My double life...

Hi Guys, confession time! I have more than one job. My first job is as managing director of Nightair Disco's Ltd which I have done for thirty years this year. My second job is impersonating Simon Cowell.... no really, it is. It started over eight years ago when my brother Geoff suggested that I had similar features to the Pop Idol judge and why not send some pics to a lookalike agency? I had a haircut, hitched up my trousers, arranged for a photographer to take some pictures and the work started rolling in. I started judging karaoke competitions and making appearances as 'Simon' and before long found myself on The Richard and Judy Show with Simon Cowell who was promoting his book 'I Don't mean to Be Rude' Si thought I was a great lookalike of himself and even presented me with a badge '100% approved by Simon Cowell'. I had a chat with him after the show and he encouraged me to keep going as 'Simon' This clip is still on You Tube and also my website Simoncowelllookalike.com.

The amazing range of events and shows I am invited to be involved with is always a suprise and a pleasure. I have become good friends with many other people who impersonate famous characters, through being on Facebook and personal contacts and other jobs I am called to work at. One of my favourite and more unusual jobs was to help judge the smells of car interiors over a five day period around the UK assisted by a smells expert, for a company marketing air freshner products, This promotion was called ' The Stinx Factor' !

I have appeared as 'Simon' in two books by Alison Jackson, an artist who uses lookalikes in her work to blur the boundries of reality and fiction to comedic effect.

One of my contacts Andy Harmer, as 'David Beckham' invited me to join a lookalike group called The Chippendoubles with the specific mission of appearing on Britain's Got Talent 2010. This was the first act ever to feature a group of top lookalikes. The line up as well as Beckham and Cowell included Ramsay, Will Smith, Mr T, David Brent and James Bond. I accepted the challenge and after several months of rehearsals and trips up and down the M1 and help from legendary mastemix DJ John Faulkner we had our act ready for the auditions. The act went down so well at The London Apollo auditions that we had a five minute standing ovation from the crowd which was absolutely incredible. The judges loved it and Simon said it was one of his favourite acts.

This act continues to delight audiences around the world, so I am part of a great team of guys all with many years experience in entertainment. It's great socially too when  the seven of us get together as we all get on really well, and to see the looks on people's faces when we all walk into a building together is priceless.

Last week The Sunday Mirror set up a photoshoot with 'Simon' and Roger, a David Walliams lookalike to show the depth of 'Bromance' between the two of them. On checking the date, readers may have spotted that it came out on April 1st !

The fun continues but I get to go out as a wedding DJ too on my regular gigs at some of Nottingham's most beautiful locations with Nightair Discos. I get some interesting reactions when "Simon Cowell" turns up to DJ a wedding!

Conference for Fatface Clothing.

A big thanks to the team at Fatface clothing for bringing us in on there 2 day conference and summer festival at Sherwood Pines a couple of weeks back. It took a lot of work to organise but it was worth it in the end.

We were recommended by Maverick Events who we work with on a regular basis at Norwood Park.

After attending a site visit and an organisational meeting on the 22nd of February by one of our events team we knew that there was going to be a lot of work involved, especially if the weather worked against us. The venue was only just opening so the grass had not had chance to grow properly and if it rained heavily it was going to be a big problem for vehicle access. Nightair as a company has been doing these sort of events for 30 years so it's not something that phased us in the slightest. When these sort of events are planned correctly they always go fantastically, however weather is one of the few things that cannot be influenced. More on the weather in a moment!

The first step was for our tech team to co-ordinate with the marquee company to get the measurements of the marquee to design a bespoke set to fit in the space available and also fit the size of the stage. Without the exact measurements it can cause issues when it comes to putting everything together on site. After designing the set we ordered in some more stage weights and some stage braces which will come in handy for events like this in future.

Monday morning came and the lads loaded the van. I however got a phone call from them at 9am to say the weights and braces had not arrived. That was my cue to phone the supplier to find out what was going on. It turned out the courier had been unable to find us to deliver them and they had then done nothing more with them when they arrived back at the depot. Thanks City Link...really helpful!

