E3 Group

Our entertainment agents here at E3 Artists are used to dealing with requests to book professional chefs for cooking demonstrations and activity days, however, following her win on the Grand Final of this year’s Celebrity Master Chef, our agents are now dealing with a surge in requests to hire Jayne Middlemiss for her culinary skills.

The television and radio presenter, who nearly fell to pieces in Theo Randall’s kitchen on Thursday night’s penultimate installment, went onto win on Friday evening’s show preparing a sensational starter of seared scallops on apple puree, followed by a main course of pan fried veal and a dessert of lavender panacotta with crystallised violets.

Having worked on countless culinary workshops with our clients in the past (co-ordinating demonstrations from maestros such as James Martin and Aldo Zilli), we know that booking a charismatic chef is a guaranteed winner for event planners seeking a unique and unifying team building experience. Those looking to employ the skills of a celebrity chef, Miss Middlemiss included, can contact our agents for advice on 020 7836 4759 (Option 1).

It’s been a strange few days here in the E3 office; with the news of Michael Jackson’s premature death still reverberating. It goes without saying that the indisputed “king of pop” was an entertainment giant, and perhaps the only man in the world capable of selling out 50 concert dates at the O2.

Whilst also feeling the shock here at his passing we have also felt overwhelmed by the volume of enquiries we’ve received from our clients, wishing to pay tribute to Michael Jackson by organising themed events in his honour. Since Friday we have been inundated with requests to hire Britain’s Got Talent dance act Signature. The dancing duo caused a stir on the 2008 series of the show with their infusion of classic Michael Jackson songs and dance moves mixed with bangra. Tipped to support the now cancelled concert dates, many event planners are viewing Signature as the perfect act to honour his memory.

An extraordinary and controversial entertainer, possibly the most famous one in the world; Michael Jackson’s impact is demonstrated again through our clients’ desire to organise a fitting “farewell”.

Big Brother has once again graced our screens in all its divisive glory, polarising lovers and haters of the show for another few weeks of social experimentation, rows, romances and evictions. I felt that the show seemed to be launched amid much less fanfare and aplomb as in recent years, perhaps suffering from the Britain’s Got Talent media storm stealing its thunder. I was however brought back down to earth on realising that Big Brother has once again destroyed its ratings competition on the night as the eager faithful tuned in across the country to examine and summarily judge the new contestants. It always amazes me just how much impact the programme has. The godfather of reality TV that Big Brother is doesn’t have the same viable, marketable assets in its contestants as the likes of BGT or the X Factor. We all know that Susan Boyle will record an album and tour, Diversity will go on to perform sell-out tours, possibly even supporting Michael Jackson, but what is in store for those contestants who leave the Big Brother house?

Many launch hugely successful media careers on the back of their BB experience. Everyday, E3 Artists takes requests to hire Big Brother housemates for public appearances, promotional work and even DJ sets. Kate Lawler, Aisleyne Horgan-Wallace, Brian Dowling and Brian Belo are still extremely popular in the world of corporate and private events having capitalised on and transcended their Big Brother labels to become media personalities in their own right. Promoters and businesses see the value of association with these former housemates as their successes on the show are almost a national seal of approval and a direct endorsement of their ability to engage with the public at large. They are alos cost effective options having huge noteriety without the huge pricetags of fellow media personalities. The new crop of housemates shows some early promise. A particularly good looking house this year, including a few models, means promotional work should be a doddle. The Big Brother policy of making the housemates as diverse as possible makes the show a candy shop of promotional opportunities for businesses. There is literally something for everyone. Rodrigo has emerged as the bookies early favourite but ultimately, judgements on this year’s housemates will change and evolve as the series progresses and a clearer a picture of what each housemate has to offer will be divulged as time goes on. What is clear is that the power of Big Brother and the media personalities it produces is not wavering just yet and the viewing public are as willing as ever to engage in the community of debate, shock and adulation that Reality TV’s ‘Old Lady’ has to offer.

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Britain’s Got Talent has come to an end with Diversity being crowned this year’s champions. With the show finishing, you would expect the media storm surrounding the competition to die down but so far, it has simply gathered momentum, becoming a full blown hurricane. Susan Boyle is now in rehab for the stress of becoming an overnight success and every single act who participated in the final, and even some of the semi finalists, are now the nations hottest entertainment property. What has astounded me is how much the show has impacted on the media, the public and the entertainment business. Last week, E3 Artists reported record visits to the website from people hoping to hire Gareth Oliver and this morning, we even received a Dominoes Pizza leaflet encouraging customers to enter a Britain’s Got Talent competition to design a new pizza. BGT has shaken off its image as the poor relation of the X Factor and other reality TV shows to become the nation’s most watched and most debated programme.

