Hire James Brooke | Singer in Nottingham

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From£375

1 hour

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James Brooke

About James

Blazing guitar, amazing 4-octave singing and harmonica on classics from the 60s-present. Played 1,000 shows on 3 continents!

Singer

Nottingham

Public liability insurance of £10 million

Born and raised in California, I fell in love with music when I got my first guitar aged 16. Since then I've hardly put it down. I've taught myself to play four instruments and embarked on a career that's seen me play castles in Italy, festivals in France, clubs in New York and and back to the main stage of the O2 in England. I tour with three top acts around the UK and internationally, and perform as a solo act for the sheer joy of it. I truly love the music I play. The songs I sing are chosen for their beauty, craftsmanship and meaning to me. And they're fun! I'm particularly drawn to Bob Dylan, the Beatles, Fleetwood Mac and other artists of the 60s and 70s. I am also a recording artist, and built my own music studio where I livestream gigs online every week.

James

5 out of 5

1 verified review

Satisfaction

5.0

Professionalism

5.0

Communication

5.0

Punctuality

5.0

James' Reviews

5 out of 5

James arrived in plenty of time to set up for our party and he was a fabulous singer, thank you James, I will def recommend you

If only there were an option to rate higher than 10/10! James was incredible at our party, with songs brought to life by his passion. His energy and expertise really got our party going and many of our guests were asking for his details by the end of the night - including three professional musicians who were amazed by his talent. If a professional musician who has been signed by a major record label is impressed then this should be all you need to know about how fantastic James Brooke is.

Thank you so much for playing at my birthday celebration, you totally made the evening come alive and your music was perfect for the occasion. An extensive playlist beautiful performed had everyone up singing and dancing. Would not hesitate to ask you again. (10 / 10)

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James' Song list

Bohemian Rhapsody (Queen)

Go Your Own Way (Fleetwood Mac)

Dreams (Fleetwood Mac)

Never Going Back Again (Fleetwood Mac)

Rhiannon (Fleetwood Mac)

Landslide (Fleetwood Mac)

The Chain (Fleetwood Mac)

Songbird (Fleetwood Mac)

Gold Dust Woman (Fleetwood Mac)

Here Comes the Sun (The Beatles)

Don’t Let Me Down (The Beatles)

Blackbird (The Beatles)

In My Life (The Beatles)

With a Little Help From my Friends (The Beatles)

A Day in the Life (The Beatles)

Michelle (The Beatles)

Norwegian Wood (The Beatles)

All You Need is Love (The Beatles)

Help! (The Beatles)

Hey Jude (The Beatles)

Let it Be (The Beatles)

The Boxer (Simon & Garfunkel)

Sound of Silence (Simon & Garfunkel)

Homeward Bound (Simon & Garfunkel)

Scarborough Fair (Simon & Garfunkel)

Old Friends / Bookends Theme (Simon & Garfunkel)

Kathy’s Song (Simon & Garfunkel)

Mrs. Robinson (Simon & Garfunkel)

Blowin’ in the Wind (Bob Dylan)

Mr. Tambourine Man (Bob Dylan)

Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right (Bob Dylan)

The Times They Are A-Changin’ (Bob Dylan)

One More Cup of Coffee (Bob Dylan)

Tangled Up In Blue (Bob Dylan)

Girl from the North Country (Bob Dylan)

She Belongs to Me (Bob Dylan)

Love Minus Zero / No Limit (Bob Dylan)

It's All Right Ma, I'm Only Bleeding (Bob Dylan)

It's All Over Now, Baby Blue (Bob Dylan)

Visions of Johanna (Bob Dylan)

A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall (Bob Dylan)

Jolene (Dolly Parton)

Country Roads (John Denver)

Folsom Prison Blues (Johnny Cash)

9 to 5 (Dolly Parton)

Wagon Wheel (Old Crow Medicine Show / Darius Rucker)

The Gambler (Kenny Rogers)

Ring of Fire (Johnny Cash)

