About Us

NORTHAMPTONSHIRE'S FINEST PARTY BAND

IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A PROFESSIONAL LIVE BAND FOR YOUR EVENT, WEDDING OR PARTY, YOU HAVE COME THE TO RIGHT PLACE!

POINT BLANK WILL PROVIDE YOU A FIRST CLASS SERVICE AND OFFER MANY PACKAGES TO MEET YOUR BUDGET AND REQUIREMENT. A 'ONE STOP SHOP' FOR ALL YOUR ENTERTAINMENT REQUIREMENTS.

PLEASE BROWSE TROUGH OUR WEBSITE AND GET IN TOUCH VIA OUR CONTACT PAGE OR OUR ENQUIRY PAGE FOR A NO OBLIGATION QUOTE.

I WOULD LIKE A QUOTE >

Who Are Point Blank?

We are an energetic four piece band from Northamptonshire who are on a mission to bring you the greatest live music sound covering the biggest Artists from days gone by to today's favourites. Their covers range from the authentic sounds of the 60's right through to the modern day classics.

Point-Blank Biography

Lead Vocals & Guitar, Guitar, Bass & Backing Vocals,

& Drums (4 members).

Highlights

* Fun, lively & professional 4 piece party band

* Highly experienced and highly professional

* Hits from the 50’s-2020’s

* High quality EV 4000 watt PA system for amazing live sound

*Professional stage lighting.

* Public Liability Insurance

* PAT testing compliant

What Sort Of Music Do They Play?

Point Blank perform classic tracks from the 50's right up to 2020’s. From Chuck Berry and The Beatles, Pulp and Blur, and The Killers to the Bruno Marrs, Point Blank guarantee to keep your dance floor filled all night. Please see our covers for more details.

What Will The Band Look Like?

Point Blank can dress to suit the needs of your event. They usually dress formally but are more than happy to wear casual clothes if you prefer!

Your Event

Point Blank are able to provide a variety of music throughout the night. Their live sets are available as 2 x 45 minutes. They can also provide any type of music on iPod before and between sets. To keep the party going, Point Blank can provide a DJ service between and after sets if required for an additional fee. The service includes advanced requests, and an experienced DJ with 1000’s of tunes! Please see our Frequently Asked Questions page (FAQ).

Superior Equipment

Point Blank are fully self-contained with their own high quality PA sound system and lights. They use a high quality EV 4000 watt PA system suitable for an audience of up to 300.

The band are also flexible should your venue have volume restrictions and can bring an electronic drum kit if given advanced notice.

Meet The Band

Alan Milne - Lead Vocals

Tim Henbury - Guitarist

According to his mum, Alan has been singing ever since he arrived into the big wide world. His parents and sister's musical influences led him to like many genres. From his childhood hero’s Elvis Presley, Shakin’ Stevens (cant beat a bit of double denim and black Moccasins), to Spandau Ballet, UB40, Duran Duran, the new romancism movement and the 90's Brit Pop sounds of Oasis, Pulp, Cast & Blur. Alan's taste in music is very wide and varied with his favourite era being strongly rooted in the 1980's (as well as his dress sense some would say!).

It's fair to say that Alan's IPOD collection contains more cheese than an 12' Dominos stuffed crust pizza with extra mozzarella “but that’s how I roll baby” says Alan. In terms of dislikes, he doesn’t get Heavy Metal, Thrash Metal, Goth Metal and any "shouty" music that contains vocals that are only audible to cats & dogs.

Alan played in a classic rock band for over a year and decided to leave the band in 2013 to do something different. He set out to form a band with some strong/talented local musicians that had the same passion to deliver a range of live music that caters to all ages and tastes. To which he found the perfect guys and POINT BLANK was formed. "It is a privilege to get to play along side these very talented guys. Each one is unique in their own way and each bring something different to the band" Says Alan. "Especially Tim, who likes to fix everyone’s equipment and never moans! He absolutely loves it, what a guy!

Veteran lead guitarist Tim Henbury, has been playing the guitar since the age of 13 and has lost count of the number of bands he has been in over the years, (so in other words he's knocking on a bit). He answered an online advert to form Point Blank with Alan in November 2013 and has played every gig ever since.

A recording engineer with a Cambridge 1st class degree in Audio and Music Technology, Tim is also responsible for recording, mixing and producing the bands demo tracks and CD's. (Should you require the skills of such a man, please contact him via this site). He also has a degree in Electronic and Electrical engineering, so often ends up fixing everyone's equipment too. "amps, mixers, TV's, dishwashers...you name it, i'm sick of being roped in to do it" says Tim.

His influences are just about everyone you have ever heard of who played the guitar, from classical to acoustic, through all styles of rock. If they have Michael or Moore in the name Tim is probably a fan: Michael Schenker, Gary Moore, Dave Gilmour, Micheal Moorer, ....no hold on he's a boxer, Ritchie Blackmore, Vinnie Moore ...ok maybe not so much Vinnie, but you get the idea. Thankfully Tim's party piece “Highway Star”, including the keyboard solo played on guitar, is not in the set! Tim would like to stress that Shaking Stevens isn't a major influence, although he would admit that “Merry Christmas Everyone” was a well crafted pop song!

Mark Varnfield - Drummer

Ben Smith - Bass & Vocals

He just wants to rock da party! Mark Varnfield, an accomplished, passionate drummer has been playing the drums since the tender age of 11, much to the neighbours delight. He was born in the golden year of 1966, in North Northamptonshire.

Rhythm ranks very highly in the family genes, he has an older brother also playing the drums – where the fixation first began for Mark. He is a versatile artist who can turn his hand to all sorts of music genre’s including pop, rock, funk, jazz and blues to name a few. Mark has been playing both professionally and semi-professionally since 1980, gigging with a number of different bands he hasn’t looked back since.

