most of the arrangement, which was a shame as it lead to the whole song sounding very bari-heavy. The beatbox breakdown was again impressive and very unique. I laughed heavily when the entire group pretended to wait for a bus that never came, but while amusing, it did lead to some dead air for a little too long, which may have harmed their chances. The Rory McIlroy lookalike did show us a selection of acrobatics across what remained of the stage, which the audience appreciated, and then came the sparkling finish, complete with confetti, which had to be brushed off the stage before the next act, with Jes Sadler looking on while filling in time. Eventually it was cleared and Jes suggested that it was great to see Kid Rock getting some work. All in all a solid set from the Birmingham contingent, disappointed by their middle song, but their closer was clearly well-rehearsed, professionally performed yet bursting with energy and enjoyment. A thoroughly enjoyable opening set.

From the red of the Sons to the twelve royal blue shirts of All the King’s Men. Although I wasn’t sure whether they had what it took to win the contest in only their second visit to this stage, I knew I enjoyed what little I had heard of them in my travels at the London A Cappella Festival at the start of the year, and hoped that they would have a wide repertoire than what I heard in passing with their rendition of It’s Raining Men in between concerts.

In respect of the repertoire I was not disappointed, not much anyway, as they provided three different pieces each with different tempos. To start with, they came out with their mash-up of Lady Gaga’s Born This Way and Edge of Glory, which provided the audience a very much appreciated act of choreography involving what I can only describe as varying hand movements in the semi-circle that the boys had formed. Musically, there was a significant improvement from what the Sons had put out before them, with a highly original arrangement filling the stage a lot more effectively. The stunning choreography did not end there though: at the point where Edge of Glory was put in the mix (which was gloriously slurred into, by the way), the Men transformed themselves from a semi-circle to a V-shape, with the soloist and head of the V pushing away the men behind him, which looked quite the sight, and was again appreciated by the audience. I really enjoyed the marked difference in tempo between Born This Way and Edge of Glory – almost a master-stroke in that they combined a fast song with a slow one to provide us with the perfect opener. Some really strong solo work too. A very impressive start from the King’s Men.

The middle piece from All The King’s Men took the tempo down completely as they swapped Lady Gaga with Hallelujah from Leonard Cohen, a Christmas Number 1 from as recently as 2008. Despite it being a song covered many, many times in the past, I preferred the ATKM version better than most I had heard, mainly because of the tubular bells effect that they introduced midway through the piece, which to my mind enhanced the rendition, as well as their reputation. Also unique were the choral descants from the second chorus. Some good volume work throughout – they made sure never to stay on the same level – and in the end a pleasant, if unspectacular middle song.

The final piece is the one I heard in London in January, but what I didn’t know at the time was that it was It’s Raining Men mashed up against Robbie Williams Let Me Entertain You, stylised as “It’s Reigning Men”. That will teach me not to judge a book by the cover that I saw all too briefly in between concerts at the London A Cappella Festival back in January. The choreography flashes were all still there enhancing the quality of the piece overall, and while the first half of the song was hilarious (especially “Tall, ginger, dark and lean,” the former two referring to the rather tall flame-haired member of the group), musically tight and included some highly unique backing sounds (I think “jing-zing-a-zing-a-jing-jing-jing” was my favourite), the second half was not quite up to the same standard, in that it didn’t quite provide me with the goosebumps that I used to feel under the Robbie Williams original when it came out all those moons ago. I must praise the boys for their choreography throughout the entire set, which was frankly phenomenal, and enhanced the output in terms of what audience saw, and I wonder whether there is a choreographic mastermind at work within All The King’s Men. A job well done, but it was a case of ‘wait and see’ as to whether they would become the first winners of this competition from outside Oxbridge.

With thirteen females and eleven males all in black with red adornments of various descriptions, the winners of the inaugural Bristol regional and the largest of any of the competing groups participating in this Final, HotTUBBS entered the stage.

Their set started with a musically successful fusion of 5 Colours In Her Hair, It’s All About You and Obviously, all McFly classics. Formed up in a closely rigid formation with girls at the front, it felt different anticipating some pieces from McFly from such a sizeable group. While it successfully entertained the audience present, it was perhaps less in-your-face on this occasion than when I heard the originals back in the days when McFly were one of the more prominent boy-bands in the UK, possibly because of the lack of choreographic surprises that the group could have put in, to perhaps make the medley more memorable. I did appreciate that they had chosen soloists for the final, a change from the Regional, which was rather refreshing, and the soloists did well. The group were the strongest when they all sang the lyrics in harmony with one another, mainly because the sheer number of them allowed the room to filled with a rich, comforting yawn of sound. A solid, well-rehearsed opener, with a sweet clashed chord to close the number.

