E3 Group

Since Britain’s Got Talent series 4 finished on 5th June 2010, our offices have been inundated with a record number of enquiries from individuals, businesses and other organisations looking to hire acts from the show for upcoming live events. We are asked on a daily basis “how much does it cost to hire Britain’s Got Talent acts?” Unfortunately, it is not possible to give a uniform answer to this question. Costs to hire BGT acts can and do change on a daily basis according to a wide range of factors such as demand, availability and popularity. In addition, the specifics of each individual event will impact on cost. For example, the cost to hire an act for a private event in Scotland will differ considerably from a ticketed event in London.

However, as an approximate guide, it’s possible to clarify here that the majority of acts that make it through to the live finals of Britain’s Got Talent tend to have fee expectations starting in the region of £2,000 per performance. The most successful acts from the show can command fees much higher than this for both private and corporate bookings. Listed below are some of this year’s acts that are potentially available to book. For a more accurate indication of booking fees you can contact one of our entertainment agents using our online form.

Please note that all of the acts featured below fall into either category A, B or C on our price guidelines page.

1. Spelbound
Deserving winners of series 4, Spelbound are now very much in demand for live event performances across the UK and overseas. For an indication of the cost to hire Spelbound, contact us via our online form.

2. Twist and Pulse
This unique dancing duo have emerged as one of the most hotly requested acts to perform at live events, functions and weddings. For an indication of the cost to hire Twist and Pulse, contact us via our online form.

3. Tobias Mead
A firm favourite from the start of the competition, Tobias Mead is now considering a wide range of offers and opportunities to progress his career. Hor an indication of the cost to hire Tobias Mead, contact us via our online form.

4. Paul Burling
A family favourite with great cross-generational appeal, Paul is now very much in demand for events across the country. For an indication of the cost to hire Paul Burling, contact us via our online form.

5. Tina and Chandi
“The most talented dog act I have ever seen” according to Piers Morgan, Tina and Chandi are now another popular choice for live events across the UK. For an indication of hire costs, contact us via our online form.

6. The Fusion
Narrowly missing out on a place in the grand final has not dampened the booking requests for this talented dance troupe. For an indication of the cost to hire The Fusion, contact us via our online form.

7. The Arrangement
Eccentric, original, and above all entertaining, The Arrangement are another act that have generated a huge amount of interest from event planners. For an indication of the cost to hire The Arrangement, contact us via our online form.

8. Neil Fullard
“The singing doorman” impressed the audience and judges alike with his confident performances. For an indication of hire costs, contact us via our online form.

9. Threebee
Another highly talented and colourful dance troupe that stood out in this year’s competition. They are now considering offers for live events across the UK. For an indication of hire costs, contact us via our online form.

10. Kevin Cruise
Camp, fun and eccentric, Kevin Cruise is available to bring his special brand of comedy and performance to live events across the UK and overseas! For an indication of hire costs, contact us via our online form.

For a tailored quote please contact us using our online form. Alternatively, subscribe to our blog for monthly updates!

Using the internet to search for possible bands to hire for weddings, parties, or business events can be quite tiring process due to the sheer volume of band sites, agencies and resource pages available. To try and make this process a little easier we’ve put together a list of our favourite resources on the web. We hope these links will help some people to find their perfect band although we also hope, as band booking agents ourselves, that you might come back to us!

Band Me Up

Band Me Up is a great international band booking resource with an abundance of information on new bands, venues and promotion companies. Although it features a lot of U.S based bands, there are plenty of resources on here for those looking to hire a band or organise a venue in the UK.

British Arts

British Arts offer a high quality band hire resources page featuring links to a range of acts including classical ensembles, jazz quartets, rock bands and everything else inbetween.

EntsWeb

EntsWeb are a leading UK based entertainment directory offering category specific listings of bands for hire. A great resource if you’re determined to book direct and not use an agency, however, you should apply caution when dealing with acts you have not come across before. A good agent will help you to avoid certain pitfalls.

