The Bailey Inn

Thank you, thank you, thank you to all of this years acts who entered the competition, to all of the supporters and fans. Without you all, we would not have experienced such a fantastic night of musical excellence as we did tonight, wednesday 6th May 2009. A big thank you to Antony, my son, who put a tremendous amount of energy and effort into supporting the acts throughout the competition and Lisa and Carol who were superb behind the bar, keeping customers watered and happy. Finally a big thank you to my wife Val who supports me when I come out with these strange, but fantastic ideas and who tries not to be too shocked at giving large amounts of cash away!

With the thanks over, I would just like to mention a little bit about the final night. Every act in this years final had a very realistic chance of winning and no where else will you see such a diverse arrangement of musical talent and genres. Everyone was mesmerised by the talent displayed on the night and the audience gave each act their undivided attention and support. And we weren't disapointed, each one of the finalists displaying why they had made it to the final. Wednesdays just won't be the same - until next time - hopefully! In the end, two acts shone through, The Stone Saloon just pipping Crash and Berney to the £1500 prize. I would like to personally wish all of the acts great success in the future and we will see many of them back here over the coming months. As far as I am concerned, the X-factor has got nothing on The Bailey Open Mic and, since the first competition, has never been able to fill the gap! Take care and see you all next time - Gary

Well, that's it, the final 2 are in and the bets are on as to who wins this years competition. 7 acts competed this week and again it was very close, the judges having a tough time choosing, just the way I like it! In the end, the showmanshi of the Splott Bottom Boys put them through and Hannah Berneys perfect vocals backed up with her excellent band tipped them into the final. All the acts were excellent, Max did it his way - pun intended! - The newly named Artisans showed their musical excellence, Rough Diamond showed their maturing talent, Medicine Spoon had theold toes and hands tapping plus The Dixies showed us how to play Jazz. An excellent night of music and fun was had by a packed pub. See Rough Diamond here on Bank holiday sunday 24th May, The Dixies are back here for our Winner Takes all Competition and Crash and Berney Plus the Splott Bottom Boys gig here soon!

Another hard fought semi final where are acts upped their game from the heats to show how much talent there is out there. The Stone Saloon and Flipper pipped the other 3 acts to the post but it was very close. Commiserations to Yours, Jake & Rob, Upon the Innocence. See Jake and Rob here next week when they compete as part of Rough Diamond. Yours will be back in Our winner takes all competition & Ryan out of Upon the innocence will be back and forth in one of his many acts. Good luck in the final to The Stone Saloon and Flipper.

Last week’s semi final saw Nights at the Circus, a local trio from Gloucester and young solo singer/song writer, Joss Porter from Coleford make it through in a tough and very close run competition on the night. Both acts were surprised but delighted to get one step closer to winning the £1500 first prize. All the acts who competed, The James Lovett Trio, Graham Randell, Dan Barton, Eat the Rich, Joss and Nights at the Circus gave the crowd a night of music to be remembered and showed that we have a wealth of talent in and around the Forest of Dean and Gloucestershire, which we should all be proud of. This weeks acts, The Stone Saloon, Yours, Josh & Jake, The English Immigrants (Now the Artisans), Flipper and Upon the Innocence battle it out to fill two more of the remaining slots.

It was a night for tops off - boys only! at the Bailey Inn for the final night of heats and what a night of music we had. By far the busiest night, all the acts showed an outstandingly high quality of music and showmanship, making sure that the Bailey rocked once more to the sounds of many different types of music. Last years semi-finalist Ellie Higgs stopped the crowd and a hush fell over the proceedings with her own song, dedicated to a dear friend who passed away but unfortunately it wasn’t enough to push her through to the Semi’s this time. Young band, Rebel lust stood out and ended the night of competition with superb energy and amazing instrumentals, loud and proud – rockin’ the crowd! Tom Browning was back with his fabulous voice and his own well written material, and Michael Pierce with his 80’s, new romantic style solo songs. But stealing the night were local band Eat the Rich and last years finalist, Hannah Berney returning with her young jazz band, Crash & Berney.