At E3 Artists, the BGT fallout has been unprecedented. Aside from the Gareth Oliver enquiries, every day our team is taking countless requests to book, Shaun Smith, Flawless, Stavros Flatly and really, any BGT act that they can get their hands on. The Simon Cowell/ Piers Morgan press juggernaut is keeping every act firmly in the public eye and encouraging businesses of all shapes and sizes to associate their brand with the Britain’s Got Talent phenomenon. Following the unconfirmed report that Susan Boyle has been asked to perform at the White House, even international governments want to get in on the action and associate their office with the outpouring of good feeling to all the BGT acts.

Critics are levelling accusations of exploitation against the show, accusing them of publicising to death the likes of Susan Boyle while giving no emotional support to the acts thrust at lightening speed into the public eye. I am quite sceptical of exactly how exploitative the show really is. Isn’t the goal of all acts taking part to perform in front of the Queen at the Royal Variety performance? If that isn’t one of the most high profile moments of any entertainer’s career, I don’t know what is. I understand that people may not be prepared for a meteoric rise to fame like the one this series has awarded Susan Boyle, but why would anyone audition for this kind of competition without being in some way mentally prepared for and in fact, actively seeking fame? At any rate, it is clear that the runaway train that is Britain’s Got Talent is far from the home straight and acts like Susan Boyle and winners Diversity will have to be prepared for the international renown that is now obviously unavoidable. In future series’, The BGT team will have to give serious thought to the support available to these acts to help them deal with the stardom that is now so clearly unavoidable.

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In the last few months, there has been a bit of press surrounding Simon Cowell’s predicted exit from one of his many talent shows. Depending on who you believe, Simon is set to depart from Britain’s Got Talent, The X Factor and American Idol. Obviously, to assume that he will be leaving all three would be slightly absurd, I mean, what would this multi-millionaire find to do in his spare time? It is still quite possible that he will leave one of these shows and this got me wondering which one and what, if any, impact this would have on the show in question. I think it is unlikely that Simon will leave Britain’s Got Talent as he seems to really enjoy judging this show. He has, however, said no to judging the American version perhaps indicating that one is enough. The X Factor producers have indicated that they think Mr Cowell is “replaceable” but I think you have to take that with a pinch of salt since Simon owns the whole format and he himself hires and fires those same producers. American Idol is the most likely of the three to see Simon depart, in my opinion. The format is owned by Simon Fuller and not Mr Cowell and although he has said that he enjoys not worrying about anything except the judging while on Idol, I think that he could leave and subsequently try to launch The X Factor in the USA. This is exactly what happened to Pop Idol in the UK with that name long removed from the popular vernacular.

If Simon was to depart from any of the above franchises, the impact could be devastating. E3 Group recently created a bespoke production of Strictly Come Dancing for clients Thomas Cook, replicating the format as close to the original as possible. Initially, the view was taken that we would not use a Craig Revel Horwood style, nasty judge in the production as we worried this could de-motivate the contestants and audience, defeating the point of any corporate production! We found this notion to be completely wrong. The second version of the production came complete with the nasty judge and the audience revelled in it. It gave them a figure to unite against in mutual hatred and somewhere to direct those almighty boos! If Simon Cowell leaves any of his talent shows, this will be the result. A void where the boo-absorbing sponge used to be will appear and overly nice comments will begin to pour from those remaining judges without anyone to keep them in check. If the producers try to replace Simon with another harsh talking judge, audiences will see through this too easily. It will become all too obvious that a format has been created independent of those who appear on it, easily dismantled and repackaged with new faces. I know, to some extent, this has been happening already throughout the evolution of this kind of talent show, but for me, Simon is the lynchpin that keeps all these formats ticking over. To remove him could truly sound the death knell for any one of these popular talent shows.

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Dora Bryan is one of the nation’s most beloved stars of stage and screen. As Aunt Ros Utterthwaite she endeared herself to fans of Last of the Summer Wine and picked up a BAFTA nomination for her role as Dolly in Absolutely Fabulous. Before these memorable roles, Dora picked up a BAFTA for her scene stealing performance in A Taste of Honey and an Olivier Award for her turn in Harold Pinter’s The Birthday Party. All these accolades lead to Dora receiving an OBE in the Queen’s honours list in 1996, recognising her stellar contribution to British film, television and theatre. Dora’s life has certainly been eventful and not exactly what you would call smooth sailing. This excellent article in the Daily Mail served to emphasise this while extolling what a true talent to be admired Dora really is. E3 Group entertainment agency CEO David Hill, who is also Dora’s manager and close personal friend, decided that at the very least, Dora deserved an evening of entertainment to celebrate all her achievements. And so Dora was born; a Gala Charity Show celebrating the career of Dora Bryan OBE. David Hill commented on the celebration, “It is a wonderful opportunity to pay tribute to a very special lady and an incredible British talent.”