Anyway, I did the running around and headed over to site to meet the delivery driver who was dropping off the big daddy projector we had hired in.

On arriving on site at the prearranged time of 1230 It turned out that the heavy rain the day before had really hampered the progress of the marquee company and they were about 4 hours behind! My first thought was "this is going to be a late one". I rang the lads to let them know that there was little point in them being there before 3pm so no rush to get over to site. Due to very little 3g signal replying to emails wasn't an option so it was a case of "hurry up and wait!"

Finally at about 4pm the marquee was at a stage where we could start bringing kit in. In 2 teams we got it all in within half an hour. One team inside with shoes off to keep the carpet clean and one team outside to pass it in the equipment. After 1 Sprinter van and 1 Vito van full, it was all in. The rigging could finally begin. I won't bore you with the details except for the fact that many cables were plugged in, many speakers were stacked and many lights were hung!

We finally finished setting up at 1am! A long day indeed!

The best part was seeing the accommodation. On the way back we could hear a party going off in one of the cabin's, a shame we were too shattered to join in! The cabins were absolutely 1st rate. Great décor, a log burner, very spacious and even a hot tub! It certainly beats a travel lodge!

Watched TV to wind down, a quick shower and then straight to bed for a 7.30 start.

The conference itself went very well and until the evening the hard work for us was done.

The next step was to change the stage around for the band that evening. All hands to the pump. After about an hour or so it was all set up. The band were fantastic although right know I can't remember what they were called.

The party finished in the marquee at 11pm due to noise restrictions. So for us it was pack away the band kit and migrate to the hot tub.

WOW! I really didn't want to get out! As a trainee "lampy" I couldn't resist playing with the LED lights in the tub!

Next day wasn't as long and the delegates from Fatface split into groups for most of the day. and it was finished by 3pm. Next was the "get out" and it took us around 4 hours to de-rig and load up. We were back at the office by about 7pm and away by 8pm.

A long but worthwhile 3 days. It's great to do an event like this where the crew is looked after and not forgotton when it comes to food and drink.

A big thanks to Ian, Jen, Sophie and all the Fatface team for looking after us so well. Hopefully we will work with you again for your next event. You did a fantastic job. If your looking for a different line of work outside of Clothing then Events Management is definitely your forte!

Now is the time to book for 2012.

So, Christmas is over, New Year is here and all you love birds have hopefully been busy proposing!


Now is the time of year when we are busiest with taking bookings for 2012 and even 2013 in some cases. This time of year is peak season for booking wedding suppliers so its always good to get in there early before availability becomes scarce.


If you want your perfect venue on your ideal date in 2012 then NOW is the time to act!


You will also find that the registrar's are getting booked up pretty quick as well, in fact more or less all the wedding vendors will be. One thing that I can't stress enough is that once you have your venue, don't leave booking your entertainment until last once you've allocated most of your budget.


As I've mentioned before, it's the party that people remember and the reception is where the atmosphere should really get going. Let's face it, you will probably spend in the region of at least £800 on the photographer and anywhere between £200 to £500 on the cake and dress?  Actually ladies, lets not mention that to the other half! He might be straight down to your local friendly divorce solicitor after the wedding if he finds out how much the dress cost! So why do so many people want to pay no more than £150 for the main aspect of the evening?


Don't skimp on the entertainment. Whether it be a DJ, a band or a solo artist. To get an experienced DJ and compere for your wedding, who is used to dealing with all the pomp and ceremony like the first dance and cake cutting, expect to pay £300+ depending on what sort of set up you are having. With a band, you will be looking at a lot more. If it's a 4 piece then I would expect you to be quoted in the region of £1000-£1500. A good way of spotting the cowboys or as we in the industry call them "80 quid sids" is by asking for a copy of there public liability insurance and PAT testing certificates. If they are making a living from it on a regular basis then chances are they will have these. If not, well I would advise that you steer clear!


Normally the venue will have a list of preferred suppliers. Take note of these as they are preferred suppliers for a reason. Hopefully because they do a good job!


Well that's all for now and I hope you've found this useful. 


Please do have a look at our website at www.nightairdiscos.co.uk