Spending all of his adult life in successful popular function bands and a few popular well known names to this arrangement working well for a work/family balance.

At the young age of 14, in a friends shed, Ben was handed his first guitar. It is fair to say that from this point on he was hooked and then was very rarely seen without one in his hand. He found his true calling and passion in playing Bass. Ben has since played in numerous Bands which covered genres from top tunes of the Pop world to classic Rock n' Roll.

Ben's biggest influence has been Level 42's Mark King, a true master of Bass! After many years of studying and idolising his biggest influence, Ben then adapted his playing to incorparate King's unique slap style and funky edge.

Over the years Ben has incorparated main and backing vocals to his arsenal of musical talents and has done this succesfully with many previous Bands.

Ben brings his funky bass and a 3rd vocal to the Point Blank mix, which you have to hear to believe.

What area's will the Band cover?

We are willing to play anywhere! We are based in Northamptonshire and as such any locations that involve long periods of travel will incur an extra charge to cover our costs. Please contact us for a detailed quote.
What is the fee to hire the Band?

Our fees are very competitive for a professional 4 piece Band against other 4 piece bands in our area. Whilst we strive to keep our fee as low as possible, there are a combination of things that will increase the final fee. These include, travel distance and fuel costs, set up times, finish times, DJ hire, additional lighting and sound equipment hire. There is no set fee that covers all events; we build an entertainment package around your needs. Please contact us for a detailed quote.
Can we see the Band play live before booking?

Definitely! We do a lot of public gigs throughout the year. If you are considering a booking and are coming to watch us first, contact us and let us know. We’d like to say hello! Check out our facebook page for forthcoming gigs/events.
How can I check the Band's availabilty?

Please give us a call or drop us an email with your dates and we will confirm if the date is free. Alternatively, please click on the enquiry page and fill in the details. We will reply within 24 hours. Click the link below: https://www.point-blank-band.co.uk/enquiry
How long will it take for the Band to set up?

In order to fully set up the equipment and carry out a sound check to deliver the excellent sound quality you'd expect, we require 2 hours. In order to not give anything away, we would prefer to sound check before your guests arrive. Understandably this is not always possible but we request you try to factor this into the time you would like us to arrive and set up. For Wedding's, most couples ask that the band is set up prior to the guests arrive. Usually in the morning/early afternoon when the room is being dress. We can do this with advanced agreement. An additional fee is required for an early set up. Again, please ask and we will provide the quote.
Can you learn our first dance song/special song?

Yes is the answer! If the song is fairly straight forward and is something the band will use again, we will learn it for the event. If it is something that requires a few rehearsal sessions we may charge a fee. It can take several rehearsals to master a song for you if its a song we areunlikely to play again so this is the reason for the charge of the rehearsal room and time. We do kindly request that you inform us of your song choice at least 10 weeks in advance. This allows us to rehearse the song fully. We realise the sentimental value of the song so need to make sure we are playing it to the best of our ability.
How long can the Band play for?

As a band we play for 1 x 45 & 1 x 60 minutes. We cannot, however play for 90 minutes straight, we need at least a 20 minute break to refresh.
Can someone from our event get up and join you?

Absolutely! If you have a singer at your party who you would like to get up and sing with us, we would be more than happy for them to join in provided we know in advance. Please let us know in advance so we can discuss this prior to the event. We cannot allow multiple guests as this can very easily get out of control and we dont allow people on stage who are extremely drunk to join us on the stage. This would breach our public liability insurance! We need to besafe and protect our equipment as well as ensure the safety of the individuals who join us on stage. We also do not share our instruments, these are our tools and are not toys...sorry :(
Can we use your PA for Announcements & Speeches?

Yes, we are more than happy for the equipment to be used for this provided the band is set up. All we ask is that you let us know in advance so we can have a spare microphone set up.
How do I confirm a booking?

We can only confirm a booking once we have received a signed agreement that we will send via post or e-mail. We will also require a small deposit. Once this is received your booking will be confirmed and the date secured. The remainder of the cash payment will be taken on the night of your event.
Do you provide music between sets?

Yes. Our package includes basic background music if you do not havea DJ. We can provide the entire entertainment for your evening, which includes a DJ for the night. The added benefit being that you only need to deal with one entertainment provider. Our experienced and reliable DJ has an extensive music library and a full lightshow to compliment your event. You can also arrange your own DJ if you prefer.
Does the Band have stage lighting and effects?

Yes! For private events our band use some basic lighting effects to light the stage and create an ambiance. If you want more lighting, this isn’t a problem. We can provide additional lighting to suit your needs if you would like this. There will be additional fee so please contact us for a detailed quote.
What time will the Band be set up?

The band will set up 2 hours before the first agreed performance time. e.g. 9pm start, band will arrive at 7pm to set up. An earlier set up can be agreed but there is a charge for this.
What time will the Band start to play?

The set times are completely up to you. For an evening function, we would suggest starting the first set between 9:00pm and 9:30pm. By this time your guest would have loosened up a bit and will be ready to join in, but this is just a guide. The band will not play after midnight unless agreed prior to booking.
How much space will the Band need?

We will do our best to fit pretty much anywhere, but as a guide we require an area of 7m wide and 5m deep in order to fit all our equipment (and ourselves). We like to perform with some energy and passion, so the bigger the space the better we perform!
Does your band provide your own sound equipment?

Yes, we will provide all the equipment for amplification. Our setup is very powerful and can accommodate a large venue with around 150 people. If your event is larger venue like a large marquee, we may need a bigger sound system to get the professional sound balance we pride ourselves on. If so, an additional fee would be applicable and will be detailed in the quote.