The event will be held at The Really Useful Group’s Her Majesty’s Theatre, London on the 31st May 2009. Dora herself will be the guest of honour at the gala show which will bring together many of her friends and fans for an evening of entertainment and reminiscence on the career of this highly renowned BAFTA and Olivier award winning actress. The evening will consist of performances and speeches from many of the famous friends Dora has made throughout her career which has now spanned seven decades. The show will be ticketed in order to raise money for a charity very close to Dora’s heart, the Variety Club Children’s Charity, whose dedication to helping sick and disabled children through variety entertainment has inspired the evening. The Variety Club’s Chief Barker, Kenneth R. Mustoe commented on Dora. “Dora Bryan is a true legend of the entertainment industry and has been a supporter of The Variety Club for over 30 years. We are extremely honoured that she has nominated us as the charity of choice for her well deserved tribute evening. This gift will make a true difference in the lives of sick, disabled and disadvantaged children and young people across the UK.”

Tickets are available to purchase through See Tickets and ticket enquiries can be made on 0844 4124 657 or through www.seetickets.com. The full line up of the evening’s entertainment will be confirmed shortly. Please don’t hesitate to contact E3 Group for any information pertaining to the show.

For more information on the Variety Club Children’s Charity please visit www.varietyclub.org.uk

BAFTA’s television awards went ahead yesterday with much aplomb but significantly reduced viewing figures on last year. With Britain’s Got Talent drawing a whopping 12million viewers over the weekend, BAFTA’s 4.4million means just over a third of the amount of BGT viewers made the effort to watch the ceremony. Although it could be argued that awards ceremonies are somewhat self-congratulatory affairs where the TV industry recognises the brilliance of the TV industry, for me, these awards are vital to ensure that standards of programming do not dip. Without goals and benchmarks to aim for, how can TV ever be expected to progress and improve? These BAFTA’s seemed to recognise the changing landscape of British television reflected by some surprise nominations and some surprising wins.

June Brown, whose nomination for best actress was unusual for a performance in a soap, failed to take home the award; a step too far for soaps this year perhaps. Struggling Broadcaster ITV were surprised to pick up gongs for the Bill and their coverage of the Formula 1 Grand Prix victory of Lewis Hamilton, an award almost universally handed to the BBC’s Olympic coverage before the winner was announced. The awards which seemed a shock to some observers but came as no surprise to us here at E3 were the BAFTA for best entertainment programme and the Phillips Audience award. The X Factor beat off competition from The Apprentice, QI, The Sunday Night Project and TV Burp to pick up the best entertainment programme award and this is a reflection of the huge public interest and engagement with the talent show. Advertisers and events organisers have understood the power of this programme for some time now and are continuously looking to hire former X Factor contestants to associate their brand or experience with this hugely influential brand. The Phillips audience award shocked some due to the winner, Skins, enjoying significantly smaller viewing figures than its competitors such as Coronation Street and The Apprentice. The nature of this award’s voting almost guaranteed Skins the win, as the online and text based voting system seemed to inadvertently target Skin’s primary, tech-savvy, audience. Ultimately, the results from this years BAFTA’a should act as a lesson to entertainment industry professionals. Writing off potential victors based on trends from previous years and underestimating your target audience can be costly for anyone using entertainment as a selling point. All in all, these BAFTA’s seemed to do a good job reflecting an tenacious but slightly weary industry, while pushing to the fore those entertainment concepts which really will really work in 2009.

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Susan Boyle is slowly becoming a global phenomenon as her YouTube video, boasting an impressive 19.2 million views as I write this post, clearly demonstrates. Her unexpected vocal talents have been the subject of national debate, prompting some journalists to evaluate the snide and almost sickening reaction to Susan before she wowed the Britain’s Got Talent judges and audience alike. Susan has now made appearances on prominent American TV shows and is due to appear on the Oprah Winfrey show, if you believe the rumours. Susan clearly has an exceptional gift and her performance is testament to just how much we as human beings appreciate talent. Her success is in no way undeserved, but her instant achievement and catapult to fame hasn’t materialised out of thin air. Simon Cowell will have been busy working in the wings to garner this global exposure but, once again I reiterate, it is wholly deserved. What it has made me think about is that the Britain’s Got Talent judges clearly have a type of act they seem to favour, the musical variety. The true spirit of variety and indeed the royal variety show itself is one of complete diversity. People don’t watch the Royal Variety show to see a singer, then a dancer, then a vocal group, then a dance troupe, they watch it to see the plethora of talent on offer and, in fact, often to see a talent they have never conceived of before.

