Week In Review - 30 March 2015

I'm baaaack ... after a much needed mini-break to Spain last week. Due to the fact that I was unplugged for a few days, I didn't write a blog for last week's newsletter. Did you miss me? One less thing to have to read, right?

So here are some highlights from the week of 16 March through today ...

On Tuesday, I was at The Spring in Havant shooting a promotional video for my Diana Ross Tribute Show. My video team, led by Emma Stock, were absolutely amazing with making sure we had good shooting angles, that the lighting and sound were just right, and that we used the time well to get all the footage we needed, and then some! A special thanks to The Spring's Production and Technical Manager, Ian McInally for being on hand to assist with the lights, sound, smoke machine and even a fabulous Disco Ball! I will share the finished video in a couple weeks. Watch this space.

On Friday, I sat in with Beau, a great Funk, Rock band at a venue in Stubbington. For the night, they renamed the band 'The Glo'! How nice of them.

On Saturday, I performed at a 40th Birthday Party at Amfield Golf & Country Club which turned out to be quite the Soulful event. I even hit the dance floor after my set was done, which couldn't be helped really due to the jammin' setlist DJ Paul Mico was throwing down.

Here's what the birthday girl had to say about the entertainment:

"I booked Gloria as a solo act for my 40th. What an outstanding performance from her singing soul songs selected by me..it was a great lead into the soul disco I had arranged also. Gloria was easy to deal with and it all went as planned. I'd definitely book her again. Truly outstanding." - Vicky Hemmings

Then on Sunday it was off to not-so-sunny Spain for a few days of R&R. I didn't mind that it wasn't sunny, cause that forced the hubs and me to stay in and actually rest. We returned home on Thursday and then I was off to the races on Friday with Performance Coaching sessions at Mayfield Studios and a Diana Ross Tribute Show in the evening at the Carisbrooke Arms in Gosport. This is a regular venue for me, and as usual the crowd was ready for a good time, and that's exactly what we had! Shout out to fellow Move On Up band member, Graeme Lewis, for doing sound for me.

On Saturday, my newest show, Simply Tina Turner was performed for the first time with Move On Up backing me, and we had a right rowdy time at The Jolly Sailor. As fate would have it, the Portsmouth Backlight Run finished just before we started the Tina Turner set, and what seems like the entire contingency of runners crammed into The Jolly for a pint. The place was heaving with people. Then Tina made her appearance and the place went absolutely mad! I don't think the runners planned on staying the night, but many of them did and were still there as we were packing up to go home!

We are currently running a special offer for a double tribute show ... Diana Ross vs. Tina Turner! There has already been a great response to this offer and I'll be performing the first one solo in April at a venue in Poole. This show is available solo with professional backing tracks or backed by my band, Move On Up. Please contact me for all the details or if you would like to book this show, please click here to complete the 'get-a-quote' form and include Promo Code SDRSTT in the 'budget' field.

Saturday was a busy day for GME with two of my Acts also out performing. Marlene Hill performed at the Noah Mapalo Help Centre charity event held at the The John Pounds Centre in Southsea, and The Coasters performed at the business launch event for Crunch Time Catering at Southsea Castle.

The Coasters Duo

Finally, on Sunday the Frankie & Glo Duo performed a bit of Acoustic Soul at The Jolly Sailor for a lovely, laid back afternoon. Honestly, I wasn't sure how I was going to get through this gig cause I was quite exhausted from performing Tina Turner and then a equally high-powered second Move On Up set the night before. Frankie, lead guitarist in Move On Up, seemed fine on Sunday (he is much younger than me ... LOL), but I wouldn't have made it at all had the hubs not agreed to be my driver and roadie.

Needless to say, but I need another holiday after that fast-paced weekend! But, alas, no rest for the weary as I was back in the office on Monday playing catch after being out of the office for a week, yet basking in the afterglow of having had an amazing weekend of performing! I wouldn't have it any other way.

Glo & Neal

Oh, I almost forgot ... the new GME website has gone live! Click here to have a look around, and please let me know what you think of the new site. You can leave your comments of feedback below.

And remember, at GME we provide star-quality entertainment at affordable prices for Weddings, Events, Venues, Festivals & Cruise Ships. We also offer professional Disco/DJ services, so get in touch and let us handle the details of your next event!