See more about the Splott Bottom Boys

It doesn't get tougher than this for the judges in week 7 of the Bailey £1500 Open mic competition. The deliberation carried on as the expectant acts waited for the verdict before finally announcing that The Mighty Flipper had made their way into the Semi Finals. Just pipped to the post Tom Browning praised the group for their superb covers and in the final winning medley, played by the band, they returned the praise, noticing that Tom, with his original music, was a talent to look out for in the future. Flipper played the night out with some fantastic renditions of popular Brit hits, even taking time to create a happy birthday song for one of our locals, Teresa - age not disclosed but alledgedly 21 again! The Mighty Flipper, formed in 1999 on an aparently drunken Saturday night in Lydney, sing covers from artists such as Oasis, The Kinks, Blur and the Rolling Stones to name a few. Steve, Mark, Dave and Nick enjoyed their winning meaty Pizza and are looking forward to the Semi's in April. If you would like to enter the competition please contact Gary on 01594 562670 or email thebaileyinn@hotmail.com Time is running out so be sure to contact us soon!

The English Immigrants crossed the border in to the semi finals here at the Bailey Inn on week 6 of the 2009 competition. The four piece band, hailing from The Forest of Dean, formed in early 2006, have worked extremely hard over the past few years, with many changes to get the right dynamics and it showed! The Bailey Inn, Yorkley, rocked to the sound of their original music and enthusiastic delivery. The Band members, Tom, Steve, Simon and Matt were ecstatic at winning on the night and enjoyed their well deserved 12” Meaty Pizza, served to the winners of the heats throughout the competition. They now have a one in twelve chance of winning the credit crunching prize, a whopping £1500! The second prize is a day recording in the studio, kindly donated by Lee Brownson, the manager of Sound Space Studios in Cinderford.

Notice any familiar faces? Yes, Jake - lead singer and Rob far right were through last week as a duo and continued the run in this weeks competition in their band - Rough Diamond with Jake, left and Ben on drums. The first time that 2 cats have had 2 chances to go through to the finals. Loud and proud they played fantastic rock covers in the Bailey, celebrating their win with a hefty 12" pizza at the end of the night. Well done lads and thanks for the headache when I come to sorting out the Semi Finals!

Week 4 winners Jake and Rob showed the raw talent that is emerging from the Forest of Dean. Both member of the young band, Rough Diamond, they decided to give it a go as a duo and showed that practice, persistance and talent can get you what you want. Both 16 year olds from Yorkley and attending their last year at Whitecross school demonstrated mature guitar skills and excellent vocals and timing to take their coveted place in April's Semi Finals. They also have the enviable chance of being the first acts to have two shots at the prize if they manage to make it through to the semi's with their band, Rough Diamond, playing here next week. Commiserations too to young Thomas, Bobbi & Hannah and The Stereotypes.

What a night we all had at The Bailey Inn  this week. Well, I said it was unlikely to happen with my new point scoring but happen it did. In a fantastically strong week we had two winners go through to the semi's! Upon the innocent with their own material and Nights at the Circus drew at the top to guarantee their places. Hot on their heels were the slick and loud English Immigrants, Graham Mizen, Jim, and Josh & Izzy. The Bailey looked like an Ebay auction room with musical equipment to please any musicians taste and all of it was put to good use. This week set a standard which will be hard to follow, but I've said that before and been proved wrong!

Week 2 winners The Stone Saloon from Cinderford showed the Bailey Inn how it should be done this wednesday. Quintessentially described as Southern-fried amalgam of rockabilly, boogie, country, blues, swamp pop, and chitlin circuit R&B, plus a liberal dose of gutsy folk and the occasional lap slide guitar and you’re finally there, think The Black Crowes having a boozy lock in with The Stones. What this all boils down to is an instant toe tapping, foot stomping medley of fantastic sound and excellent vocals. Well deserved winners and with an act like this you would think that they blew the competition away by miles! Well you'd be wrong, again it was fantastically close because the two other acts competing in a week of cancellations, were equally talented and amazing. Local singer Carl Lewis from Bream sung his hauntingly original songs to the crowd's delight and Nikki Homer from Worcester belted out classic pop sounds with her amazing vocals and superb dancing. What a night!

 Toadstool claim winning crown and pocket £1000!

