News & Events

Bellperc's Summer Circles: It's our last summer circle this weekend!

Don't miss the chance for some morning grooves, fun and games to kick off your weekend. We've had a lot of fun hosting these events and have received some fantastic feedback.

"I can't believe how invigorated and full of energy I suddenly feel"
"Fantastic stuff, I'm addicted!"
"It's very therapeutic and relaxing"

Be warned, it's not for the faint-hearted so be prepared to be whipped into a frenzy of rhythm making. Release your inner child and if you have children bring them along too! See you there!

More Information - Click Here

Tron - Legacy Soundtrack - Air Studios

This November see's the much anticipated and overdue release of Tron Legacy the sequel. The original is an 80's cult classic and this movie has all the hallmarks of following suit. Legends Daft Punk have been enlisted to provide the soundtrack in all it's 80's Synthed-out glory.
I think this is an inspired move as I can't think of anyone better to score this movie. We provided a gorgeous Celeste from our fleet to add to the atmosphere.
The game has changed apparently, let's hope it's not too hard.

John Cage - First Construction (in Metal) - BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra

Abstract, angular, inspirational, experimental?
This piece is all of this and more.
John cage was a true innovator and musical explorer and pushed many boundaries in the musical sphere.
He has inspired many of today's influential and experimental artists and his First Construction is a piece to be reckoned with.
We happily supplied all the unusual stuff like anvils and brake drums for this unique metallic performance.
My ears are ringing already.

Bellperc's Summer Circles: Drumming Workshops for Everyone

Bell Percussion will be putting on weekly drum circles at our premises in Acton this summer. Everyone is invited - young, old, experienced, unexperienced - for some drumming fun in the sun! We will be providing a great collection of drums and instruments but feel free to bring your own. The cost of participating is £3, which includes refreshments... Come along and get involved! Every Saturday at 10:30am from 17th July to 28th August!

More Information - Click Here

A Table of Noises - Royal Albert Hall

The London premiere of Simon Holt's percussion concerto A Table of Noises was performed at the proms last week by soloist Colin Currie and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. This piece was partly inspired by the table of tools kept by the composer’s great-uncle, a taxidermist. The Independent writes: ‘Holt’s aim, with percussion-king Colin Currie at the controls, was to create a series of sonic tableaux evoking aspects of his relative’s strange craft.’ The prommers were quite surprised by this percussive delight and thankfully all the equipment we provided stood the test of Colin’s exuberant performance!

Dr Who Prom - Royal Albert Hall

Karen Gillan (companion Amy Pond), Matt Smith (the Doctor) and Arthur Darvill (Rory Williams) hosted an intergalactic musical adventure featuring Murray Gold's music from the TV series and some ‘pop-classics’ performed by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. Although perhaps more of a pantomime than a concert, it was a thoroughly enjoyable evening and our instruments were put to good dramatic use!

Glastonbury 2010 - The XX and Foals

Bell Percussion provided drums and percussion for the likes of The XX and Foals this year at Glastonbury. Oxford act Foals had summer festival crowds dancing to the infectious dance rock of their debut album Antidotes in 2008. Two years later they returned to Glastonbury with a solid and affecting follow-up in the form of Total Life Forever. They received a warm welcome at Glastonbury this year after a great performance supporting Blur at Hyde Park last year.

Video - Foals at Glastonbury with Bellperc Gear

The Dirty Projectors with Alarm Will Sound - Barbican

Bill Bailey on Tour - Bill Bailey Live 2010

Bill Bailey's recent tour featured Bellperc's famous tuned taxi horns! Bill has been travelling over the past few months to sold-out venues accross the country with his unique mix of music and comedy. Rumour has it that he has been riding a yak to each venue with the taxi horns strapped to his head. He is now off to Australia for the second leg of his tour. However, he has given our Taxi Horns back - rumour has it that he is travelling by killer whale and didn't want to get the horns full of water.

More Information - Bill Bailey Live 2010

Duran Duran's New Album

Duran Duran resquested an LA Box from us this month as they have been working recently at Sphere Studios on their 13th album. Band members have said that the next album will be a return to their roots. Guitarist Dom Brown has been said to have a bigger role in the creation of the album. Roger Taylor said that they have "20 really great ideas" for songs and are working with producer Mark Ronson to complete the album. The album also features music co-written by Kaiser Chiefs' drummer Nick Hodgson... perhaps why all the percussion smalls were needed!