That's plenty for this edition! Have a fabulous week and Happy Easter!

Week In Review: 16-22 February 2015

I had a rare Monday booking where Supremely, Diana Ross made an appearance at the Portsmouth Pride Fest Showcase held at Three Bar in Southsea. The evening was hosted by Drag Artiste, Linda Bacardi and Chairperson David Lee-Bastable was also on hand to officially open the event.

Other acts performing on the night were Blokezone, The Blues Brothers by The Disco Divas, & One for The Road! There was certainly a Variety Show feel about the evening, and all the acts were united in one purpose - to show their SUPPORT for Pride.

I will also be performing my Diana Ross Tribute show during the main Pride event on the 20th of June at Victoria Park with performances at the Portsmouth Guildhall. For more information on this event, click here.

On Tuesday, I took a cheeky day off and spent the afternoon with the hubs and in-laws on the Isle of Wight, and it was a bonus that it was sunny too!

Wednesday I had band rehearsal with Mayfield in the lovely Mayfield Studios. In between prepping songs to record for our second album, we have some shows coming up that we're preparing for, the next one being March of the Mods in Reading on the 15th of March. Tickets are still available so click here to purchase yours!

Thursday Move On Up performed our first gig of the year at The Wine Vaults in Southsea, and as usual we had a fantastic crowd that sparked us on to give a high-energy performance of Soul, Funk, Blues & Rock classics. We will be back at The Vaults on the 16th of July. Save the date.

On Friday I had a vocal coaching consultation with a prospective new student in the morning, and then headed to Southampton for my Social Media Class.

All week I was nursing a bit of a head cold, but on Friday the cold starting fighting back so I had to cancel my vocal session with Mayfield that was scheduled for Saturday, and spent the entire weekend in bed just trying to feel better.

GME is a leading provider of star-quality entertainment at affordable prices, so why not contact us today to discuss entertainment for your wedding, birthday, anniversary or for your venue. 02392 894 902.

Have a fantastic week!

Gloria xx

Week in Review - 30 January 2015

Dreams do come true, and since moving to the UK five years ago, here are a few that have come true for me ... singing all across the UK & Europe; hearing myself recorded on vinyl, running my own business and the latest one, being a partner in Mayfield Records. I am delighted to be a part of this dynamic new record company and studio in the Portsmouth area and my role mainly be in the areas of marketing and promoting the studio, as well as A&R for the record label. The studio launched in November of last year, and there's already quite a buzz of activity in the studio with several local bands and singers taking advantage of the 50% discount that was offered for the launch.

I was in the studio on Tuesday recording vocals for my covers band, Move On Up, and will be back on Saturday to record a song for Mayfield's new album that will be released later this year. I felt right at home recording in this state-of-the-art facility, and the sound quality is quite fabulous!

On Wednesday we launched a competition for the studio where you can enter to win a chance to record a fully mastered EP.  The prize winner will receive free recording sessions at Mayfield Studios to include recording engineer and full use of studio services and facilities. The prize will allow the winning entrant to record an EP (4 tracks) fully recorded, edited, mixed and mastered by Mayfield Studios.The entrants will not be restricted by musical genre and can include individual singer/songwriters or bands!

The competition is open to the first TWENTY valid entrants, and applications must be received no later than March 31st 2015. Applications must be made on-line via the Mayfield Studios website. Click here for more information or to enter!

At the end of December I moved into my very own office at the Cathedral Innovation Centre and over the past year their support of GME has been invaluable with being allowed to use the Hotdesking area before moving into my office, and the many contacts I've made through their networking events. They also provide me with admin support from their two apprentices. To show my appreciation, I will be performing at a charity event on the 21st of March at the Blue Lagoon Function Suite in Hilsea to help raise money to extend the apprentices's contracts. Anyone who runs their own business will appreciate how thankful you are whenever you are able to have a little help with those time consuming, but oh so necessary daily tasks. Yasmin and Bethany have helped me on so many occasions, so I am asking for your help to keep them employed with CIC for another year. This will be one of the only chances to see my Supremely, Diana Ross Tribute Show performed in the Portsmouth area, so why not join me for a bit of tea, cake & Motown! Tickets are just £8.50 and can be ordered by contacting Alan at 07591 702020.