It seems that the judges’ predicate is to stick with what’s safe and what has a clear route to market. Simon Cowell knows that Susan Boyle will be able to sell records if she emerges victorious from the show. I am reminded of the reports that Simon organised “secret” singing lessons for previous contestant Faryl Smith which could have constituted an unfair advantage. There were no such reports indicating similar training for non-musical contestants. Ant and Dec who host the show have both expressed their desire to see a comedian win the show but admit that with Simon’s unusual sense of humour, such acts are at an immediate disadvantage. Is there money to be made from variety and light entertainment stalwarts such as comedians, magicians, circus performers and specialty acts? In Cowell’s eyes, Perhaps not. Undoubtedly, many of the aforementioned acts that do appear on Britain’s Got Talent are woeful but, here at E3 Artists, we see such a wide variety (no pun intended) of talented acts that fall under these brackets that it surprises me that the finals of the last two series of Britain’s Got Talent have been dominated by singers, dancers and musicians. Of the fifteen acts that made it through to the live finals of the first two series, just three stood out as offering something besides musical or movement related talent. Damon Scott, a ventriloquist, Strike, a martial arts team and E3 favourites, the Barwizards. Ultimately it is up to the British public to keep acts in the show so we can only hope that those E3 Artists clients who have chosen to hire a comedian, magician or speciality act in recent months, pick up the phone and keep these acts represented throughout the competition.

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Britain’s Got Talent began again in earnest this weekend providing avid viewers with entertainment that continues to add new definition to the word variety. From the bizarre to the sublime, Britain’s Got Talent has it all. Whether your personal preference is dancers, singers or perhaps something a bit more madcap like Stavros Flatly, the show continues to provide a buffet of entertainment spectacle to suit all pallets. In my opinion, Shows like Britain’s Got Talent are a real bonus for event organisers everywhere. It is a platform from which some of the less traditional but often more remarkable acts are thrust into the public eye and therefore making them more attractive booking propositions.

Before Signature’s amazing run on the show, offering a potential client looking to hire an entertainer a bangra-infused Michael Jackson dance spectacular would have labelled you as some kind of raving maniac. The overwhelming public support and acceptance Signature received during and as a result of the show has made them extremely popular amongst our clients looking to book utterly original entertainment. Britain’s Got Talent has opened the doors for people with exceptional skills to promote themselves to the events community. E3 Artists’ entertainers such as The Barwizards, Bang On! and Tracey Lee Collins (who all indecently found fame appearing on Britain’s Got Talent) as well as acts who would fit right in to the make up of the show such as Nathan Zorchak and Mat Ricardo, have all benefited from the huge resurgence of variety as a popular entertainment option. So whether you’re a small venue booking a magician or a huge outdoor event looking to hire a unique entertainment experience, examining the variety entertainer option is a great way to maintain impact while keeping the budget reasonable.

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Listening to Michael Ball’s Sunday Brunch this week, I couldn’t help but notice a brief mention he made of the impact of the credit crunch on celebrity booking fees. Michael himself humorously quipped that his fee has always been the same, four pounds and a portion of chips, but he did raise an interesting point. Has the credit crunch impacted on how much it costs to hire a celebrity? Paul Daniels has reportedly dropped his fee from a respectable £10,000 to a more modest £6,000, Ken Clarke, current Shadow Business Secretary once charged up to£ 10,000 for after dinner speeches but has dropped that to less than £5,000 and Craig Phillips, the inaugural Big Brother winner has hinted he would be happy to attend events for free, as long as there is a pint of beer waiting for him. Although Craig’s suggested fee is clearly tongue-in-cheek, the source of this info, the People Newspaper, may have failed to take into account some of the other factors which can, do and will have impacted on these and many other celebrity prices.

Undoubtedly, Britain is suffering in the current economic downturn and it would be foolish to deny that there are fewer jobs out there than before. This of course also extends into the celebrity sphere with event organisers looking to get more value from their budgets. Many of those who are planning events are trading celebrity entertainment for non-celebrity and specialty acts. However, at E3 Artists, we see celebrity fees fluctuate so much that we know it is not just the current climate that impacts upon them. As reports of the downturn began to emerge, the extremely popular vocalist Duffy’s fee was around £20,000. Now, as the credit crunch is at its full, rampaging height, Duffy can command upwards of £50,000 on the back of her hugely successful awards season. Leona Lewis, Girls Aloud, Lilly Allen and The Saturdays have also seen marked increases in their fees from last year. Those artists listed in the article and discussed on Sunday Brunch have had reduced press, television coverage and public interest in recent months. Not that they have any less value as artists, it’s just they’re a product of the cyclical nature of the media. One star turn, appearance of note or favourable story and you could see these fees reach levels even surpassing those seen before. Paul Daniels, for example, is gaining cult celebrity status on social networking phenomenon Twitter. It won’t belong before he can demand similar fees to days gone by, credit crunch or not. It is all these factors that make gauging the value of celebrity appearances extremely difficult. When doing so it is always useful to seek the advice of someone who keeps up to date with the fluctuating trends in this rapidly changing industry.

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