Guitarist

James Tattington

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About James

I'm a guitarist and singer-songwriter based in Southsea, Portsmouth. I perform originals and also have an extensive repertoire of covers.
Guitarist
Southsea
Public liability insurance of £10 million

James Tattington is a singer/songwriter and performer based in Portsmouth with 10 years of experience performing at weddings, birthday parties and events of all occasions. Fusing a diverse range of styles and genres within his performance from Jazz, Rock, Blues, Folk, Alternative and Pop, James can comfortably cater for a wide variety of tastes and events. By combining beat-boxing, vocals, guitar and live-looping techniques, James is able to create instrumental and percussive soundscapes that can range from a full-band sound with percussion, bass, guitar and vocals to a more mellow melodic accompaniment, which can be tailored to suit the occasion. Having honed his songwriting talents over many years, James also performs original material under the moniker Fugitive Orchestra, which has been featured on BBC Introducing, and performed at a number of music festivals and venues up and down the country. Priding himself on being a professional and versatile yet affordable performer, James is always happy to accommodate any song requests and discuss a fee to suit your budget.

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Booked for an Encore gig with less than 24 hours’ notice
6th Anniversary
This act has been working with Encore for over 6 years
10 gigs
Experienced: 10 bookings through Encore
Musicianship
Genres:
Covers, Jazz, Blues, Originals, Easy listening, Pop, Acoustic, Funk, Motown, R&B, Soul, Hip Hop, Top 40, Vintage, Rock, Alternative rock, Britpop, Classic rock, Indie, Pop rock, Christmas, Folk, 1940s era music, 1950s era music, 1960s era music, 1970s era music, 1980s era music, 1990s era music
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Instruments:
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Event types:
Wedding, Wedding proposal, Hotel / Restaurant event, Bar / Club / Venue event, Private event, Corporate event, Charity event, Concert, Recording session, Theatre / Show, Cruise, Birthday party, Christmas party, New Year's Eve
See all event types
Other skills:
Audio engineer, Composer, Lyricist, Songwriter, Sound technician, Live looping, Instrumental teaching
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James' Song list

40s
Cab Calloway – Minnie the Moocher
Edith Piaf - La Vie en Rose
50s
Bobby Darin - Beyond the Sea
Elvis Presley - Blue-suede Shoes
Elvis Presley - Can’t Help Falling in Love
Elvis Presley - Heartbreak Hotel
Tennessee Ernie Ford – Sixteen Tons
60s
The Beach Boys - God Only Knows
The Beatles - All My Lovin’
The Beatles - Blackbird
The Beatles - Come Together
The Beatles - Michelle
Ben E. King - Stand By Me
Bob Dylan - Just Like a Woman
Bob Dylan - Like a Rolling Stone
Dave Brubeck Quartet - Take Five
Del Shannon - Runaway
Frank Sinatra - Come Fly With Me
Frank Sinatra - Fly Me to the Moon
Frank Sinatra - New York, New York
Glenn Campbell - Wichita Lineman
Jackson 5 - I Want You Back
The Kinks - Sunny Afternoon
Louis Armstrong - What a wonderful world
Louis Prima - I Wanna Be Like You
The Lovin’ Spoonful - Daydream
Marvin Gaye - Heard it through the Grapevine
Marvin Gaye - Let’s Get it on
The Monkees - I’m a Believer
Muddy Waters - Hoochie-Coochie Man
Nina Simone – Feeling Good
Otis Redding - Sittin’ on the dock of the bay
Procol Harum - Whiter Shade of Pale
Ray Charles - Drown in my own tears
Ray Charles - Hit the road Jack
Sam Cooke - A change is gonna come
Sam Cooke - You Send Me
70s
Al Green - Let’s Stay Together
Bill Withers - Ain’t No Sunshine
Bill Withers - Use Me
Billy Joel - Just the Way You Are
Bob Marley & the Wailers - I Shot the Sheriff
Carly Simon - Nobody Does it Better
The Clash - London Calling
David Bowie - Life on Mars
David Bowie - Starman
The Doors - People Are Strange
The Doors - Riders on the Storm
The Eagles - Hotel California
Elvis Costello - Alison
Elvis Costello/The Cure - Watching the detectives/Lovecats
James Taylor – Steamroller Blues
Jimi Hendrix - Voodoo Child
Jimi Hendrix - Wind Cries Mary
Michael Jackson - Billie Jean
Michael Jackson - Thriller
Neil Young - Heart of Gold
Neil Young - Out on the Weekend
Rolling Stones - Wild Horses
Rupert Holmes - Escape (the Pina Colada song)
Stevie Wonder - Signed, Sealed, Delivered
Stevie Wonder - Superstition
Steve Miller Band - Abracadabra
Steve Miller Band - The Joker
Talking Heads - Psycho killer
The Aristocats - Everybody Wants to be a Cat
Tom Waits - Ice-cream Man
Van Morrison - Moon Dance
80s
The Buggles - Video Killed the Radio Star
Candi Staton - You got the love
Chris Isaak - Wicked Game
Crowded House - Don’t Dream it’s Over
The Cure - In-Between Days
The Cure - Lovecats
Elvis Costello - Watching the Detectives
Fairground Attraction - Clare
Fleetwood Mac - Everywhere
The Human League - Don’t you want me
Martha & the Muffins - Echo Beach
Kate Bush - Babooshka
Kate Bush - Running Up That Hill
Paul Simon - Diamonds on the soles of her shoes
Paul Simon - You Can Call Me Al
Peter Gabriel - Sledgehammer
Soft Cell - Tainted Love
The Who - Eminence Front
90s
Blackstreet & Dr. Dre - No Diggity
Cher - Believe
Dee-Lite - Groove is in the Heart
Fatboy Slim - Praise You
Foo Fighters - Everlong
Jeff Buckley - Lover, you Should’ve Come Over
Oasis - Don’t Look Back in Anger
Oasis - She’s Electric
Paul Weller - Wildwood
Paul Weller - You Do Something to me
Portishead - Glory-box
Radiohead - High and Dry
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Under the Bridge
Rikki Martin - Living La Vida Loca
Space - Female of the Species
00s-present
Alicia Keys - If I Ain’t Got You
Aloe Blacc - I Need a Dollar
Amy Winehouse - Back to Black
Aqualung - Brighter than Sunshine
Beck - Go It Alone
Blu Cantrell/Adele - Breathe/Rolling in the Deep
Childish Gambino - Redbone
Daft Punk - Get Lucky
Damien Rice – The Blower’s Daughter
Damien Rice - Cannonball
Ed Sheeran - Thinking Out Loud
Gnarls Barkley - Crazy
Jack Johnson - Banana Pancakes
Jack Johnson - Sitting, Waiting, Wishing
Justin Timberlake - Cry Me a River
Kate Nash - Foundations
The Kooks - Naive
LCD Soundsystem – Home
Lykke Li - Dance, Dance, Dance
Maroon 5/Britney Spears - This Love/Baby One More Time
Mary J Blige - Family Affair
Oasis – The importance of being idle
Razorlight - Golden touch
Taylor Swift - Shake it off
The Fratellis – Whistle for the choir
The Weeknd - Can’t Feel My Face
The White Stripes/Eurythmics - Sweet Dreams (of a) Seven Nation Army
Vance Joy - Riptide
Customer questions

