MEET THE BAND

David discovered music listening to the records his sister played in the mid ‘60s. Artists such as Jethro Tull, The Beatles, Status Quo, Johnny Winter, The Kinks, The Rolling Stones, Steeleye Span and so many more. At 12 years old he enjoyed Rock ‘n’ Roll and Elvis Presley. He would spend hours listening to records, stopping and starting tracks to write down the lyrics and as a consequence learned a great many songs. He also became interested in Film Music and listened to the likes of John Barry, Lalo Schfrin, Burt Bacharach and John Williams amongst others.

He was always drawn to singing, in junior school he was chosen for the choir, in his twenties he studied classical singing and opera. Then later, he studied singing rock/pop/mic technique with various teachers, most notably of whom was Sonia Christina (of Curved Air fame) and more recently with Rebecca Phillips.

He has been lead singer in several bands The Millennium Buggers in the late ‘90s and early ‘00s, The Shatners and most notably, Sound of the Suburb which underwent some changes and finally became City Limits.

Favourite Singer: too numerous to mention although Elvis is right up there.

Favourite City Limits Song: All of them but especially Long Train Running, Sex on Fire and Locked Out of Heaven.

Best part of playing live: The energy created by the audience when they are up on their feet and dancing. It literally fuels me and the band, there is no feeling quite like it

Tony has lived and breathed music ever since he was a baby in a house where The Beatles and Elton John were fixtures, although he’d have to discover the Stones for himself. As a kid, every Sunday he’d record the singles chart on the radio and listen to it religiously all week, absorbing everything from Bon Jovi to Kylie. His lightbulb moment of wanting to actually make the noises came along when he discovered Prince who could do it all.

As a typical awkward teenager interested in the fairer sex, he picked up guitar which has been his loyal companion through thick and thin. The journey took him via the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, through unfashionable progressive rock, not forgetting the 90s grunge movement, and it’s still going on today, it will never end.

After decades honing his ear in late night jam sessions and depping, he couldn’t be happier to be part of the UK’s greatest party band who patiently embrace his quirks like brothers.

Favourite guitarist:
Too many to mention but probably Ritchie Blackmore who always pushed himself to the edge.

Favourite City Limits song:
Also too many to mention, I’ll say one of the Motown or funk / disco numbers like Reach Out (I’ll Be There). Playing in City Limits gave me a new appreciation for these classics.

Best thing about playing live:
Making people happy, seeing a dance floor moving and grooving.

Musical top tip:
Everyone likes a grand solo, but in most cases solos are a relatively small part of the picture. Work on your rhythm, groove and sound until it sounds like the real deal. You might be close when you start a song alone and see people in the audience nodding along and rattling their jewellery.

Mike started playing the piano from the age of 5 and was classically trained at the Royal Academy of Music. However, during his teens he became increasingly involved in the local pop and rock scene playing keyboards and guitar with several bands. His love for playing on stage and, later, recording, soon put paid to his classical music aspirations and he spent several years working as a recording engineer at the BBC, recording sessions and concerts for Radio I and Radio 2, as well as composing for radio and TV at the Radiophonic Workshop.

For several years Mike played mostly guitar, heavily influenced by Eric Clapton, Paul Kossoff, Richie Blackmore, Pete Townshend etc. Also motivated by the fact that keyboards were extremely cumbersome to lug around. As modern keyboards became more portable Mike returned to his first love, playing mostly Nord models.

His favourite keyboard players are Jon Lord, Keith Emerson, Jools Holland, Art Tatum, Dave Ruosch, but also the classical greats such as Ashkenazi, Horowitz, Rubinstein etc.

He loves being in City Limits because of the wide repertoire they play, from Rock, to Soul, Pop, Motown, Indie and even Rap. Favourite songs would probably be Echo Beach, Heard It Through The Grapevine, Great Balls of Fire, Town Called Malice, Dakota, Blinding Lights, but even Sweet Caroline becomes irresistible when the audience is in full song!

In addition to playing keys with City Limits, Mike teaches piano and music theory for all ages and musical styles. Musical top tip? Listen!

Bassist Steve has been a Beatles fan for many years and admires Paul McCartney’s melodic bass playing as well as the funky style of Flea from the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Sting from the Police and in particular the Motown bass player James Jamerson. Another favourite is John Entwistle from the Who, who treated the bass like a lead instrument. And another is Norman Watt Roy, the Blockheads’ bassist, who played the incredible line on Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick.
Steve plays some guitar as well and enjoys writing and recording his own songs as well as gigging with City Limits. Steve grew up in both London and Melbourne, Australia and listens to many styles of music, but with a focus on 60s and 70s artists.

Favourite bassist: Paul McCartney
Favourite City Limits song: Stay With Me
Best part of playing live: you launch into a slightly obscure cover song, and watch as someone in the audience grabs his mate and is clearly saying “Awww mate… I haven’t heard this song in YEARS!!”

Winston first picked up a pair of sticks at the age of 4 and he has been constantly striving to improve his playing abilities and establishing himself as an accomplished musician. He studied at Drum Tech which is now known as BIMM Music Institute.

Winston first played drums in his local church and was a key player within the Wood Green Gospel choir, which played on Blue Peter and Songs of Praise on BBC1 and has toured Germany, Italy, Czech Republic, Belgium and Northern Ireland. Winston’s favourite gig was playing at the Varese festival in Italy in front of 4,000 spectators.

Winston has predominantly played for church organisations namely Wood Green NTCG, Ruach City Church, ICAN and Dominion Centre, he has also played with artists and bands including Dee Anderson and Motown Gold covering different music genres.

His favourite drummers are Dennis Chambers, Calvin Rodgers, Vinnie Colaiuta and Jeff Porcaro.

Favourite City Limits song: Dakota and Rapper’s Delight.

Best part of playing live: Just having a fab time with the band and seeing everyone dancing and enjoying themselves. The benefits of playing in this great party band City Limits is the vast array of songs we cover from the 1960’s to current day.