Band4U

Band4U offer a searchable database of bands including party bands, cover bands, jazz bands, steel bands, and tribute bands. This is a particularly useful resource if you’re looking for a band in a specific geographic location. The impartiality of the site is also a bonus although it’s recommended that you check which agencies any of the bands you’re interested in are registered with. A band that is not listed with any agencies might be a potential risky booking.

Gig Guide

Gig Guide aims to “enhance and sustain the growth of the United Kingdom music industry by providing FREE gig listing services to amateur and semi-professional musicians”. The site is also a great resource for those looking to hire bands as it includes a directory of bands playing various types of music for weddings and functions.

E3 Artists

Ok, this doesn’t make our resource list as impartial as it ought to be but we can’t not reference our own band hire page. We’re currently working with some of the UK’s most talented musicians and we think we have pretty much every type of band for every type of occasion. Let us know what you think!

LastMinuteMusicians

A fellow agency (ok, we’re making amends for our shameless self promotion above), LastMinuteMusicians are, we must admit, a great resource site. Take a look, but bear in mind we provide lower fee deals on a wide range of party and wedding bands.

Our entertainment agents are expecting a surge in Britain’s Got Talent booking enquiries next week as event planners express an early interest in acts presented on the new series of the ITV show which starts tonight.

Britain’s Got Talent has made stars of performers such as Paul Potts, Susan Boyle, George Sampson and dance group Diversity. A host of other notable acts from the show including: saxophonist Julian Smith; dancing duo Stavros Flatley; cocktail acrobats The Bar Wizards; and the Michael Jackson/Bhangra infusion dance act Signature have continued to prove incredibly popular with both private and commercial event planners. The new series is likely to produce a new set of stars and our booking agents will be keeping a close eye on the developments with updates posted right here.

For more advice booking BGT acts, contact our London office or visit our entertainment agency homepage.

We’re often approached by clients looking for unusual entertainment ideas for their events. One particular act that we often recommend is the tremondously wild, wacky and unique Humanimal. The Humanimal is a collaboration between model Alex Kovas and his make-up and body paint artists. Alex is able to transform himself into a wide array of highly realistic looking animal creatures including big cats, horses, unicorns, antelope and dogs. As unusual entertainment options go, The Humanimal is quite a contender!

Alex’s performances for events vary. He’s sometimes utilised as a statue, other times he mixes and mingles as an “ordinary” guest. How about recieving expert racing advice and opinion from a horse itself?

Alex’s work is also ideally suited for themed events. Fantasy events with unicorns are no problem for The Humanimal.

Business or staff events can be made a lot more fun with The Humanimal’s wild creature incarnations. Imagine your staff bumping into this lion on the stairwell?

The Humanimal gets our vote as a top unusual entertainer. For further details on about this act visit our entertainers page.

X-Factor singer Lucie Jones is now available for corporate and event bookings following her shock exit from the ITV show last Sunday night. The talented contestant has spent the last few days engaged in television interviews, publicity and negotiations for her future appearances.

Despite losing out to novelty act John & Edward, Lucie’s exceptional vocal ability has already made her a popular choice for event bookings this Christmas. She joins Kandy Rain, Rikki Loney, Miss Frank and Rachel Adedeji who are all also available to hire for events. Booking enquiries for Lucie Jones can be made via our London office. For more entertainment options visit our agency homepage or view our other vocalists for hire.

Our entertainment agents here at E3 Artists are currently inundated with requests from our clients to book acts from this year’s X-Factor contest. Kandy Rain, Rikki Loney and Miss Frank are proving popular choices with Christmas event planners looking for current, up-to-date acts to entertain their guests. With some X-Factor finalists fees as low as £2,000 for a performance, it’s also a cost-effective option for securing a high-profile act without the high-profile price tag.

For advice on booking an X-Factor act, please contact one of our agents at our London office on 020 7836 4759 or click here to contact us via our online form.

Scottish singer Rikki Loney has become the second act to get voted off the live finals of 2009’s The X Factor, following Kandy Rain’s departure last week. Rikki’s departure is all the more controversial for the fact that oddity act, John & Edward, have remained in the competition. The Irish twins baffled, bemused but entertained with a badly performed rendition of a Britney Spears track.