Lost Highway (Hank Williams)

Angel From Montgomery (Bonnie Raitt)

Casey’s Last Ride (Kris Kristofferson)

Stand By Your Man (Tammy Wynette)

House of the Rising Sun (The Animals)

Old Man (Neil Young)

Heart of Gold (Neil Young)

Out on the Weekend (Neil Young)

I Believe in You (Neil Young)

Down by the River (Neil Young)

Tell Me Why (Neil Young)

Needle and the Damage Done (Neil Young)

After the Gold Rush (Neil Young)

Don't Let it Bring You Down (Neil Young)

Hey Hey, My My (Neil Young)

Seven Nation Army (The White Stripes)

Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground (The White Stripes)

I Can Tell That We Are Gonna Be Friends (The White Stripes)

Fell In Love With A Girl (The White Stripes)

The Hardest Button to Button (The White Stripes)

Hotel Yorba (The White Stripes)

Wild Horses (The Rolling Stones)

It's All Over Now (The Rolling Stones)

Jumpin' Jack Flash (The Rolling Stones)

Sympathy for the Devil (The Rolling Stones)

Dead Flowers (The Rolling Stones)

Lola (The Kinks)

Sunny Afternoon (The Kinks)

Waterloo Sunset (The Kinks)

Proud Mary (Creedence Clearwater Revival)

Bad Moon Rising (Creedence Clearwater Revival)

Green River (Creedence Clearwater Revival)

Born on the Bayou (Creedence Clearwater Revival)

Fortunate Son (Creedence Clearwater Revival)

Stairway to Heaven (Led Zeppelin)

Kashmir (Led Zeppelin)

White Summer/Black Mountainside (Led Zeppelin)

Going to California (Led Zeppelin)

Thank You (Led Zeppelin)

Oh Well (Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac)

World Keep on Turning (Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac)

Hellhound on my Trail (Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac)

Man of the World (Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac)

Black Magic Woman (Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac)

50 Ways to Leave your Lover (Paul Simon)

Graceland (Paul Simon)

Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard (Paul Simon)

Still Crazy After All These Years (Paul Simon)

Time (Pink Floyd)

Comfortably Numb (Pink Floyd)

Wish You Were Here (Pink Floyd)

Born to Run (Bruce Springsteen)

Dancing in the Dark (Bruce Springsteen)

I'm on Fire (Bruce Springsteen)

Hotel California (Eagles)

Desperado (Eagles)

Tequila Sunrise (Eagles)

Wonderwall (Oasis)

Champagne Supernova (Oasis)

Don't Look Back in Anger (Oasis)

Pretty Woman (Roy Orbison)

Real Love Baby (Father John Misty)

Whiskey in the Jar (traditional, arr. Thin Lizzy)

I Believe in Miracles (Hot Chocolate)

Stayin' Alive (the Bee Gees)

Sweet Home Alabama (Lynyrd Skynyrd)

Ain't No Sunshine (Bill Withers)

Fire and Rain (James Taylor)

Horse with No Name (America)

Stuck in the Middle with You (Stealer's Wheel)

Rainbow Connection (Kermit the Frog)

Midnight Rider (Allman Brothers Band)

American Pie (Don McLean)

Sweet Caroline (Neil Diamond)

Sweet Home Alabama (Lynyrd Skynyrd)

Running Up That Hill (Kate Bush)

Mr. Brightside (the Killers)

Summer of '69 (Bryan Adams)

Wicked Game (Chris Isaaks)

Dreaming of You (the Coral)

Karma Police (Radiohead)

Lightning Bolt (Jake Bugg)

Hit the Road, Jack (Ray Charles)

Teenage Dirtbag (Wheatus)

Stand By Me (Ben E. King)

On The Road Again (Canned Heat)

Space Oddity (David Bowie)

Dock of the Bay (Otis Redding)

God Only Knows (the Beach Boys)

The Train Song (Vashti Bunyan)

