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Grab Yourself A Piece Of Little Noise History

MENCAP’S LITTLE NOISE SESSIONS MEMORABILIA AUCTION
BID FOR EXCLUSIVE SIGNED ITEMS FROM: COLDPLAY, ELBOW, EXAMPLE PLUS MANY MORE…
FOR ONE WEEK ONLY 12 - 19 DECEMBER

Learning disability charity Mencap is celebrating the festive season and a hugely successful sixth annual Little Noise Sessions, with an exclusive online auction. From 12 December a range of one-off signed goodies will be up for grabs from Ebay with all proceeds going to the charity.

2011’s Mencap’s Little Noise Sessions, took place from 22 – 27 November, curated by Mencap ambassador Jo Whiley and featured headline acts including; Elbow, Marina & The Diamonds, Coldplay’s Chris Martin & Jonny Buckland, Goldfrapp, Example and Sinead O’Connor.

From Monday 12 December, Mencap has a range of exclusive items from the last few years of Little Noise Sessions up for auction. From a keyboard played and signed by Elbow to 7” records, T-shirts donated by Example, signed Coldplay photographs, Christmas baubles signed by Marina & The Diamonds and a Golden Ticket to all of 2012’s shows. This could be your chance to bag yourself the perfect keepsake or Christmas gift, with all money raised going to Mencap. Log on to Ebay and start bidding.

All auctions will start on Monday 12 December for just one week, just in time to be posted out for Christmas. Bids for some items are starting at just £1, so there’s a chance for everyone to take part.

Signed items from artists performing at Little Noise Sessions 2011 include:
Nord Keyboard signed by Elbow
Larrivée Guitar signed by Coldplay to ‘the amazing Mencap’
‘Lego House’ made and signed by Ed Sheeran
Plastic baubles (x2) signed by Marina & The Diamonds
Photographs signed by Coldplay (x3)
Little Noise Sessions 2011 Programme signed by Elbow
Silver drinks tray signed by Elbow - The band used this tray on stage at each of their performances this year (including Little Noise which was their final show) to do a whiskey toast for their 20th birthday together.
Three 7” signed records & (x4 sets) signed t-shirt by Example
Golden ticket – access to all of Little Noise Sessions 2012’s gigs (to be announced)

Signed items from artists who performed at previous Little Noise Sessions include:
Nord Keyboard signed by the Pet Shop Boys
The Killers record insert signed by The Killers
Larrivée Guitar signed by Lostprophets
Larrivée Guitar signed by Paulo Nutini

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Little Noise Sessions 2011 Round Up

Well Little Noise Sessions is over for another year and what an event we’ve had. We were welcomed to our new home at St John at Hackney, taking residence for 6 days to present a series of performances by artists curated by Jo Whiley in aid of Mencap

Elbow headlined our opening sell-out night, with strong support from soulful Maverick Sabre and Ren Harvieu who has just made the BBC’s ‘Sound of 2012’ shortlist. During Elbow’s performance, the band toasted shots of whiskey, as has been customary for them throughout the year, to celebrate their 20th birthday together. A fantastic piece of fan memorabilia, we have the drinks tray signed by the band on auction now. Check out the full critic’s review of the night here.

Marina and the Diamonds headlined the 23rd November, with support from Icona Pop and Spark. Icona Pop’s energetic drumstick-beating performance to their catchy electropop tunes earned them many new fans, whilst Marina’s first gig of the year was both a heartfelt and intimate performance.

Described by Jo Whiley as her dream lineup, Coldplay’s Chris Martin and Jonny Buckland headlined our mammoth 3rd night, with support from the fantastic Ben Howard, Emeli Sande, Michael Kiwanuka (also shortlisted by critics for the ‘Sound of 2012’ list) to new emerging artist Bebe Black. Chris and Jonny put on a wonderful 10-song set that saw the crowd sing along to latest hit ‘Paradise’ and finished with a two-song encore including fan favourite ‘Fix You’. The Guardian’s Mark Beaumont described the entertaining onstage chat between Chris and Jonny as adding to “the wit, warmth and intimacy of an enchanted evening”.

Morning Parade opened the night of the 25th, followed by the breathtaking Alpines, who silenced the church crowd with their powerful and soulful set including the beautiful single ‘Cocoons’. Father Rob later made a brief appearance to bless the stage with smokes of frankincense, creating a magical visual scene. Headliners Goldfrapp put on a truly fantastic acoustic performance, with Alison Goldfrapp’s unique vocals complemented by a string section including cellos, violins and harps. Check out the past present and future blog for a review with lovely photos from the evening.

Example headlined our penultimate night, with hordes of fans braving the cold from as early as 10am to ensure their position at the front of the queue. He took time out in the Little Noise greenroom to give an exclusive interview to Mencap volunteers from Raising Your Game, details of which can be found here. During his set, Example was joined on stage by earlier support Ed Sheeran to arguably the loudest cheers of the week performing ‘Changed the Way You Kissed Me’. Other acts on the night included Fenech Soler and Birdy, who at just 15, put on a breathtaking first live performance of her rapidly blossoming career.

Our final night was lead by a wonderful acoustic performance by James Vincent McMorrow, whose fantastic vocal range and set the bar high for the evening. His cover of Chris Isaak’s ‘Wicked Games’ sent goosebumps rippling through the appreciative crowd, whilst King Creosote’s wonderful charismatic set proved why he was a very deserving Mercury Music Prize nominee. Ending our week-long fundraising gigs would be a challenge for any artist, but Sinead O’Connor put behind her 4 years of UK gig absence to provide us with a heartfelt, strong and fearless performance. Gaining a 5* review from John Aizlewood, Sinead O’Connor provided Little Noise fans with a truly epic end to an epic week.

