live guitar vocalist

Welcome...

Home

Gallery

Gigs

Samples

Contact

News

Hello and a warm welcome to my web site!

My name is Brian Gold and I’m a professional musician with over 20 years experience performing in and around the North West of England.

I perform a variety of different sets which I tailor to suit my audience.  For example, in pubs I often do a couple of guitar sets containing great pop and rock ballads combining classics from the last 40 years with some modern standards.

I also offer swing sets from the old masters Dean, Frank, Bobby, Sammy, Nat and others.  These go down particularly well in social clubs, restaurants and other venues where the musical taste is classy and refined.

Of course I can also combine both types of set and often do a swing set first followed by a dance spot of guitar-based classic rock numbers.  The key is being prepared for whatever an audience requires.

The down-side of my versatility is that I don’t do a whole evening of any one genre so for example I don’t do a whole night of exclusively Country, Irish, Punk, 50s, 60s or similar styles.  Artists who do this often exclude great material from lots of other areas and the evening turns out to be a specialist 60s, 70s or Country music night.

I appreciate all good music and offer a taste of such for my audiences whom I hope like to sing and dance to The Beatles, Elvis, The Drifters, Roy Orbison and The Searchers as much as The Eagles, T-Rex, Robbie Williams, Queen, Ronan Keating and others (the list goes on!)

I started off as a teenager way back in the late seventies playing guitar and singing in pubs and clubs with several bands before I moved to London for a few years where I continued to practice what to me was a great hobby.  I returned to the north west in the late eighties and started to perform more professionally (i.e. getting paid for doing what I love) by combining live guitar with professional backing tracks (many of which I create myself) to give the full and rich sound of a 4-piece at the cost and intimacy of a soloist.

Originally from Liverpool I now live in the village of Parbold, near Ormskirk, Wigan and Preston.  I have always loved singing and playing guitar since very early and like most kids of my era and coming from Liverpool I grew up on the likes of The Beatles and 70's icons such as Marc Bolan, Elton John, The Eagles and more.  Since then my interest in music has grown and developed with swing music, a little country and more recent performers such as Robbie and Ronan from which I choose the best examples for my performances.  I am a full member of Equity and therefore the only official Brian Gold in the country.

In addition to playing guitar at gigs I use high quality professional backing tracks for the simple reason that most audiences desire a fuller sound not possible from a single instrument.  I therefore insist on using the best quality tracks as I believe it’s a fundamental contributor to the quality of the sound and therefore performance.  For example, to me there’s nothing worse than the sound of an artificial synthesized brass section where a real thumping brass instrumental is required.  For this reason I spend many hours painstakingly crafting each track for my performance.  I also work hard at creating from scratch tracks with gaps for live guitar on the night.  The creation process is one which I actually enjoy since it affords me total control over the output and so gives either a faithful recreation of a classic sound else a more personal interpretation.

As Brian Gold I am available for all sorts of occasions including weddings, birthday parties, anniversaries, engagement parties, Christmas parties, etc...  In fact any excuse for letting hair down presents an opportunity to make it that bit more special by having live music as opposed to just a traditional disco and I can ensure that whatever the occasion it will be both a memorable and highly entertaining one.

In addition to singing and playing guitar I can also provide CD music for the in-between and afterwards bits so a complete evening can be supplied by me.  I also have disco lights but have to be careful and say I do not offer a disco since this implies the ability to respond to playing requests which I cannot do without going heavily into the current music scene, something I do not have the time for as I practice singing and playing faithfully for several hours already every week!

I perform for a very simple reason; because I love it!

LATEST NEWS ----- Check here for what's been happening recently...

Dave Rave Rocks at The Cavern & BBC Radio Merseyside

A good friend of ours, Dave Rave is a legendary rock singer/songwriter who previously played with Teenage Head and The Shakers visited Liverpool during the late May Bank Holiday.  He starred in the International Pop Overthrow an international festival of original music which has a very simple aim - to eliminate bad music!  It's now in it's 6th year in the UK and is always a tremendous success.

Dave Rave appeared at The Cavern on Thursday 22nd backed by The superb Plastic Heroes and brought the house down as per usual.  As part of his set he invited me up to join him singing the Beatles classic I Saw Her Standing There.  Dave said he just couldn't do a Beatles song at The Cavern without a scouser helping him!  It was a great thrill for me of course.