Underdogs Toadstool stole the show after a magical night of music and fun. Nearly 200 people flocked to the Bailey to experience the atmosphere and what a night it was. All acts were superb and the quality of music was beyond compare. Only 10 points seperated the top and bottom acts. The four judges Kev, Bill, Jane and Maria, between them had 5 different acts in first place, one judge showing joint first. Each act was judged on each song performance and the judges had to use the countback system to tot up all the points for each act. Toadstool, who have been second in many battle of the bands competitions had really raised the mark and came from rank outsiders before the night to worthy  and humble winners. Their journey started with failure when they lost out to The Stereotypes, but were persuaded to re-enter and won after the one and only sing-off in the competition in week 9. Their semi-final was tight and they just managed to scrape into the final, the judged hinting that they just needed to go for it if they were to stand a chance. And boy did they go for it!

A personal thank you to all the acts who have put themselves up for judgement and scutiny over the weeks, especially the finalists who have done so three times. I personally have loved the music and thought that the standard from everyone has been fantastic. Special thanks to the judges on final night, it's never easy to disappoint and judging is never an easy task. The finalist were absolutely amazing and I have been mesmerized by the quality and performance from every act. So thanks to Toadstool, Gorg & Zola, Jake & Lyndon, Hannah, Pure Evil and Marley. You have been inspirational and I wish you all well and hope to see you all soon!

Above - everybody waits - Jake, Lyndon, Gorg & Zola, Hannah, Toadstool Pure Evil

Antony announces the winner - Marley in background. We've won! Hannah cheers and we can't quite believe it!

Also, many thanks to all the supporters and spectators. The atmostphere has been wonderfully supportive and the nights have been successful because of you. Also, many thanks to John Duff who helped us out over the course of the competition and make the nights very special, supporting the acts and pleasing the crowds too.

Behind the scenes

What a couple of days. We started to set the room up on Tuesday with the help of Bill and Paul & James (you guys know who you are). 2 hours of testing we were just about there. Wednesday morning we moved the furniture around 3 to 4 times. All the bottles of champagne were ready and it was on to the paperwork. Posters of each act were acreated, printed and placed on the wall, 6 winners cheques were printed so we could have a photo opportunity for which-ever act won. (I'll sell the unused ones on ebay! - kidding) Judges sheets, score cards and numbers for act order were created. Balloons, bunting, stocking of beers, wines etc were finalised. And much much more... All in all a busy but very satisfying few days... - Time to rest!

Watch out for the new Competition starting in January - £1500 prize money - Book Now!

It's here - The Final!!!!

We now know all six finalists competing here on wednesday 22nd October 2008

Marley, Hannah, Jake & lyndon, Gorg & Zola, Toadstool and Pure Evil

 Who will win the prize of £1000?

 SEMI FINAL 2

 commiserations to The Stereotypes and Tanya

Another packed week, here at The Bailey Inn proved to be another tough one for the judges. All acts were superb and it was a shame to lose any of the 5 entrants but two had to go and unfortunately it was The stereotypes, an exciting up and coming Stereophonics tribute band and Tanya, a fantastic singer show woman, who both were magnanimous in defeat and gave the fellow muscians and supporters a fantastic send off at the end of the night. Congratulations to perfect Pure Evil, magnificent Gorg & Zola and tremendous Toadstool for their winning performances on the night. One final week to go and wednesdays just won't feel the same! See you on finals night next week, wednesday 22nd october 2008!

SEMI FINAL 1

commiserations to The Purple Mango's and Ellie.

The first semi final proved to be as exciting as it was nerve wracking for the acts. We worked our way through some sound equipment issues with my new PA system and it turned out to be a fantastic and entertaining night with all acts giving fantastic crowd pleasing performances and the judges a massive headache to boot! In the end, 2 acts had to be dissapointed but they didn't let themselves down. Marley, Hannah and Jake & Lyndon won through but with Ellie and The Purple Mango's reaching the semi's from 90 acts who entered the competition they shouldn't feel too disappointed. All the acts tonight were fabulous and I love the live entertainment but my thanks go out especially to The Purple Mango's who, even through their disappointment, gave the crowd a fantstastic send off. Thanks lads and see you in 2009 for your bank holiday sunday gig! 

