Lead singer - Bette aged 77, Barnsley

Bette is a miner’s daughter from Barnsley Yorkshire who got into singing as a child after her father made her stand on the table and sing to his mates after work. Bette left for London with £5 in her pocket and made it as a club singer although sadly she missed out on the lead part of the West End production of Hair, as she felt she didn’t have the acting talents.

Prior to lockdown, Bette found herself performing once a month at her local club night. However, with the crowds at just under 200 people, it’s a long way from the thousands at the Isle of Wight Festival.

When she’s not performing, Bette enjoys retirement. She looks after friends’ pets, enjoys walking, drinking coffee and watching tv – a far cry from that of your usual lead singer in a rock band.

Guitarist - Martin aged 67, West Sussex

Postman Martin, lives in a static caravan with his wife in West Sussex. When he was in his 30’s, life was very different touring in a band called Peep Show who featured in Kerrang! magazine and played gigs at Reading Festival. Peep Show disbanded and two of the members went on to play with Grace Jones and Shane McGowan, whereas Martin took up a job as a postman.

Martin plays his own songs and rarely does covers - his main styles of music are rock, blues, funk, reggae and soul.

Martin’s rockstar energy and talent wowed mentor Lady Leshurr at the auditions but he was gracious enough to accept the role of lead guitarist instead of lead singer.

Bass player - Carol aged 72, Manchester

Following years of being overlooked by most bands for being female, Carol proved herself by performing in countless bands over the years. At school she started her first girl trio, singing in harmony and playing guitar. Carol’s band once spent an afternoon singing with Tom Jones and shared the same manager that worked with 10cc and Herman’s Hermits.

In 1968 Carol started playing bass professionally and singing back-up vocals in bands touring the UK and Europe. In the 70’s and 80’s Carol ran her own recording studio with her husband and went on to become a wedding and party band musician.

Carol stopped teaching music during lockdown and it put a stop to much of her musical career.

She loves many styles of music and has played everything from big band, Motown, soul, blues, pop and funk.

Back up Guitar/Bass - Brian aged 65, Winchester

Brian was discovered by “the guy that signed Bryan Adams and The Police.” He also recorded in the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio but somewhere along the way, things didn’t work out long-term. “There were failures and it hurt. Life has been Plan B”. Brian has a busy family life with four children and took up work as a painter and decorator.

At the age of 61, Brian realised he had lived his entire life with undiagnosed ADHD. Brian is now proud of his ADHD and describes it as his gift and super-power.

Brian is a talented guitarist and bassist and with a vast musical repertoire, he can pick up any song quickly and easily which we discover becomes vitally important as the Isle of Wight Festival draws closer…

Keys - Steve aged 68, North London

Steve is a jack of all trades and has been a cabby, teacher, civil servant and delivery driver.

In the 80’s he was a founding member of the Brit-funk band ‘Central Line’ however he left just before they got a hit single.

Steve has played keys for a number of famous faces including Barry White, Hot Chocolate and Des’ree. Despite this, Steve says, “the ship never came in for me.”

Steve lives in North London and works as a session musician. He is delighted to make it into Lady Leshurr’s band, bringing fun and energy to her line-up.

Drummer - Arty aged 73, Runcorn

Liverpudlian Arty is a man full of determination who doesn’t let anything hold him back. Arty lives with a disability. He contracted polio as a baby and has been a wheelchair user ever since.

When he was 16, Arty asked his parents for a drum kit – when they replied, “You’ll never be able to play with your disability”, this was all the encouragement he needed. He formed a band and his determination paid off. He played in a band for many years and played alongside many of the Merseybeat scene stars.

Alongside music, Arty played wheelchair basketball for 40 years, which took him all over the world with Team GB.

Music-wise if it wasn’t released before 1968, Arty probably hasn’t heard it, he is Merseybeat all the way.