On Friday 23rd he also appeared at Lennon's Bar in Mathew Street and once again rocked everyone away - leaving for the next band to set up to shouts of "More!".

Then on Saturday evening he appeared on BBC radio Merseyside's Live Studio show with writer and broadcaster Spencer Leigh.  Needless to say he once again proved what a consumate performer and rocker he is.

Appearing on the same bill over the weekend were some of the other superb acts from the recording label which sponsors the International Pop Overthrow festival; Vancouver based Bongo Beat Records.

Among them (and my personal favourites) were the fabulous Ari Shine, The Plastic Heroes and Graham Brown.

Dave Rave and Brian Gold performing I Saw Her Standing There at The Cavern Thursday 22 May
(Thanks to Stephen Bailey for the image)

Dave Rave with The Plastic Heroes

               Ari Shine                          Graham Brown

Asa Heart Swings at Liverpool Philharmonic

Friday 9th May and we were invited by the Philharmonic in Liverpool to a special evening with a new swing singer who also hails from Liverpool - Asa Heart.  It was a great night with lots of super entertainment and some laughs  (well he is a scouser).

We were also mightily impressed with both of the support acts.  They werean 18 year old female pianist and vocalist called Charli Taft who sang some of her own compositions which were nothing short of excellent.  She certainly has a lot of talent and is definitely one for the future in the mould of Carole King, Joni Mitchell and Norah Jones.

Also supporting was an instrumental duo under the title of the leader Mike Smith.  Mike plays saxophone while his partner, Tom Smith (no relation I believe) accompanied him on guitar.  I don't play the saxophone so I can only say what he did with it sounded amazing but I am supposed to know a little about the guitar and what Tom did with it was nothing short of incredible.  It certainly made me feel talent-less as I was in awe like most of the audience at his dexterity and versatility as they went through some lesser known tunes as well as some more famous ones such as An Englishman In New York (Sting) and Coming Home (Mark Knopfler).

A great night's entertainment.  It's nice to get out and see other acts once in a while and speaking of which, while we were there the missus only decided to buy a ticket for another old singer who's appearing there on Monday evening (I'm unavailable).  Of course it's none other than David Essex!

I just hope that when she gets back she'll Hold Me Close and help Make Me A Star!

Asa Heart got lucky enough to meet, shake hands and even pose for a photo with Brian Gold!

Superb instrumental duo Mike Smith (right) and his guitar-magician friend Tom Smith (left)

Back from CUBA and on the gigs trail again...

We spent a wonderful fortnight on the amazing island of Cuba during March.  It's very much a rural society which means there's not a lot of technology and the road networks were extremely bumpy but they are very welcoming and the friendliest people we've ever met.  Sure you get hassled a little on the beach by guys selling cheap nik naks and the like but when you say "no" you get "Okay my friend, have a great day!"  No means no :-)

Cuba has wonderful beaches, friendly people, plenty to do and see and excellent cuisine.  What's more it's probably the only Hispanic country in the world where there ISN'T a crappy copy of an English Pub!  What Bliss!

What's also amazing about the country is the population is happy and they all have tremendous pride in their country.  Everyone has a job, everyone has a place to live - there are no homeless, everyone gets free education (uniforms supplied by the government) and free health service.

It's a communist country of course and all this has been achieved despite illegal trade blockades and pressure from the USA.

For example, did you know that Guantanamo Bay is owned by Cuba and the Americans are staying there illegally?  They have occupied Guantamo Bay for over 100 years since it was first leased in 1899 for 100 years and should have been handed back to Cuba in 1999 just like Hong Kong was handed back to China by the British.  But the Americans didn't want to leave so they installed an army base and, also illegally, landmines in the surrounding area.  They are effectively squatting in a foreign country.  Apparently each year since 1999 they've sent a cheque for 'rent' to the Cuban government but Fidel Castro has refused to cash a single one.  Good for him I say!

Anyway, there were also many wonderful musical experiences as the music of choice there is salsa - wow!  It's so rythmical and  lively that one cannot stop one's foot from tapping.

I'd highly recommend a visit - it's a superb holiday destination.

A Brian Gold fan from the town of Trinidad

Orlando "Cachaito" López - the superb bass player with Buena Vista Social club
(they are to salsa music what U2 are to rock)

Some Useful Links/Advice...