We’d like to say a huge thank you to all those at St John at Hackney for letting us take over their church to make these gigs possible, as well as massive thanks to Jo Whiley for doing the impossible and continuing to help make every Little Noise Sessions even more incredible than the last.

Some signed memorabilia from gigs are now available on auction from our ‘mencapevents’ ebay store. From a guitar signed by Coldplay to a ‘Lego House’ signed by Ed Sheeran, there are potentially some very special Christmas presents to be bought!


Interviews and performances from some of the nights at Little Noise Sessions will be on Channel 4 on Tuesday 13th December at 00:45am- so set your recorders now!

For more pictures from all our nights, check out our Facebook album.

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See you this week!

We can hardly believe it's that time of year again! We're currently busy filling our suitcases with enough t-shirts, trainers and Berrocca to keep us going through another amazing run of Little Noise Sessions. We can't wait to see you all in our new home, the gorgeous St John at Hackney.

You're going to LOVE it!

What is more, our AMAZING new venue will have all of your creature comfort needs sorted. The team behind the award winning cocktail bar Milk & Honey and Italian-American bar and restaurant, Giant Robot are running the bars at this year's Little Noise Sessions and, unlike previous years, you'll be able to enjoy a tipple while you're watching the shows! Our new bar will feature beer, wine, spirits AND cocktails (our personal faves being the 'Ma-hoo-sive Mojitos' & Gin Punch).

Those of you after a little something more substantial (and sobering) will be pleased to know that the wonderful people behind Eat Street will be inviting along some of London's tastiest, and hippest, street food vendors to serve you deliciously healthly grub before, during and after the shows.

Right, we better stop blogging and get back to what we do best: putting on one of the biggest and best live winter music festivals in London.
See you this week!
xxx

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COLDPLAY’S CHRIS MARTIN & JONNY BUCKLAND PERFORM AN EXCLUSIVE SHOW FOR MENCAP’S LITTLE NOISE SESSIONS

We are ever so excited to announce Coldplay’s Chris Martin and Jonny Buckland will be headlining on Thursday 24 November, completing the line up for Little Noise Sessions 2011. Joining the bill are: Ben Howard, Emeli Sande, Michael Kiwanuka and Bebe Black.

Tickets go on general release from 10am on 7 November with an exclusive presale for subscribers from 10am on 4 November. Sure to sell out fast subscribe NOW at www.littlenoisesessions.org.uk

Due to unprecedented demand we have also released additional tickets for the following SOLD OUT shows: Tuesday 22 November with Elbow, Maverick Sabre and Ren Harvieu. Friday 25 November with Goldfrapp and Alpines. Saturday 26 November with Example, Ed Sheeran, Birdy and Fenech Soler. These tickets go on sale from 10am on 4 November.

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Back with a bang for the 6th year running...

Mencap’s Little Noise Sessions curated by Mencap ambassador Jo Whiley, are back with a bang for the 6th year running - and there’s definitely nothing little about 2011’s line up. Taking residency in our new home the iconic church, St John-at-Hackney this is going to be an unmissable set of shows. Join us to celebrate 6 nights of simply stunning, acoustic gigs in aid of learning disability charity Mencap.

Tickets go on general release from 10 October with an exclusive presale for subscribers from 7 October.

On Tuesday 22 November, we welcome critic’s choice Elbow to the Altar with open arms, as they headline this year’s opening night. With stadium shows under their belts, Elbow will bring their award winning sound to Mencap’s Little Noise Sessions. Supported by an exclusive solo performance from Maverick Sabre, a singer songwriter who has his name ringing around the world right now and rightly so.

Elbow front-man Guy Garvey said; ”We are dead proud to be added to the list of amazing bands that have done the Little Noise Sessions for Jo Whiley and Mencap. In fact we have organised a warm up tour of Europe before the show to make sure we are in tip top condition when we play!”

Headlining Wednesday 23 November is singer-songwriter Marina & The Diamonds. Working on the much-awaited follow up to her critically-acclaimed debut album The Family Jewels Marina is now set to make her mark on Mencap’s Little Noise Sessions. Next is, up and coming Swedish duo Icona Pop who’s pop enthused tunes are sure to enthral the audience in the atmospheric setting of St John-at-Hackney. Kick starting the evening is Spark, an innovative East London girl already making waves with her live shows.

With 5 stunning albums to date, Goldfrapp have cemented their reputation as one of the most consistently inventive and genuinely unique live acts around. Set to take Mencap’s Little Noise Sessions by storm on Friday 25 November, Goldfrapp’s hypnotic, electronic pulse is sure to get the congregation on their feet! Joining them for a Friday night to remember are electronic duo Alpines. Hailing from Kingston Upon Thames, Alpines atmospheric songs are the perfect addition to the night.

Returning for his second appearance at Mencap’s Little Noise Sessions on Saturday 26 November is Example. His captivating performance wowed the crowds in 2010 so expect another epic offering from the London artist. Joining him is the multi-talented, hot newcomer Ed Sheeran who’s single ‘The A Team’ won over fans earlier this year. Next up is Birdy, a gifted young singer whose beautiful sound has made her one not to be missed. Opening the night will be Fenech Soler whose heavenly chorus of voices combine glistening synths and dirty brass to create their foot stomping sound.

More announcements to follow in the coming weeks…

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