Live performer

Andy is a great solo performer with a wide range of shows including:

Tribute to the Rat Pack, Swing Set

Acoustic Guitar & Vocals Set

Lively Guitar Vocal Backing Track Set

Click on the various options for set lists and more...

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Big fish in a small pond

Published at 11:31, Thursday, 23 September 2010

Whether brandishing a tennis racquet pretending it is an electric guitar or singing into a hairbrush pretending it is a microphone, almost everybody has their youthful rock star dreams.

So Andy Whitaker is a bit of a late developer. He is now a star of the local music scene – but it wasn’t until his late 20s that becoming a professional musician ever occurred to him.

Andy, now 40, can be seen regularly in music venues across the county and sometimes further afield, playing with his rock band Highly Strung, in acoustic duos with guitarist Dave Mason or performing the best-known ballads of Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr and Dean Martin in his Rat Pack sets.

He and his bandmates – Dave, bassist Lawrence Blackadder, Alain Mayson on keyboards and Dan Winthrop on drums – are also in demand at wedding receptions, birthday parties and other functions, and he estimates he plays more than 80 a year.

But when he left school Andy worked as a painter and decorator and had no special musical ambitions. And he would still be doing that if it wasn’t for karaoke.

“I played the guitar from the age of 11,” he explains. “I also played the drums and a little bit of piano. My parents always encouraged music.

“But I didn’t get into singing until karaoke hit the scene. Everywhere seemed to be holding karaoke nights and I seemed to go down quite well. I found I could entertain people.

“I won a few competitions and I started to think: ‘I could do this.’”

So the music took over from the decorating. Now Andy and Dave play acoustic nights at the Office bar in Carlisle and Highly Strung are booked to perform there later his month. But it is the weddings that keep Andy and the others busiest.

Recession or no recession, good quality live music seems to be undergoing a revival at weddings.

“Your guests will always remember the evening reception, however good or bad the entertainment is,” he argues.

“You don’t want the comment book to read: ‘The dress was stunning but the disco was rubbish.’

“People had the same old discos at wedding receptions for years, but now they seem to be switching back to live bands – which is great for us. Nothing has slowed down.”

Indeed he performs at so many weddings that they sometimes blend into one. “On Monday people will ask: ‘Where were you playing at the weekend?’ and I can’t remember. It’s not that I’m forgetful – it’s just because I do so many.”

Part of their popularity lies in the range of music on offer. It’s not just rock ‘n’ roll covers. Andy dons a tuxedo for his Rat Pack set and then changes to resume lead singer duties with Highly Strung or for acoustic duos.

And though the music may be varied, some of the characteristics of weddings never change.

“There’s always the circle dance, where everyone takes a turn at doing their best or funniest dance in the middle.

“Or some drunk idiot thinks it’s funny to grab the mic and guitar for a photo – not realising they have about £2,000 worth of equipment in their unsteady hands!

“And there’s the number of times people fall over while dancing – and then pretend it was part of their routine. If I had a camcorder pointed to the dance floor all night I’d make a fortune on You’ve Been Framed!”

The wedding circuit and local music venues offer Andy and his bandmates plenty of work. And now with a five-month-old baby daughter he is happy to remain a big fish in the small pond of Cumbria rather than head south in search of the big time.

“Dave and I have written some songs and people sometimes say: ‘You should be on The X Factor or get a record deal.’ But I’d rather be at the top in Cumbria than be one of thousands in London.”

And it’s not just working on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. There is a lot of bureaucracy to deal with.

“People think I sing for a couple of hours at the weekend, then come home and do nothing all week.

“But you still have to sort out bookings, print posters, find out the way people want their wedding, what the first dance is going to be, and so on.

“But compared to what other people have to do to earn a living, I think I’ve got quite an easy life.

“This is a very nice job to have.”

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