Hey Joe (trad., arr. Jimi Hendrix)

Peace Beneath the City (Iron & Wine)

Detectorists Theme (Johnny Flynn)

Tickle Me Pink (Johnny Flynn)

I Wanna Be Like You (Jungle Book)

Ooh La La (The Faces)

Heard it Through the Grapevine (Marvin Gaye)

Nights in White Satin (Moody Blues)

Disco 2000 (Pulp)

The Weight (The Band)

Psycho Killer (Talking Heads)

Heartbeats (Jose Gonzalez)

Rolling in the Deep (Adele)

Make You Feel My Love (Bob Dylan / Adele)

Candy (Paolo Nutini)

Three Little Birds (Bob Marley)

Feeling Good (Nina Simone)

Sugar in My Bowl (Nina Simone)

It Must Be Love (Labi Siffre)

Brown-Eyed Girl (Van Morrison)

James' Prices

Last updated: 2024

Note: prices may vary based on travel distance. For an exact quote, click “Check availability”.

Performance duration	Price
Short performance (up to 15 min)	£250
Up to 1 hour	£375
Up to 2 hours	£437.50
Up to 3 hours	£562.50

Customer questions

What do your clients love most about your performances?

The energy and the variety. Although I'm a solo act, I cover a lot of ground - from whisper-quiet folky tenderness to shouting, jumping pop and rock. I get you dancing along with me. Or weeping. And all points in between.

Which venues have you performed at in the past?

Too many to list, really. Notably: The Groucho Club Cambridge Folk Club Brixton Academy Union Chapel The O2 Arena The Lexington The Ritzy And countless wedding venues.

Which artists have you been most influenced by?

The lyrics of Dylan, the fun and and variety of the Beatles, the experiments of Bowie, the rawness of Nina Simone.

What is the most high profile gig you've performed?

I played the main stage of the O2 Arena as a solo act. An absolute sea of people stretched before me and I had them in the palm of my hand...

What if my timings change after I've booked you?

I'm happy to be flexible with timings. I understand things often don't go exactly according to plan! My job is to make my part in your event run as smoothly as possible and keep your guests entertained. I'm at your disposal. If things run on extremely late I may have to charge for my time, but in my experience this is rare.

Can you provide an iPod/DJ service before and between your sets?

I provide this service as standard. I have a set of playlists that I typically use (which reflect my own style and personal taste) that I'm happy to share with you ahead of time. I also invite you to make your own playlists! If you'd like to use my PA for audio after I finish my performance, that's £50 p/h.

How much time do you need to set up?

30 minutes at a minimum. I usually arrive an hour before I'm due to begin. We can arrange my arrival time to suit your day.

Can I pick the pieces you play from the set list?

I want to know what songs and artists you like best. Talking about music is half the fun of meeting new clients! I'll include as many as possible in my performance. I prefer not to have every song choice dictated - I've played many shows and know what works. Knowing 10-20 favourites is the sweet spot.

Do you bring all the equipment you need to perform?

All I need is a 13amp plug socket and a place to play. If I'm to play outside, please protect me from the wind/sun/rain.

Can you learn specific pieces before the event?

Of course! Often this a first dance or a song to play as a couple walks up the aisle, but you may just want to hear something you love. It takes time to learn something and get it up to scratch, so I charge a modest fee to learn a new song.

Musicianship

Genres:

Acoustic, Country, Folk rock, 1970s era music, 1960s era music, Pop, Americana, Rock, Alternative rock, Rock 'n' Roll, Classic rock

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Instruments:

Singer, Guitar, Harmonica, Piano

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Event types:

Wedding, Virtual event, Wedding proposal, Funeral / Memorial service, Hotel / Restaurant event, Bar / Club / Venue event, Private event, Corporate event, Charity event, Recording session, Concert, Birthday party, New Year's Eve

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Other skills:

Audio engineer, Composer, Lyricist, Songwriter, Producer, Sound technician, Live looping, Fluent improviser, Accompanist

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