SPEAKEASY SUNDAY: Diz Watson and the Doormen

Sunday 6th November, Tickets £8, Doors 7pm, Performance 8pm (2 sets, approx finish 10.30pm, in the back room)

On Speakeasy Sundays the first 30 customers to arrive can enjoy free Four Roses Bourbon!

Twice a month the Speakeasy vibe is taking over the Back Room at Hideaway - ducking the prohibitionists to bring you some great nights of steamy New Orleans music and souse you in some serious roaring r'n'b!

With exclusive tasters of Four Roses Bourbon and the JazzFM team working with us to bring the best in live music this is set to be a fantastic series of events.

Don't miss out on the first Speakeasy - book your launch party tickets now!

SPEAKEASY SUNDAY: Diz Watson and the Doormen

The 'Honey Bear' is a true master of the blues - you don't impress in New Orleans unless the music is in your soul! And that's why he's launching our new programme of Speakeasy Sundays!

Diz Watson - piano/vocals
Nick Payne - sax
Kenrick Rowe - drums
Tony "Groco" Uter - congas
Ricardo dos Santos - bass

Diz "Honey Bear" is one of the British greats when it comes to barrel house piano and New Orleans boogie. In fact, Dr John says "Diz is great, you can't fool him. He really can play that piano". And American saxman Lee Allen, who's played with everyone from Fats Domino to Professor Longhair adds "Diz is one of the rockinest piano players in the world."

With his band, Diz and the Doormen, he captures the spirit of the Crescent City, influenced by those name checked already and also the likes of Huey "Piano" Smith, Amos Milburn and James Booker. 2011 sees the 30th anniversary of the Bluecoat Man album released on ACE Records. Recorded in Chalk Farm Studio, London, using old valve equipment and packing a very authentic sound, the album remains a stone cold classic today, and no doubt a classic track or two will be heard at Hideaway!

After leaving the Merchant Navy, Diz found himself playing in a variety of bands before forming his own combo. Gigging as the "Commissionaires" on account of the uniforms they wore ("donated" by a head porter at a London hotel) the "Doormen" name came later. In fact, Diz remembers that "the promoter forgot the name of the band and (when we arrived to play) up on the board was Diz and the Doormen".

The newly named line-up soon had a cult following packing rock-a-billies, punks, purists and ska-heads into their gigs across town. The release of Bluecoat Man (featuring American giants Lee Allen and Walter Kimble) built on their fan base. And with critical acclaim for the album, Diz and the Doormen toured with Chas 'n' Dave, opened for Madness and backed up Dr John on the Nighttripper Tour (culminating in the Glastonbury Festival 1984). 1984 also saw the release of the follow-up album Rhumbalero, also released on ACE Records.

Diz has lived mainly in Europe, spending much time gigging in Norway, Denmark and Germany. However, he returned to the UK a few years ago and a new "Doormen" line-up was formed. Featuring Diz's long time collaborator Tony Uter on congas, they have been joined by Kenrick Rowe (drums), Ricardo dos Santos (upright bass) and a brass section featuring the great sax playing of Nick Payne and Nick Pentelow.

2009 saw another fantastic release on ACE - Diz and the Doormen's Tonky Honk featuring special guest Big Jay McNeely.

Be it gigging or popping up on Mark Lamarr's radio shows, Diz is now influencing a new generation, be it players - such as friend Ben Waters, or gig-goers. Gaz Mayall (Gaz's Rockin' Blues) sums Diz's appeal: "Diz has been back to my Thursday night spot in Soho a few times in the last year or two with his new line-up. As always, absolutely superb. A whole new generation of kids, teenagers and with-it young people are romping and stomping to his sounds."

Kenrick Rowe

Studied under American jazz drummer Clifford Jarvis, and has worked with Courtney Pine, Steve Williamson, Guy Barker, Jason Rebello, David Murray Big Band, Art Farmer, Ernest Ranglin, Jazz Jamaica All-Stars and Andy Shepherd. As well as his vast recording career Kenrick is famously known as the drummer of Aswad, Janet Kay and Maxi Priest, continuously carving out his extensive rhythmical skills and grooves.

Tony “Groco” Uter

As a percussionist “Groco” has been playing from the early days of Jamaican recorded music. In the 1950s he played drums in jazz and Latin bands on cruise-ships, immigrating to England in 1961. He has become a master djembe and conga player crossing many styles. Artists Tony has worked with include Linton Kwesi Johnson, Dennis Bovell Dub Band, Jazz Jamaica, Elmondo Ross (Latin Big Band), Alan Haven, Robin Jones “King Salsa” and Wolf Todd (aka Carlos Romanos) to name a few.

Nick Payne

A multi-instrumentalist and one of the country’s finest sax players and heavily in demand as a top session player, Nick is a regular member of Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings. The list of artists Nick has played with really is exhaustive and stretches from Gary Moore and Ray Davis back to “The Skiffle Sessions” with Van Morrison, Lonnie Donnegan and Chris Barber and beyond.