falcon 0 Posted January 9, 2009 Report Share Posted January 9, 2009 Me and a close group of friends are organizing a belated Christmas lunch for the over 60's at our local village hall, on Saturday 17th january. It used to be held every year and was well attended, i don't know why it ever stopped but am really looking to bringing the old tradition back. To date there are over 60 people attending, the oldest being 93yrs. ( They chose january for the meal as it is normally a quiet month for them) All food and drink has kindly been donated by the local community and no end of volunteers have agreed to help on the day. I'm afraid the budget for entertainment is zero, so it's all down to me and was hoping you could help me with some ideas to make this a memorable day for all. Many Thanks, Sean Link to post Share on other sites
TonyB 0 Posted January 9, 2009 Report Share Posted January 9, 2009 I done one such party before Christmas. They did pay for a Pearley King and Queen to be there but other than that, it was me and two school choirs - oh and a couple of belly dancers! I'm sure if you contacted some local schools, they may be able to provide a choir FOC and the older age group seem to like them. Otherwise it will be the old rat pack music and singalong stuff. Anyone you know who is a half descent singer to get them to sing a long and join in? Link to post Share on other sites
spinner 0 Posted January 9, 2009 Report Share Posted January 9, 2009 Probably a good idea to find out the age breakdown. After all there's a massive difference in expectations between someone of, say, 61 and someone of 93. Link to post Share on other sites
UKHero 0 Posted January 9, 2009 Report Share Posted January 9, 2009 A couple of houses of bingo might go down well... Nik Niks Roadshow Link to post Share on other sites
falcon 0 Posted January 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2009 Probably a good idea to find out the age breakdown. After all there's a massive difference in expectations between someone of, say, 61 and someone of 93. The majority are between 65yrs and 75yrs. The 93yr old is only coming because she thinks next year she won't be around, she has been saying that for years and is fitter than me. All the 60yr olds we asked thought they were too young to go to a pensioners party Link to post Share on other sites
McCardle 1 Posted January 9, 2009 Report Share Posted January 9, 2009 (edited) Well, they have booked a disco rather than a brass band or other forms of entertainment which may appeal to the (very) senior generations. So they must be expecting a 'disco' , so don't disappoint, and do what you'd normally do. It might be an idea to see in advance whether they want a lot of strict tempo / quicksteps / waltzes / barndance type material. A 'sing-along-a-war-years' CD type compliation might be a nice touch during any background interlude such as when they are arriving or during a food break, the 70+ tend to sing along with these!. Again, depends on the auidience and their own requirements and expectations, but I do find personally that bookings with a lot of older generations DO ask for a few of the above genres as well as the almost obligatory Rat pack stuff and so with 93 year olds present I would say that it will be feature at your gig too!. Edited January 9, 2009 by McCardle "The voice of the devil is heard in our land" 'War doesn't determine who is right, war determines who is left, and you wont win this war.' Link to post Share on other sites
Bouncy Dancefloor 0 Posted January 10, 2009 Report Share Posted January 10, 2009 mkusicfactory used to do a wartime cd which was always a popular one, not sure if they still do it though Link to post Share on other sites
jamesmurphy 0 Posted January 10, 2009 Report Share Posted January 10, 2009 (edited) Just a thought, but my 60 year old sister was brought up loving Motown & 60s music, so you may find that playing music from the 50s & 60s may be more relevant to most of the guests with a bit of 'rat pack' and you you should even be able to get away with things like Stevie's 'I just called to say I love you' And of course the war songs and sing a longs will suit the older members. But I've done some 50th wedding anniversary parties with the majority of people around 70, and the requests I received included Abba, Chris De Burgh, The Beatles and even Queen. Edited January 10, 2009 by jamesmurphy Link to post Share on other sites