Video - Album Sneak Peek

MTV Camden Crawl 2010

The 2010 Camden Crawl took place on Saturday 1st and Sunday 2nd May 2010, presenting around 200 acts performing in 40 venues over the two days. The line-up included the Sugababes, Lostprophets, We Are Scientists, The Blackout, New Young Pony Club, Teenage Fanclub, The Drums, Polar Bear and many other familiar and lesser-known artists. Our DW drum kit somehow got tied up in all of this but it returned home safely after the mad weekend, unlike some of these ravers!

Sting's Symphoncity Tour Rehearsals at Abbey Road

On the 19th of May, Sting and the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra needed some percussion (timpani, thunder sheets, crotales, a bell tree, a cuica and cymbals galore!) for their Abbey Road rehearsal of the up and coming tour of Symphonicity. The tour will feature Sting's most celebrated songs accompanied by the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra conducted by Steven Mercurio. Sting and the orchestra will take Symphonicity on the road in June through the United States and then to Europe in the Autumn.

Video Clip - Sting at Abbey Road

Bellperc's Health Drum Circles - Therepeutic Rhythm Workshops

Bellperc Drum Circles have proven a great way for the elderly to engage in a fun and physical group activity! We first introduced our Therepeutic Rhythm Workshops to St. David's care home in Ealing and we had a great time playing games with rhythms and melodies on various percussion instruments. This month we visited Farm Lane care home in Fulham. Everyone was able to get involved with the activities regardless of age and ability and it was very noisy! We have had some great feedback from the residents and staff at the care homes and are looking to do more TRWs in the near future. We will also be running regular Drum Circles for the wider community over the summer so watch this space!

Music for Over The Rainbow on the BBC

Ships Bells, Tubular Bells, Pop Guns and Crotales were some of the items that were requested for the Over The Rainbow band this month. The talent search for the star that will play Dorothy in Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical production of The Wizard Of Oz is now over after the winner was announced on Saturday. The tension mounted as the two finalists sang their version of Over The Rainbow before it was decided that Danielle Hope was the winner. Well done to Danielle and well done to the percussionist who played that Pop Gun with passion!

Visit the Website - Over the Rainbow

Lord of the Rings Concert - Royal Albert Hall

After two sold-out performances of the Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, the second chapter of this thrilling epic trilogy arrives at the Albert Hall. Earlier this month, Howard Shore's score was performed live by the London Philharmonic Orchestra (conducted by Ludwig Wicki) to a high definition cinematic screening of the film. Howard Shore's complete score was performed live to Peter Jackson's award-winning film adaptation of the second part of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. Over 200 musicians brought the second part of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings to life, using all sorts of epic-sized percussion instruments from Bell. A great musical adventure into Middle Earth!

Star Wars - European Tour

This highly successful show pulls together the musical highlights from all of the Star Wars films and it was a real pleasure to be involved with it. The production features a full symphony orchestra and choir, accompanied by specially edited footage from the films displayed on a three-story-tall, high-definition LED super-screen -- one of the largest ever put on tour.
The footage actually runs in sync with the live music to create a full multi-media, one-of-kind Star Wars experience. May the beat be with you.

Hair - Gielgud Theatre

'Everybody wants to get stoned' sang Bob Dylan and no more so than in the 60's.
So get those wigs out Hair the musical is here to revisit the 60's hippy, dippy, trippy decade of free love and creativity. When we got asked to supply the gear for this seminal 60's musical we jumped at the chance. The tunes are unforgettable and the trips are even more unforgettable.
Love peace and freedom from all of us at Bell.

Joanna Lumley's Nile

From selling Yoghurt to a series of programmes detailing her journey on the Nile, the absolutely fabulous Joanna Lumley seems to have done it all.
Doumbeks, Darbukas and Finger cymbals aplenty we were on hand with the necessary tools to set the scene for her lengthy journey. The brand new four-part series sees Joanna travel the length of the River Nile, on a 4,000 mile journey to discover the rivers ancient history.
It's more than enough to get those bellies dancing.

