The Debonairs perform swing and jazz standards with a number of line ups to suit any budget or event. The band includes some of the Midlands best performers: Rich Hughes on piano, Alison Bennett on guitar, Simon Smith on bass and Miles Levin on drums, and the vocals come from internationally renowned swing singer Ben Harpwood with optional sultry vocals in French and English from Alison Bennet.
We have performed at a huge array of events including 5 star hotels in Cyprus and Tahiti, Hampton Court Palace, public events such as vintage Bugatti and dressage festivals, corporate events such as product launches and exhibitions, and many private events such as weddings and parties.
Our repertoire can be tailored to meet any need, for example we can up the tempo by performing swing versions of classic pop songs such as Billie Jean if required, and we are happy to consider requests, such as a particular favourite song for a first dance ( recent requests include City Of Stars, Wonderful Tonight and Book Of Love).
We can perform in a variety of combinations, Ben is happy to sing solo to backing tracks (which is the minimum price); duos include either Ben and Rich on piano, or Ben and Alison on guitar with songs sung with harmonies; with other options to suit your budget up to the full six piece line- up including both vocalists and a saxophonist.
Based in Birmingham, West Midlands
A Foggy Day in London Town
Ain't Misbehavin'
All of Me
All or Nothing at All
As Time Goes By
Autumn in New York
Besame Mucho
Bewitched
Beyond The Sea
Blue Moon
Blue Skies
Body and Soul
Buona Sera
Bye Bye Blackbird
Can't Take My Eyes Off You
Charleston
Cheek to Cheek
City of Stars (from La La Land)
Come Fly With Me
Dream a Little Dream of Me
Embraceable You
Every Time We Say Goodbye
Feeling Good
Fever
Five Foot Two, Eyes Of Blue
Fly Me To the Moon
Get Happy
Girl from Ipanema
Hallelujah, I Love Her So
I Could Write A Book
I Could Have Danced All Night
I Get A Kick Out of You
I Get Along Without You
In The Wee Small Hours of the Morning
I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself A Letter
It Don't Mean A Thing
It Had to be You
It's Alright With Me
I Get A Kick Out of You
I've Got You Under Your Skin
I've Got the World on a String
Just a Gigolo
Just One of Those Things
Lady is a Tramp
Just One of Those Things
Let There By Love
L-O-V-E
Love Letters
Love and Marriage
Let's Face the Music and Dance
Love for Sale
Mack The Knife
Mona Lisa
Moon River
My Baby Just Cares For Me
My Funny Valentine
My Way
Nature Boy
New York, New York
Nice Work if you Can Get It
Night and Day
Oh Marie
Our Love is Here To Stay
On The Street Where You Live
Pennies From Heaven
Puttin On The Ritz
Route 66
September Song
Smile
Some Enchanted Evening
Something Stupid
Star Dust
Strangers In The Night
Summertime
Summer Wind
Sunny Side of the Street
Sweet Lorraine
That's Life
That Old Black Magic
The Continental
The Way You Look Tonight
They Can't Take That Away from Me
Unforgettable
Witchcraft
What a Wonderful World
When I Fall in Love
You Make Me Feel So Young
We can perform in a variety of line-ups suited to different events and budgets. We're happy to perform outdoors but we will always need a power socket (we can run a 25m extension cable if needed) and some robust cover for our electrical equipment in case of rain.
Yes - we have an excellent PA that is scalable for events from 40-400 people. We also have full disco lighting and can run Spotify discos for after our performance if required.
Any special directions/access requirements. The name of the venue contact if there is one and their contact number eg the wedding organiser. Any sound limiters in place. Any specific venue requirements eg PLI certificate
Yes - we run this from Spotify. Lots of clients go for this option.
The most high profile person we have ever performed in front of was The Queen, but we have performed at countless events where there have been many very well known people.
Frank Sinatra might be the main influence, but Dean Martin's laid back style is probably more in keeping the The Debonairs style. We also love Michael Buble and his humour! Because we also offer a female vocalist option we love to perform vintage duets such as Anything You Can Do and Baby It's Cold Outside.
Every member of the The Debonairs is a full-time professional musician and has been gigging for well over twenty years. The Debonairs has been going for over ten years. The band is basically a super-group of the best of Birmingham's jazz musicians - we knew each other from the circuit and decided to put our skills into creating an excellent jazz/swing band.
We're really happy to perform at any event. Weddings give us a buzz because they're always such happy occasions, but we also love a big public event where there are big crowds eg sports or horse racing event.
We usually require an hour to set up, however for large events where the drums need to be miked this will be longer.
Yes, but we will require robust cover for our instruments and electrical gear in case of rain (it never rains when we play though!). We also need a power socket somewhere within approx 25m.
We're really happy to take requests. To be honest the song list on our profile is nowhere near the number of songs we can perform, it just gives a flavour...
Clients seem to love that we try to adapt our act to their specific event, eg we recently played an Argentinian Tango, Ben tries to include bride and grooms names into the songs etc
National Motorcycle Museum
UK Bugatti Club
Birmingham Frankfurt Market
Moonlight & Mistletoe
Brownsword Group
Asda
Countless hotels and country houses
Race tracks and courses eg Cheltenham