That's it for this week. I have another rare weekend off and I'm going to enjoy having some me time as my schedule will begin to get a bit hectic starting next month!  Have a great weekend, I definitely plan to!

Week In Review - 21 March 2014

Jack & Max

Happy birthday to Jack & Max who have turned 2 today! How do cats normally celebrate their birthday? I've got no idea what to do for them! Maybe some extra snacks?? I am open to any suggestions!

Mayor & Mayoress of Havant

This week has been great for bookings and making some new contacts. On Wednesday, 19 March I had a meeting with the Mayor & Mayoress of Havant who contacted me a couple weeks ago about performing at their upcoming charity event. After a bit of shuffling my diary, arrangements were made to meet to discuss the event. Everything is now final and I will be providing the Cabaret Show for Councillor Paul Buckley and Mrs. Jackie Buckley's 'Finale Charity Dinner' on 25 April 2014 at the Newtown House Hotel on Hayling Island. Tickets are £32 per person and the evening is in aid of Stroke Association, Combat Stress & RELATE Portsmouth & District. For more information or to purchase tickets, contact: Anne Thurlow at 02392 446152 or annie.thurlow@havant.gov.uk.

Janey Howl

On Thursday, 20 March I attended the Portsmouth Business Expo at the Portsmouth Guildhall. I have to admit, when I first walked into the exhibitors' area after collecting my name badge and goody bag, I was a bit overwhelmed with so many people vying for my attention. I wasn't feeling all that social at 9:30 in the morning so I headed to the back of the hall where it felt a bit calmer. The first exhibitors I spoke to were the lovely ladies at Wight First Aid. After visiting a few more stalls, I needed to find somewhere to sit down and organize all the business cards and flyers I had accumulated in just 30 minutes ... LOL. I went into the seminar theatre and much to my delight ran into a good friend who I hadn't seen in ages, Janey Howl! I have to admit that I was a bit hesitant about going to the seminar, but after seeing Janey's delightful face, I instantly realized why I pressed through to be there ... in order to reconnect!  It's not surprising that Janey would be at this event, because she is a dynamic business coach and is now working with The Colour Works company who are dedicated to unlocking potential!

Janey ended up coming by the house for dinner and a much needed catch-up session, then she joined me at my show with 'Mayfield' at the Wine Vaults later that evening. 

During the Expo I did manage to attend two seminars. Debbie Huxton gave a great talk about 'Big Wisdom' and being a business success!  Ian Dickson, one of the UK's leading business coaches, was a delight with infectious enthusiasm and practical tips about Mindset, Knowledge & Action.

The highlight of the expo was the speed networking session hosted by '4Networking.' During this session, we were divided into two sections and each section was divided into two rows of people facing each other. At the sound of the whistle, each person in the left side of the facing rows was first to give a 1 minute pitch to the person sitting across from them. When the whistle blew a 2nd time, it was the other person's turn. When you heard two whistles, the people on the left side moved one seat to the left and the lucky people on the right side got to remain in their seats. And then the who thing started over again. Having never been to a speed networking session before, I made the mistake of sitting on the left side. That was the longest, most exhausting hour I've ever spent talking about GME, but by the time I got to the last person (about 40 people in the room in total) I had mastered my pitch and made some very viable contacts. 

The organizers of the Expo, Memo Events & Exhibitions, will also be hosting the West Sussex Business Expo 8 May at Butlins Conference Center. I'm looking forward to attending this expo as well, and I promise you I will make sure I'm sitting on the 'right' side for their speed networking session!!

I had a fantastic gig with Mayfield at the Wine Vaults last night and it was great to see so many familiar faces and loads of new ones too.  On Saturday, 22 March I'm singing at a wedding reception in Fareham in the afternoon and then finishing off the night rockin' it out with my party band, Move On Up at The Alma Arms in Portsmouth! Then on Sunday I'm heading to the Isle of Wight to visit the in-laws and have a lazy afternoon with the hubs!  I am soooooo looking forward to that!

Well, that's it for now. Have a great weekend!