Jun 2, 20204 min read

Bowled over

Originally published in The 411 Magazine

The Daisy Bowlers is a band that transcends genres. Formed of international musicians who, between them boast such accolades as Grammy nominee, with famous fans from Humphrey Lyttleton to Don Black, as well as performances at the prestigious Ronnie Scott's. They're one of those truly extroadinary acts who just seem to possess the rare talent of bringing sheer, unadulterated joy to their audiences. Look around you at a Daisy Bowlers gig and you'll see a sea of smiling faces, people who've forgotten their cares for a couple of hours, transported to another world. So, their album, Music to Smile To is very aptly named indeed.

The 411's Kelly Andrews, caught up with Dave Cooke, Heather Simmons (Mrs Cooke) and Debbie Bines, to talk Grammys, New York, love stories and the curious incident with the double bass!

How did you all meet and decide to form a band?

Dave and I (Heather) met in 2002 when I needed a pianist for a gig at the Boatyard Restaurant in Leigh-on-Sea. Dave met me there and we did a five-hour gig having never even seen each other before! We later formed a vocal group and Debbie was recommended to us to join.

How would you describe the band's musical style?

Vintage and quirky with swinging harmonies, which bring old melodies up to date.

How do you choose songs for your repertoire?

They all have a jazz flavour, even our original songs and modern numbers.

We understand there's an impressive musical provenance behind the Daisy Bowlers. Can you tell us a bit more about your music careers up to this point?

Ah, that's kind of you. Well, between the three of us we've played Carnegie Hall, Ronnie Scotts, The White House, Kensington Palace, The National Theatre, The Royal Festival Hall and many more. Although some of our favourite gigs have been in nursing homes and people's back gardens.

Dave, a little bird told us you were nominated for a Grammy. Can you tell us more?

I worked for many years with Phil Coulter (Producer/Writer for Van Morrison and The Bay City Rollers song, Congratulations) as his musical director. We recorded many albums with some fabulous artists. The album that was nominated was called

Highland Cathedral. I was the producer and arranger on this album, which we recorded in Ireland in 2000.

Heather, you lived in New York and sang in the city's foremost Jazz clubs and well as prominent UK venues such as Ronnie Scotts. How does the US jazz scene differ from the UK's and where do you feel your musical 'home' lies?

The US jazz scene isn't that different from here, although there are probably more venues for jazz musicians in New York City. The quality of musicianship, contrary to popular is belief, is the same. We have fabulous jazz musicians in this country and I'm in the very fortunate position to have sung with many of them. A dream come true.

Debbie, you've sang at the famous Ronnie Scott's yourself, as well as The National Theatre. Where does your passion for jazz come from?

My passion for jazz has been growing over the last 15 years. I still love many different kinds of music, but since singing with Heather and Dave I've been introduced to many wonderful singers such as Ella Fitzgerald, The Boswell Sisters, Peggy Lee... the list is endless. Now I love and appreciate jazz greatly.

Heather and Debbie, your voices are so beautifully in sync and harmoniously close that you could be sisters. How have you achieved this?

Haha - literally years of trying to imitate each other so we sound alike, syllable by syllable. We began singing together by paying tribute to The Boswell Sisters and The Andrew Sisters in a group called The Swinging Belles. It was with this group that we supported Woody Allen when he came to England and performed at Ronnie Scotts, Cadogan Hall and The Royal Festival Hall.

Who or what inspires you as a band?

Melodies and harmonies. We love rehearsing new songs as much as we do performing them. We're always inspired by the greats of jazz.

You released your first album in 2017, a wonderful collection of Music To Smile To. What was the creative process with the album and how did you choose which songs from your extensive repertoire to record?

We started recording the album a long while ago and we added songs as we went along. We just picked our favourites, songs that we felt said who The Daisy Bowlers are. Of course, as we're growing musically together that's now changing and we're already excited to start recording our second album. The next one will have even more of Dave's wonderful vocal arrangements and more original songs, written by Debbie and myself.

When we record we lay down the instruments first, then add the vocals, followed by any little flourishes over the top to make a track more fun. We record at home in our piano cabin, which is why you may hear bird song occasionally, but hopefully not the A127!

We hear there's quite a romance story behind the Daisy Bowlers! Do tell!

So, after meeting Dave years ago at a gig, we worked together for more than 12 years or so before we even were attracted to each other! Then one day it changed. Debbie says I had to marry him to make sure we keep him in the band!!

Having witnessed an unfortunate incident for ourselves where a certain Mr Cooke bashed poor Mrs Cooke over the head with her own double bass, we have a suspicion that there may be some similarly hilarious anecdotes lurking in the band's history! Go on, tell us your favourite stories about each other!

Dave spills his water at most gigs and Debbie stops playing any time we smile at her during a gig, as she thinks she's playing the wrong chords. Heather regularly says something rude or inappropriate over the microphone (unintentionally). She once

suggested to Jewish Care centre that they book us for their Christmas Party... things like that...!

Are there any plans to record original material in the future?

Always, we're writing now towards our next album.

What does the future hold for The Daisy Bowlers?

World domination, so we can all spend our days filled with music, love and flowers.