Peter Gabriel - Live at the O2 Arena

Ever the innovator, Peter Gabriel left behind the, until now, obligatory sounds of drums and guitars in preference for an orchestra and piano (and we should probably mention the Bellperc Celesta). Peter Gabriel performed the new album Scratch My Back, which features orchestral interpretations of songs by Radiohead, David Bowie, Neil Young, Elbow, Bon Iver, Lou Reed, Regina Spektor and others, as well as a set of his own material.

All Stars Band charity concert - Winter Gardens, Margate

Once again, 130 former Royal Marines Band musicians made their way to Margate from all corners of the UK (and further afield) to take part in the 19th All Stars annual charity concert. The band was formed in 1990 as a direct result of the bombing the Deal barracks in which eleven young Royal Marines musicians died, the aim being to raise money for the disaster fund which was subsequently set up. The concert, as always, was a sell-out success!

LSO with John Adams - London, Bristol & Paris

From 7–16 March 2010, American composer and conductor John Adams was resident with the LSO. He and the Orchestra performed two of his own works in London, Bristol and Paris, as well as a host of other activites designed for you to get to know the man and his music. Adams' Doctor Atomic Symphony (based on his opera from 2005) and City Noir require a whole host of Thai Gongs. Our gong walls were quite bare for a while!


More Info & Video Clip – http://lso.co.uk/johnadams

The much anticipated sequel to Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical Phantom of the Opera opened at the Adelphi Theatre in the West End last week. We have been working extensively with The Really Useful Group and the organisers of Love Never Dies to make sure all the percussion requirements were met. Click the link below to see a clip of the opening night preparations and some interviews with Ramin Karimloo (The Phantom), Sierra Boggess (Christine) and Summer Strallen (Meg Giry).


Video Clip – Opening Night

Moscow City Ballet return to the UK this March with the exquisitely designed and powerfully emotive Swan Lake; and an exhilarating traditional Russian version of Cinderella. Our driver performed a graceful grand battement derrière and impressive petit changement de pieds as he delivered the percussion gear to the venue. The percussion was left in the hands of the Moscow Ballet Orchestra for the remainder of the tour.

We recently shipped out a few flightcases full of tuned taxi horns to Australia for this spectacular production of Le Grand Macabre at the Adelaide Festival of Arts. English National Opera and an all-star cast put on an 'elaborate and extravagent theatrical' performance of György Ligeti's anti-opera masterpiece. Check out a clip from the opening night below...

Le Grand Macabre, Australia - Video Clip

Hire Taxi Horns used in Le Grand Macabre

Ibuleve 'Aint No Stopping Us Now' Advert - Video Clip

Hire Drum Kit used in this advert

Halifax 'Reward Horn' Advert - Video Clip

Hire Gong used in this advert

Congratulations to Julia Greenacre who is the lucky winner of this fantastic 7-Piece PDP Drum Kit! Julia bought a shakey egg raffle ticket for £3 and ended up winning an £850 drum kit! Mother of a drummer but with little personal experience playing the drums, she said “I’ve never won anything before in my life! I’m looking forward to learning how to play them.” Commiserations to everyone else who entered but everyone's a winner with a lovely Bellperc Orange Shakey Egg, albeit with a bit of marker pen on!

This was an incredible evening of new music for up to seven pianos – Poul Ruders’ dramatic De Profundis, Jeremy Thurlow’s Prelude, Charlie Piper’s new acoustic arrangements of John Adams’ electronic classic Hoodoo Zephyr, Rolf Hind’s Sunnata, for five pianos and honky tonk, Claudia Molitor’s Tango Two with Rolf Hind and award-winning dancer Jonathan Goddard (with the collaboration of Mark Baldwin from Rambert Dance), and James Crabb performing music for accordion by Piazzolla. Percussionist Joby Burgess accompanied the piano frenzy with a number of our instruments and lots of people tuned in to see the concert broadcast live on the Roundhouse website!

On Tuesday 12th, we launched Bellperc Drum Circles with an in-house session at our premises in Acton. After an ice-breaker, Joel led the group in a Boomwhacker Blues and some recognisable tunes that involved bashing the floor (and those next to you) with tuned plastic piping! This was followed by a more traditional drum circle, which involved African drums and hand percussion in a number of rhythmic explorations aimed to encourage musical learning and team-building. Contact Us if you are interested in being a part of our Drum Circles!