THE BAND
Lee Harding : Vocals
This semi-professional vocalist has an abundance of experience to bring to the show. A lifelong Pink Floyd fan, it has been a dream of his to be able to perform his favourite songs live. Lee is known for his hard-edged vocals and ability to work in a team of vocalists to creat a rich and full experience. He was also the lead singer of Manchester rock band "Seven Cell"
Meg Harding : Vocals
Megan studied music at Macclesfield college. As an individual she is driven and passionate about music. She has been in several bands including different styles ranging from rock to jazz and currently now a member of the Vesbim Floyd family. She is also a member of a newly all female formed band. She has performed in many different venues and is very excited to be performing in many different ones this year! "As the youngest in the band I look forward to any challenges that I may face and also to learn a lot from a lot of talented musicians"!
Joanna Male : Vocals
Joanna started singing from a very young age and took part in many different amateur productions as a child and in her school years. She has now been performing both solo and in a duo at professional gigs at local pubs, clubs, weddings and corporate events for the past 2 years. She has a massive vocal range and covers a lot of musical genres. Jojo also teaches singing classes to young children at the Roxy'z School of Performing Arts and assists with the dance and drama classes. Pink Floyd has been one of her favourite and main influences since she was a little girl and to be part of the Vesbim Floyd Show is a dream come true for her.
Andy Pennington : Guitars
One of the performers from the original Floyd tribute show two decades ago, Andy is one of the most experienced guitarists in the North West of England. A member of many bands over the years, including "Insanity Beach", 2Tyred", "Doghouse" and currently "The Bite". Andy is known for his incredible ability to recreate some of Gilmour's best work, whilst adding his own creative flair that not only feels familiar to Floyd fans, but also provides a new experience
Jonathan Vatikiotis : Guitars / Vocals
Jonny V (let’s just scrap the “atikiotis” for now) picked up a guitar for the first time at 14 years old after seeing The Who film, The Kid's Are Alright. Born in Liverpool, and into a life and a house of music, his earliest inspiration was his father, a prominent guitarist in Greece who moved to England to play with the Gerry McAvoy band.
From a very young age, he was exposed to a variety of music, ranging from traditional Mediterranean and Middle Eastern music to the progressive rock sounds of the 60s and 70s. Some of is main influences include The Beatles, Hendrix, Deep Purple, Yes, Frank Zappa, Pink Floyd, Genesis, to name but a few.
In 2000, he attended Access to Music in Manchester and completed a HND in popular music and recording. He has been gaining live performance experience since then, collaborating with a multitude of artists along the way.
Jonny V is involved in other projects such as MAMA, The All Era Genesis Tribute Band.
Chris Hughes : Bass
With over 25 years experience as a bassist Chris has performed, toured and recorded session work for a number of bands and artists of various musical genres, and is still currently playing in a rock band, a soul/funk band, and a reggae/ska band in his spare time! He is fortunate enough to have recorded with Roger Taylor of Queen in the mid nineties. This subsequently led to Chris being invited to perform at Rogers production company launch event in front of celebrity guests and personal idols such as Nick Mason, Brian May, John Deacon, Mike Rutherford and Bob Geldof, one of the most terrifying and exhilarating moments of his career. A lifelong Pink Floyd fan, Chris was delighted to get the opportunity to join Vesbims Show. He hopes to enhance the rhythmn section by recapturing the classic grooves, sounds and power of the original Pink Floyd bass tracks, drawing his inspiration from their recordings and live performances, by using a combination of instruments, effects and sound equipment.
John Comish : Keyboards
John has been playing keys with “MAMA – performing the music of Genesis” since 2012, playing around 22 shows with them each year in theatres and music venues around the UK.
“Most of the MAMA crew are avid Pink Floyd fans, that’s how we met Phil (Pesky) so when he mentioned that Vesbim Floyd had a vacancy in the keyboard slot I put my hand up right away!”
Away from performing, John also has a keen technical interest in keyboards.
Having a love of instrument repair means that his equipment inventory is reasonably comprehensive, currently it includes several keyboard instruments by ARP, Moog, Hammond, Roland and Korg.
“I have studied a highly informative document about Rick Wright, the equipment used and when, so I’m using that as the basis for developing sounds for the Vesbim Floyd Show”
Gemma Wild : Saxophones
Gemma is a freelance saxophonist & composer from the Wirral, UK. She plays soprano, alto & tenor Saxes and doubles on flute, clarinet & piano.
She graduated from Leeds College of Music in 2006 with a Masters and 1st class BA (hons) Degree in Music Studies, specialising in saxophone. She was awarded the John Scheerer Prize for Woodwind, the Michael Grady Award for Composition, The Leeds University Armes Prize, The College Award for Postgraduate Studies and the Robert Tebb Trophy for Outstanding Performance. Since graduating Gemma teaches music, performs in various groups and as a soloist.
Gemma spent 5 years developing her sax skills & travelling the world performing on luxury cruise liners as a sideman; accompanying guest entertainers, leading big band dance sets and playing for production shows such as "Hairspray", the Broadway Musical. The most recent ship being the RCCL Oasis of the Seas (the largest ship in the world) where she became Musical Director. She now performs her own solo saxophone show as a Headline Entertainer for Celebrity Cruises.
She has toured the UK, China, Prague & the Edinburgh Fringe Festival with the National Saxophone Choir of Great Britain & performs regularly with The Rat Pack Spectacular as Principal Tenor Sax.
Phil Westwood : Drums
Phil Westwood or “Pesky” as he’s known in the drumming circle, picked up a pair of drumsticks at the tender age of seven. ever since that day he’s never looked back and has enjoyed playing Drums & Percussion in almost every Genre possible, from Brass Bands and Orchestras to Big Band Jazz, Blues, Rock & Heavy Metal, as well as Session work in the Studio. But has now settled in the formidable shoes of one of his drumming idols, Nick Mason (Pink Floyd) Playing for a few well known & respected Pink Floyd Tribute Bands. With an experience of traveling the globe drumming,over the past 30+years, Phil enjoys both playing, Tech-ing and going to see live bands across the UK. He is also 1 of the ‘Drum Experts’ currently working at Professional Music Technology in Manchester. Phil currently is enjoying touring, for the fourth year running, with Pink Floyd’s “The Wall” Live Show. a 3 hour show performing ‘The Wall’ in it’s entirety with an additional 90 mins of Floyd Favourites as an encore ! Phil would like to thank the following companies for their continued supply & support:
Amedia Cymbals - www.amediacymbals-uk.com
Drum Workshop Drums - www.dwdrums.com
Evans Drumheads - www.evansdrumheads.com
Hardcase Drum Cases - www.hardcase.com
Pellwood Drumsticks - www.pellwoodeu.co.uk
Protection Racket Drum Cases - www.protectionracket.com
Van Kleef Custom Drums - www.vkdrums.com