Abi Phillips and Bev Bevan
Abi Phillips
Abi will be making a guest appearance and joining Steve White and the Pete Cater Big Band on stage to perform the legendary song ” The Beat Goes On” originally recorded by Buddy Rich and his band with his daughter Marie on vocals. The song was written by Sonny Bono and first performed by Sonny and Cher.
Abi Phillips is a fantastic young singer and songwriter from the West Midlands in England. Aged just 17, with a haunting, emotive voice which belies her years, she also plays the character of Liberty in the TV Channel 4 show Hollyoaks. She was offered the role following an audition for the show’s producers after writing a song called “Missing You” which was used in the final scene of one of the show’s favourite characters Steph earlier this year.
Since April 2011 she has been singing and acting in the show, and also appeared at Channel 4’s T4 On The Beach performing with hip hop artist Fugative her debut single “Summer Sunshine” which was released at the end of July.
In November she will be singing on the Royal British Legion single “Coming Home“ celebrating 90 years of the Poppy Day appeal. As well as acting on screen, she releases her debut album in 2012.
Bev Bevan
We are delighted to have Bev Bevan joining us to host this evening’s concert.
Born in Sparkhill Birmingham, Bev’s professional music career started with a stint with Denny Laine in his group Denny Laine and the Diplomats, then with Carl Wayne and The Vikings, followed by The Move in 1966. The Electric Light Orchestra released their first album in 1971, by which time The Move existed only as a recording outfit releasing their final single, “California Man” in 1972. The Move were the first band to be played on the UK’s Radio 1. They toured Europe with Jimi Hendrix and The Who, and were one of the very few bands to have a residency at the famous ‘Marquee’ Club.
ELO were for a time one of the biggest bands in the world, releasing eleven studio albums between 1971 and 1986. ELO collected 19 CRIA, 21 RIAA and 38 BPI awards, and sold over 50 million records worldwide. Their world tours were some of the most spectacular events to be seen.
In 1980 Bev published a biography of the Electric Light Orchestra. He also made a solo single in 1976, a cover version of the Sandy Nelson instrumental, “Let There Be Drums”. In 1983 he replaced Bill Ward from Black Sabbath for their Born Again tour.
After the death of Carl Wayne in 2004, he formed a new band, Bev Bevan’s Move, with Phil Tree and former ELO Part II colleagues Phil Bates and Neil Lockwood, to play a set comprising mostly The Move classics on tour.
Bev currently presents a radio show on BBC Radio West Midlands on Tuesday Evenings. He also reviews records for the Midlands’ Sunday Mercury and has a blog on their website.
Recently Bev has been honoured with a star on the Birmingham Walk of Stars and appeared on Paul Weller’s latest album.