Their second piece was perhaps more suited to the group, I imagine, as they came up with a medley of songs from the Russian-born American songwriter, Irving Berlin featuring “Alexander’s Ragtime Band” and “Everything in America is Ragtime”. Considering my limited knowledge of the music of Irving Berlin, I thought this was a highly competent introduction to the music of the early 20th Century, with the tempo not really far away from what the public of the 1910s would have come to expect. This was a highly original and refreshing treat from HotTUBBS and although I didn’t have much by way of background knowledge of what they were capable of, I guess this showed that they can be versatile in terms of their repertoire, which is no bad thing really. Interesting that they chose to have a conductor on stage for this number, something I hadn’t seen in student a cappella before, but it did mean their timing was spot on throughout the number.

Their last piece really was ‘Back to the Future’ as they swapped the music of the early 20th Century with Lady Gaga, and their rendition of Telephone. I was pleased to see more of a choreographic show here from the choir group using their heads and hands, but while I felt that the female voice parts diluted the edgy nature of the lyrics from the original, this was probably a softer listen than the original. I enjoyed the switch to a posh-RP accent, which juxtaposed well with the following rap. This was the nearest the group got to contemporary a cappella, and they actually pulled it off pretty well. So a good showing from the HotTUBBS ensemble and I imagine they enjoyed the experience of being in the Final. Now I wonder whether it would be too much to expect this group to add Edinburgh to the list of places throughout the UK that they have already visited: surely not too far a cry from Cardiff or Manchester?

After the first and only sight of women competing in the Final, it was back to the Boys’ Show with the perennial qualifiers from the UK Capital of Collegiate A Cappella, Oxford and their finest boys from Out Of The Blue, in their fourth Final appearance. The fourteen boys took to the stage with their black and blue colours and no shoes.

Their bid to win the title in 2012 burst to life with a mash-up of The Beatles Got To Get You Into My Life mixed in with Isn’t She Lovely from Stevie Wonder. There was a very soul-like quality about this medley as a result of the two voices who were tasked with providing the vocals, Laurie Cottam’s vocals on the first half and Selali Fiamanya in the second half. I must commend Laurie’s solo in particular which was quite stunning, and his tenor belt was countered quite effectively by the soulful dulcet tones of Selali. In fact, I was so in awe of the solos on this one that it was quite difficult to pay much attention to the backing, and although it was a little repetitive, it almost needed to be in order to let the solos shine through on this number. So an upbeat start from the boys seeking to win the title for the first time since 2009.

The tempo was slowed down for the next piece, as the boys provided their rendition of Elbow’s Lippy Kids with no less than six soloists, a slow piece which I wouldn’t have known as coming from a group such as Out Of The Blue had I just let it wash over me, but if nothing else, I was pleased to see that they could rearrange a piece such as this from the original to have it sound as moving as it did, more moving than the original in fact, and credit ought to go in the end to their chief re-arranger, Nick Barstow. There was more of a choral quality in this piece than there was in the original I felt and the voice of one of the soloists even reminded me of Morten Sorensen from the Real Group of professional a cappella singers from Sweden. I really enjoyed the layered effect throughout the song, and while it wasn’t their best song of the set, it was definitely better than any of the middle songs we had seen so far, and is definitely one of those that gets better each time you listen to it.

The Blue set closed out with a piece from Jessie J, one of the judges that the group came across in Britain’s Got Talent last year, and their were covering her most recent single, Domino. In terms of the tune the original and rendition are a million miles apart as the boombastic qualities evident on the original just did not seem to materialise to any great extent in this rendition, which I found a pity, otherwise they could have been regarded as genuine contenders for the prize on offer at the end of the night. The solo was handled well and there was again some excellent choreography – while the majority of the dance moves remained largely simple, it was the human guitar that really got the crowd going, but I was in the end a little disappointed by this final song. And with that, came and went the unfamiliar elements of tonight’s Final.

The Other Guys were last up, wearing their token suits with pocket squares, and they kicked off with Toploader’s Dancing in the Moonlight. What I like about the The Other Guys is that they don’t take themselves too seriously – one could tell from the very beginning of this song that the boys were going to put on a memorable choreographic performance – even if it wasn’t the sleekest, shiniest choreography ever seen, it was sure to be some of the funniest. The song itself didn’t quite fill the stage as much as previous groups had done, and was definitely not as creative and original as the opening number of All the King’s Men especially, but was nevertheless solid, if a little unspectacular.