supersound dj 0 Posted January 10, 2009 Report Share Posted January 10, 2009 That Mastermix wartime singalong disc was called WARZONE and I think its still available. Heres the listing Mastermix War Zone 01 Ovaltineys - Happy Days Are Here Again 02 Vera Lynn - We'll Meet Again 03 Flannagan & Allen - Run Rabbit Run 04 Two Leslies - Hang Out The Washing On The Siegfried Line 05 Leon Cortez - Roll Out The Barrel 06 Glenn Miller - Moonlight Serenade 07 Vera Lynn - As Time Goes By 08 Geoff Love Orchestra - Dambusters 09 Four King Sisters - In The Mood 10 Andrews Sisters - Don't Sit Under The Apple Tree 11 Glenn Miller - American Patrol 12 Ovaltineys - We Are The Ovaltineys 13 Arthur Askey - Kiss Me Goodnight Sergeant Major 14 George Formby - Bless Em All 15 Joe Loss His Orchestra - A Nightingale Sang In Berkely Square 16 Vera Lynn - White Cliffs Of Dover 17 Geoff Love Orchestra - 633 Squadron 18 Sam Browne - There'll Always Be An England 19 Geoff Love Orchestra - Colonel Bogie 20 Lupino Laine - Lambeth Walk 21 Ovaltineys - Wish Me Luck As You Wave Me Goodbye Link to post Share on other sites
spinner 0 Posted January 10, 2009 Report Share Posted January 10, 2009 That Mastermix wartime singalong disc was called WARZONE and I think its still available. Heres the listing Mastermix War Zone 01 Ovaltineys - Happy Days Are Here Again 02 Vera Lynn - We'll Meet Again 03 Flannagan & Allen - Run Rabbit Run 04 Two Leslies - Hang Out The Washing On The Siegfried Line 05 Leon Cortez - Roll Out The Barrel 06 Glenn Miller - Moonlight Serenade 07 Vera Lynn - As Time Goes By 08 Geoff Love Orchestra - Dambusters 09 Four King Sisters - In The Mood 10 Andrews Sisters - Don't Sit Under The Apple Tree 11 Glenn Miller - American Patrol 12 Ovaltineys - We Are The Ovaltineys 13 Arthur Askey - Kiss Me Goodnight Sergeant Major 14 George Formby - Bless Em All 15 Joe Loss His Orchestra - A Nightingale Sang In Berkely Square 16 Vera Lynn - White Cliffs Of Dover 17 Geoff Love Orchestra - 633 Squadron 18 Sam Browne - There'll Always Be An England 19 Geoff Love Orchestra - Colonel Bogie 20 Lupino Laine - Lambeth Walk 21 Ovaltineys - Wish Me Luck As You Wave Me Goodbye To have been on active service in World War 2 and heard these tunes first hand (not all are from World War 2 - Dambusters and 633 Squadron being examples) an individual would be at least 83 today. That's why the term "over 60's" is dangerously all-encompassing. After all, someone of 60 today would have been 18 in 1967 and more likely to relate to the various genres of music around then and since. Link to post Share on other sites
Bouncy Dancefloor 0 Posted January 10, 2009 Report Share Posted January 10, 2009 well for over 65's, i tend to find they will know and enjoy these wartime songs (not too many of them though) i know abba and the beatles, but i wasnt born until 1983! oh just thought id add, some experience from doing the local british legion club a few times if playing some uptempo 60's (roy orbison, manfred mann etc) dont play more than 2 in a row, before slowing it down again. I pretty much played 2 fast, 2 slower ones all night long and everyone was happy older people dance if they want to dance, they dont umm and arr about it for 3 minutes and then dance for the last 10 seconds, they hear a song and will get up and dance immediately, until the end of the song. Also this age group dont expect or even want seamless mixing, very often letting a song finish, grab the mic and introduce the next song. This allows them to have a quick breather and clap the song Link to post Share on other sites
spinner 0 Posted January 10, 2009 Report Share Posted January 10, 2009 well for over 65's, i tend to find they will know and enjoy these wartime songs (not too many of them though) i know abba and the beatles, but i wasnt born until 1983! oh just thought id add, some experience from doing the local british legion club a few times Could the venue have a bearing on it? Link to post Share on other sites
falcon 0 Posted January 18, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2009 Thanks for all your help guys. In the end i went with wartime, bigband and a few 60's and a game of bingo. The day went off really well and we catered for 65 people, they all enjoyed it and can't wait until next year Thanks again Sean Link to post Share on other sites
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