Baby Charles

Baby Charles are a British Deep Funk band fronted by soul sensation Dionne Charles; backed by Toby Sendall - guitar, Simon Hill - bass, Graham Sowerby - drums, Georgina Carroll - flute, Sigi Beare - bari / alto sax, Lee Nicklen - keys and Will Rumfitt - trombone. They have been inspired by the late-sixties sounds from the likes of The J.B.'s and The Meters This band knows how to play a fine repertoire of songs, ranging from covers of old soul-funk classics to other more obscure grooves. They also have their own material, including their debut album which was released in 2008 and three 45's: 'No Controlling Me', 'Back of My Hand' and 'I Bet You Look Good on the Dance Floor', released in 2006, 2007 and 2008 respectively. They received immediate praise from the highest ranking funk djs including: Snowboy, Keb Darge, Jazzman Gerald, Monk One, and especially Andy Smith, who snapped up their debut 45 for his 'Let's Boogaloo Vol 4' compilation, and got them to play at the album's launch party at Cargo in 2007. Mark Lamarr was so impressed by their debut single, he invited the band to record six tracks live in session for his God's Jukebox show on BBC Radio 2. Baby Charles' music can be heard on radio stations world-over. In July 2007, Baby Charles supported The James Taylor Quartetat the Soul Cookers Hammond Funk Festival in Saint-Paul, Marseilles. That same funky month, the mixing of the band's debut album was completed and sent to Mark Lamarr, who played their cover version of the Arctic Monkeys track 'I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor' on the Jonathan Ross BBC Radio 2 Show. Mr Lamarr has also kindly written the sleeve notes for the Baby Charles debut album, which was released by Italian label Record Kicks in March 10th 2008 and later on in the year the album was released in Japan by P-Vine records. To date Baby Charles can be seen performing all over Europe and sometimes playing and supporting many top artists such as Fred Wesley, The New JB's, Angie Stone, etc. They are constantly offered requests for them to play in countries further afield such as America, Canada, Australia, Cuba, Brazil etc. Baby Charles are currently busy writing their next album which is due for release in 2010. (2) Formed in 2001, Baby Charles built up a strong reputation as a compelling live attraction schooled in late-'60s funk before signing to the Milan-based Record Kicks label. Their early singles "No Controlling Me" and "Back of My Hand" were followed by their acclaimed rework of the Arctic Monkeys' "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" in 2008. By now the Brighton-based ten-piece -- Dionne Charles (vocals), Simon Hill (bass), Alex Kirkwood (drums), Toby Sendall (guitar), Lee Nicklen (organ), Oliver Minkley (percussion), Sigi Beare (saxophones), Natasha Gawlinski (saxophone), Georgina Carrol (flute) and Will Rumfitt (trombone) -- had gotten the attention of the U.K. funk/soul cognoscenti. Their run of heavyweight funk singles and debut self-titled long-player earned plaudits from Gilles Peterson, Snowboy, Keb Darge, Jazzman Gerald, DJ Andy Smith, and Mark LaMarr, with the latter contributing sleeve notes to Baby Charles (2008). Despite the acclaim for their self-produced and largely self-written opener, however, this was to be Baby Charles' final release with the outfit disbanding in 2010. Former BC players went on to form Beta Hector and retro-R&B outfit Derriere, among others. ~ Matthew Garbutt, Rovi Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.