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Hannah Barney wows the crowd on her way into the semi's!

Late entry Hannah was a well deserved winner of the 10th and final heat to take her place in the Semi Finals. The was not to say that she had an easy week! Quite a few of the acts could have challenged their way into the semis had they entered ealier on in the competition so if any of the acts want to enter the next competition starting in January, get in early to give yourselves a better chance. Many thanks to all the acts who appeared which include, stunning Nikki, youngsters Hannah & Katie, Sharon who was ill and had to depart early - hope you get better soon. Great vocals from Marty Smith all the way from America! Beautiful vocals from Neil, Excellent trio Nobodies Ghost, Ryan's group (sorry guys, forgotten the names of the great female vocalist - whoops and the guitarist - slap my wrist!), and finally Suburbia - last minute stand-ins for Sharon - thanks guys. Every one was superb but as ever there can be only one winner. So that's it. See here soon for the semi's and Finals!

Week 9 update

Toadstool mushroom there way into the semi's!

Above - enjoying the moment & pleasing the crowd - Toadstool

Another cracking week and a first, a Bailey sing-off saw the Superb Forest band, Toadstool rockin' there way into the semi finals, deserved winners after their energetic and crowd pleasing "all right now" rendition. Close runner up 13 year old Vicky just lost it on confidence in the final round. Over all, the competition was again, of an extremely high standard, with singers Neil, Max & Alan & Andy giving great performances. Apologies to Max as I was enjoying his performance so much I didn't get around to taking a photo. With only 1 week of open competition left and 5 acts already booked for the final week, anyone wanting to muscle into the semi's needs to book early to guarantee a place in week 10's competition. Semi's are being held on the 8th and 15th of October with the final on the 22nd. Congratulations again to Toadstool and all the other competitors this week.

Jake and Lyndon win on second bite of the cherry!

Excellent acoustics, keyboard, vocals from both of the duo put them ahead of the competition and into the semi's on the busiest week of the competition so far. With acts coming from as far and wide as Cheltenham, Worcester, Caldicott and Chepstow, the competition was fierce and in the end the duo pipped it by half a point on the judges score cards. Jake and Lyndon were both surprised and pleased with their win and are looking forward to their chance in the semi final.

  Fruity Purple Mango's rock their way in to the Semi's...

Local four piece rock band The Purple Mango's, year 11 pupils from Whitecroft School in lydney, rocked the Bailey Inn with a superb display of musical and vocal talent. The competition was close with five other acts to beat this week but they shone through and booked their place, winning a 12" pepperoni pizza on the way! To win they had stiff competition from young Thomas, 12, with his pitch perfect "Joseph" vocals, Emily and Sam R, both singing fantastic covers, Lee B with some great covers and his very own signature song and Ben with great instrumentals and a local band member. The competition is hotting up and more and more acts are booking and re-booking. With 3 weeks of open competition to go and only 3 spaces available time is running out so contact The Bailey Inn as quickly as possible to guarantee a slot on one of the final weeks.

 Cheesey duo Gorg & Zola book a place in the Semi's

A standing room only sign needed to be placed outside the Bailey Inn on week six of the competition after 9pm as the rooms filled and music filled the air. The atmosphere was electric and expectation was high as the acts warmed up and Compere John Duff warmed the crowd up with Porky by his side. At the end of the night the judges had a hard descision with such a high standard coming from all acts. Finally, deliberations were over and Antony (seen right of gorg and zola in the picture above) gave the verdict. Surprised and delighted Gorg and Zola had won the crowd over with their superb musical and vocal talents, heavily laced with humour and shameless advertising of our speciality Pizzas, of which they won a 12" Hawaiin on the night! Close runners up and local band The Karma Mechanics played some excellent original music and Young Thomas, 12 pictured below, wowed the crowd with his classic musical renditions.