Although still bound by certain contractual obligations with ITV and possible commitments to the touring show, Rikki Loney is now available to hire for corporate and private events. For further details contact one of our entertainment agents.

Everyday our entertainment agents here at E3 Artists are asked if it’s possible to book a top flight party band without the pop group pricetag. Our answer is always a resounding “yes”! Ok, we admit that you won’t be able to secure McFly or Girls Aloud on a budget of £2,000. In fact, we feel slightly embarrassed when we have to explain to inexperienced potential bookers that chart-topping acts of this calibre have fee expectations in the region of £150,000+ for private and corporate events. However, it’s not all bad news. The truth is that some of the UK’s most talented musicians are out there to be secured for your party or event and sometimes their fees can be as low as £1,000 for a four-piece band.

In celebration of this fact, the E3 Artists team have decided to take a vote each month on their current favourite party or function band; using popularity with our clients as the main judging criteria. So, the votes have been cast and we can now officially announce that the first E3 band of the month is FUNKification. FUNKification are a collective featuring some of London’s most talented musicians. Scalable from a four-piece right up to a thirteen-piece orchestral outfit, the group play pop, rock, swing, jazz and party numbers and have never failed yet to impress our clients.

Our entertainment agents here at E3 Group are often asked by our major clients; “who are the most ‘up and coming’ or ‘in demand’ comedians on the circuit and are they available for private events?” To help answer this question, the E3 Artists team will each month take a vote on who they think is the hottest ticket in comedy. This month the honour goes to Lancashire born comedian, Jason Manford. The 8 out of 10 Cats star has just embarked on a successful national tour with a DVD of his stand-up due out in November. Jason is a very popular choice for corporate events and award ceremonies although his booking availability is fairly limited in 2009 due to his touring and televsion commitments.

Here at E3 Artists, October is always our busiest month for dealing with our clients’ Christmas entertainment requirements. This year is no exception and we are currently working on several briefs with budgets large and small. We are often asked what can be acheived on a specific budget so to help answer this question, we’ve put together some party entertainment options:

Up to £1,000

For up to £1,000 you could hire a DJ plus x3 “Santa Shot Girls” (female models dressed as Santa’s helpers) to deliver drinks to your colleagues or guests whilst they enjoy the party. Not to be sexist, “Santa Shot Boys” are also available too!

Also within a £1,000 budget you could consider hiring a talented professional singer to perform a party set to backing tracks, a guaranteed way to get your guests on the dancefloor. This option would also leave room in the budget to consider some additional entertainment such as a close-up magician, or a “walking Christmas tree” to amuse your guests as they arrive at the venue.

Up to £2,000

For up to £2,000 you could create a great vibe with a 45 minute party-set performed by a talented professional singer followed by 3 hours of dance music from a top DJ. Also within this budget you could have x2 additional entertainment elements such as “Santa’s Shot Girls & Boys” pouring drinks and “walking Christmas trees” greeting your guests.

Alternatively for £2,000 you could hire a top quality four-piece party band supported by one or two of the additional elements above.

Up to £3,000

For up to £3,000 you could consider hiring a named DJ such as Pat Sharp, Kate Lawler or Danny Rampling to play a party set for the evening. You could also combine this with some unusual Christmas entertainment such as “The Human Reindeer“.

Up to £5,000

For up to £5,000 you could consider hiring a well-known vocalist or dance act from The X-Factor or Britain’s Got Talent to perform a special Christmas gig, supported by a DJ and some additional entertainment such as a magician or specialist act. Imagine “Stavros Flatly” in Santa’s garb!

Over £5,000

On a budget of £5,000 or more the sky is the limit in terms of what you can do. From hiring a celebrity singer to perform a vocal set to organising a 12-piece orchestral swing band to perform at your Christmas event venue. The options are endless!

For further advice on booking Christmas party entertainers, visit our main site here, or alternatively give our London office a call for an informal chat with one of our entertainment agents.