Their second song was one from their latest album, Barely Regal, and it was their cover of Bon Iver’s Skinny Love. It’s always tough to cover an album track live, but I think the boys did well here. The arrangement was original and added several new elements, including some nice descants leading up to the climax of the songs, but while the backing did swell significantly towards the end of the piece, I felt the soloist could have put a little more power and emotion behind those last few bars. Again, solid from the guys.

The boys’ final song was entitled “St Andrews Girls”, and incorporated mainly Katy Perry’s California Gurls with elements of Belinda Carlisle’s Heaven is a Place on Earth, One Direction’s What Makes You Beautiful and the Chariots of Fire theme tune. While the pace seemed a little fast at first, the boys proved that their speciality really is parodies, with some hilariously re-written lyrics and great transitions into the other songs in the mash-up. They even rapped, proving once and for all that “white men can rap”, as if we didn’t already know that from the Sons of Pitches earlier in the night. I really enjoyed their layered finish in the Chariots of Fire theme tune, which really added to the original, and there were a few cheers (worryingly from male members of the audience) as the boys began to remove their jackets at the end. A very impressive finish, but I’m not sure the set was strong enough to win it.

While the judges were deliberating in a darkened room, our entertainment for the night came in the form of a set of 4 songs from the “Apollo5″ group who I first met at the London A Cappella Festival in January, all too briefly.

Their set could easily have transported me to a mellow place as there was something very ‘Easy Listening’ about their set which included tunes such as Java Jive, Ain’t Nobody, a medley featuring some West End Musicals and Christina Aguilera’s Beautiful, all of which was delivered with a laid back element to enable the judges to come to decisions in their own time. The audience was then informed that this group are now seeking a new Tenor to join their ranks. That would have ruled me out of joining this group, who not only have two gorgeous females in their number but also a commonality in terms of their existence. The group believes that with their collaborators, the Red Balloon Learner Centres, the bullied youth of this country can grow in confidence by finding their voice through singing together, which is something I personally can relate to as well, even if there was no opportunity to participate in a choir situation or even better still an a cappella group while I was in study all those moons ago. And the other reason for me not expressing interest in this vacancy, I’m a bass.

The audience were treated to a small sample of the flashmob that occurred this lunchtime and was organised by Mr Dominic Peckham and Ms Joanna Forbes L’Estrange which featured the colours of the Olympic Rings down by the South Bank of the Thames and a very apt song, Daft Punk’s Around The World.

Verdict:

Of course, this was always going to be a tough call. With four all-male groups, there was a chance that this evening might become a little same-y, but each group had their own individual strengths and weaknesses, as well as demonstrating that each of them were beginning to develop their own sense of identity. I think HotTUBBS had a difficult job to do, considering it was their debut performance at VF-UK and they were up against several perennial high achievers in the world of UK A Cappella. But they performed admirably and credit must be due to them, especially for sticking to their roots in their middle song and showing us what sort of variety the a cappella genre can bring. The Sons of Pitches were strong in their debut final, but their middle song let me down, especially given it was pretty much a straight copy of Pentatonix. They show promise though, and I’m sure they will come back stronger next year. The Other Guys finished strongly, but I think they relied too much on that last song to pull them through, and some of the other groups were more consistently musical and had more professional choreography. That left Out of the Blue and All the King’s Men, two groups which I had trouble splitting. While Out of the Blue clearly had been here before, knew exactly what they were doing and had a very, very tight set, All the King’s Men must be praised for their stage presence and utter confidence in their performance. As for which group was to win it – well let’s just say I’m glad it wasn’t me making the decision.

Awards:

Outstanding Musicality: All the King’s Men for ‘Hallelujah’
Outstanding Performance: Out of the Blue
Outstanding Arrangement: Richard Phillips of The Other Guys for ‘Skinny Love’
Outstanding Stagecraft: Sons of Pitches for ‘Club Medley 2’

WINNER:

ALL THE KING’S MEN

And so in an historic moment for the Voice Festival UK, the winners were confirmed as All the King’s Men of King’s College London, who in their second straight final had broken the stranglehold of this title being won by a group from either the Universities of Cambridge or Oxford. So to the victors, the immense spoils as well as the trophy and to the rest of us, the after-party at a small pub nearby, where the HotTUBBS group serenaded us with some more karaoke. An excellent night, and bring on next year.