Which venues have you performed at in the past?

- Cowes Week (Isle of Wight) - Engine Rooms (Southampton) - Portsmouth Guildhall & New Theatre Royal - The Wedgewood Rooms (Portsmouth) - Winchester Guildhall

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

I performed on the same stage as Wheatus at the Isle of Wight Festival in 2017, which was an amazing experience! I've also performed at Victorious Festival in Portsmouth numerous times over the years and have also supported The Showhawk Duo, Mr. B the Gentleman Rhymer and Miles Hunt & Erica Nockalls of The Wonder Stuff.

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

I'm always very happy to be flexible with timings to help ensure your event runs as smoothly as possible. If timings do change in the run up to the event, just let me know.

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

Yes, this is a request that I have had before and is a service I'm happy to offer for free. If you'd like a DJ service via my PA after my final set, I provide this for an additional £100.

How much time do you need to set up?

I usually only need about 20 minutes to set up and generally aim to arrive about 1 hour before the performance time. If you'd like to discuss any alternative set-up and arrival times, (ie set up before guests arrive etc.) please let me know!

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

Absolutely! I'm always very happy to discuss the songs and genres that I perform and can also send you over my full repertoire and programme a set-list tailored to your event.

Do you bring all the equipment you need to perform?

Yes, I have a full PAT-Tested PA system and all of the required cabling and extension cables to ensure I arrive ready to perform.

Can you learn specific pieces before the event?

I'm always very happy to accommodate any requests you might have for songs you’d like me to play at your event, and this is a service I generally offer at no charge - if there are more than 3 songs you'd like me to learn for the event, I generally charge £30 for this service to take into account rehearsal times etc.

James' Prices

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

Standard Prices
Performance durationPrice
Short performance (up to 15 min)£93.75
Up to 1 hour£250
Up to 2 hours£500
Up to 3 hours£625
James
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5 out of 5
13 verified reviews
Satisfaction
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5.0
Professionalism
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5.0
Communication
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5.0
Punctuality
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5.0

James' Reviews

From Encore customers:

LF
Louise F
8 months ago
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5 out of 5

James was really professional and is extremely talented. Great communication and accommodating we booked James for our drinks reception on our wedding day. Had loads of comments about how good James was a great way to start the party! Highly recommend!

Reply from James
8 months ago

Thank you so much for your lovely review and for having me to perform at your wedding! I so enjoyed being a part of the day :)

MR
Marie R
1 year ago
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5 out of 5

James was incredible, our guests couldn’t stop talking about his performance at our ceremony. James added such a special flare we really appreciated him. Highly recommend James, he was always so helpful with songs choices and very reassuring when it came to the logistics. Thank you James if we could give you 6 stars we would xx

KH
Kimberley H
2 years ago
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5 out of 5

Wow, what can we say? An it was an absolute privilege to have James play at our drinks reception for our wedding on Monday. Communication from booking has been great. He arrived punctually to our day, was so friendly with all our guests and everyone loved him. He has so much talent, everyone was commenting how fantastic he was and asking where we found him. We would recommend him ten times over!

HL
Hannah L
2 years ago
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5 out of 5

Absolutely brilliant. A pleasure to deal with from beginning to end. James got in contact with his play list and also learned new songs on at our request. James was loved by all our guests and he really is a great entertainer. I'd highly recommend James, thank you so much for really making our party one to remember.

Read all 8 reviews

From other customers:

KM
Karen M
4 years ago, for a Birthday party in Market Inn
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5 out of 5

What a great night! Thanks for singing live at my husbands 50th birthday. A wonderful evening, we enjoyed your music selection inspired by my husbands playlist. Your friendliness and professionalism surpassed our expectations and we will definitely recommend you. Thanks again and I hope we have the chance to use you again in the future.

CF
Curt F
4 years ago, for a Wedding in Mill Ln
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5 out of 5

James was fantastic from start to finish! His music was great and really had our wedding up dancing and singing along! Would recommend James to anyone. Amazing once again thank you.

Read all 8 reviews