Stereo duo tune in to Bailey Radio £1000

After a couple of last minute cancellations the judges only had 3 acts to choose from this wednesday but what a three we had. Local young rock band Toadstool, shook the crowds with some popular covers as well as some excellent original work. Tom Nancollis, a local Yorkley lad was a welcome gem as he gave a crowd pleasing act and surprised many locals with his melodic songs and the Stereotypes filled the pub with a vast array of popular modern renditions. With only a few points between all the acts, the eventual winners, The Stereotypes, were pleased but surprised. They have only been practicing for 4/5 months in their new guise as a Stereophonics Cover band and were using the competition to try out some of their act so to win this week was an added bonus. Richard Morgan from Lydney, and James Cook from Monmounth finshed the night with the Stereophonics song Traffic, before settling down to their winnings, a 12" Hawaiin Special. When asked what they thought of the Pizza, James said "it was one of the best Pizzas I have ever tasted." Both runner up acts have rebooked and will be performing for that covetted place in the Semi's so pop in to see them again. We are half way there and the weeks are hotting up. Atleast 6 acts are booked in for next week and another 6 the following week so spaces are now at a premium - book now to get in and win!

Pure Evil on their way to £1000 Heaven

This picture shows 2 of the lads from Pure Evil accepting the judges vote, not two happy chaps singing into their pints! And a derserving win it was too with unique and energetic performances from the exceptional trio. Again it was a very close run competition and the judges had a tough time after scoring 2 acts at the top, finally judging the evil ones to take the top spot.

Tanya Wows the crowd with her warm personality and wonderful vocals.
 

 
At 9pm it was standing room only so if you want to come along next week and get a seat, come early! Six acts strutted their stuff, in week 3 of the competition creating a great atmosphere and treating the audience to a wide variety of musical talents. From 12 year old Sophie Cotterel, hoping to follow week ones winner into the Semi's, Escape from Minnesota, a young group of lads with great potential, Sasha - a late but welcome last minute entry on the night, through to Tanya, this weeks winner, belting out and pleasing the crowd with her humour and amazing vocals. Tanya, a 41 year old full time mother loves singing and dabbles in karaoke's. She used to be a professional singer many years ago but over did it and had to stop for quite a number of years. She couldn't stay away from it for long though and showed her pedigree this wednesday.  "Again the standard was high and the judges had a tough decision but the right decision was made on the night in my opinion", said Gary. 

 £1000 Closer as Marley Sail through.

It was a packed house at The Bailey Inn for week 2 of the £1000 Open Mic Competition on wednesday 6th August. This weeks winners Marley (Mark Hopkins & Lee Brownson) stole the show with their renditions of Beyond the Sea, Angels and Traffic. "With Lee on Guitar and Mark's pitch perfect vocals, it really does show the depth of musical talent in and around the Forest", said Landlord Gary Brown. "The song, Traffic by The Stereophonics, was a tribute to a dear friend who passed away a couple of weeks ago and not only was there quality in their cover but great emotion too which came across in spades." The Duo have been together for 3 months now and Mark, a school teacher at Heyward school, and Lee, a warehouse manager certainly have a great deal of mileage left in their partnership .If you would like a chance to enter this competition please contact Gary on 01594 562670 or email thebaileyinn@hotmail.com.

Mark on left, Lee and Mark right.

  £1000 prize is a step Closer for 12 year old Ellie!

A great turn-out for Week 1 of the competition saw Ellie Higgs moving one step closer to realizing her  dream of winning the Grand Prize at the Bailey Inn. Ellie, 12 shone through the night with her two winning songs and amazed the crowd with her strong melodic voice. Her mum Gill says “She has been singing from a very early age and absolutely loves it.” Ellie has been in a Lydney Pantomine, singing and dancing, she was little Lady Jane in the musical at the Town Hall by Rachel Austin.  Ellie won Lydney's Got Talent for children in need and she also entered her first major competition in January of this year in the Stroud Youth Festival.  Close runners up were Graham Randell, Fate Absolute and Mary Parker.  

Gary says “I was amazed by the talent of the artists in this weeks competition and have asked a number of them to come back and try again. It was a very close run competition on the night and we struggled to pick a winner. Ellie won because of her raw talent which she will no doubt work on to give her a chance of going through to the final.” Ellie’s prize for the night, a speciality Hawaiin Pizza was a big hit for her and her supporters too. If you would like a chance to enter please contact Gary on 01594 562670 or email thebaileyinn@hotmail.com.