The document summarizes a battle of the bands social event among bands composed of employees from different IP law firms. It describes the high temperatures in London on the day of the event and provides details about three of the performing bands - The Groundless Frets, The Black IPs, and The Non-Practicing Entities. It discusses the songs each band performed and highlights some of the standout musical performances. In the end, IP Freely and the Incontinents were announced as the winners.

1. SOCIAL BATTLE OF THE BANDSSOCIAL BATTLE OF THE BANDS
interjected somewhat prematurely to ask for the judges scores.
Some might suggest unceremoniously so. Simone Ferrara was
particularly animated by this point in the evening, gesticulating
to the audience to increase the volume even further.
As the heat began to stifle even the most ardent of
audiences, the air conditioning units threatened to finally
give up the ghost. Thankfully, we were now at the ‘business
end’ of proceedings with the introduction of the final band
of the night, IP Freely and the Incontinents. They were (un)
enviably tasked with taking this gig over the finishing line with
a hammer call to the gods of rock ‘n’ roll. We need not have
worried though. In true Spinal Tap fashion, they well and truly
turned the dial up to 11 and hit the crowd squarely in the jaw
with a homage to classic 1980s indie rock. Game definitely on.
Fronted by Tim Bamford of Collyer Bristow LLP the band
comprised Methyl Blue members Dave Avigdor and Al Gahn,
with the addition of Phil Harris (former president of ITMA!)
on bass guitar. Even though their combined age was closer
to the Rolling Stones, the crowd were pogoing along to The
Buzzcocks’ ‘Ever Fallen in Love’ and The Clash’s ‘Rock the
Casbah’ as effortlessly segued, high-octane openers. This band
were undeniably tight and with a stage presence akin to The
Eagles and The Who in their heyday, Tim and his cohorts
intuitively enticed the audience to eat out of the palm of their
hands. After a frankly inspired cover of Cameo’s ‘Word Up’
(which doffed a cap to the Scottish band Gun), they bookended
their set with a powerful rendition of The Police’s ‘Message in
a Bottle’. By now, an actual mosh pit was in full effect. Beer was
spilt. Crikey!
This BOTB was far too close to call. The judges conferred
and cogitated with Scott Mills for what felt like an eternity,
whilst the B Sharp Boys of Billy Roberts and Henry Shine
shimmied stage right and did their best impression of Erasure
and The Pet Shop Boys.
The tension was palpable by this point. Which band had
prevailed? Which set list had proved most popular on the
night? Which band members conveyed the most accomplished
stage persona?
“Ladies and gentlemen, the winners of The Battle of the
Bands 2015 are… IP Freely and the Incontinents!” The
crescendo of applause underlined very worthy winners indeed,
which was duly acknowledged by the losing bands who had all
contributed to an extremely high calibre of musicianship.
Tim Bamford’s reaction said it all: “We were elated to win
bearing in mind the high standards of musicianship and
showmanship of the bands that went on before us. I think our
set list showed you just can’t keep a good song down, having
regard to the likelihood that most of the audience hadn’t even
been born when they were written!”
There was still time for an encore from the winners
(including a raucous cover of ‘Rock and Roll’ by Led
Zeppelin) and the collaboration of super-group Spontaneous
Combustion with members from each band taking to the stage
like it was the end of Live Aid.
One observer propping up the bar at the end quipped that
the final result was in direct proportion to the amount of
alcohol consumed by the time each band came on stage. There
might have been some truth in that, and that the person may or
may not have been Tibor Gold.
James Dawes, Aspire IP Recruitment
T
he hottest day in London for years; 35 degrees of
sweltering, sticky summer heat on the same day that
the hotly anticipated CIPA Battle of the Bands would
bring musical collaborations back to a London stage.
BOTB and hot nights go hand in hand though, as those
that attended the sweat pit of ‘EGG’ in 2013 will testify. This
year, The Lexington in Islington provided a more intimate and
acoustically capable venue to bring together music lovers of all
genres and sonic persuasions.
The build-up to the event was predictably tense; the atmosphere
undeniably expectant as the crowd began to swell whilst roadies
(trainees I suspect) set up drum kits and connected amplifiers.
So many questions already hung in the air. Would there be any
surprise songs? Which set-lists would bands agree on? Would
Gwilym Roberts’ play keys or strings in this battle?
This year the organisers pulled off a coup by securing Radio
1 DJ Scott Mills to MC the gig. Scott, taking a break from
playing DJ Sammy and Girls Aloud songs on the wireless, must
have wondered (a) what he had actually let himself in for; and,
quite possibly, (b) what are patent attorneys, exactly? Luckily
he was ably flanked by a panel of expert judges to include
David Musker (Jenkins), Simone Ferrara (Vodafone) and
representatives from the evening’s charity, Generating Genius,
who support talented young people from disadvantaged
backgrounds to realise their potential in STEM (science,
technology, engineering and maths).
First up were 2013 reigning champions The Groundless
Frets from Boults, once again fronted by the charismatic Daryl
Penny, despite his defection to Finnegans LLP. Two years ago
Daryl modelled his stage presence on Maroon 5’s Adam Levine,
so it was with some surprise that he opted for a Country and
Western themed persona this year. Taking inspiration from
Otis Redding and Johnny Cash, a gravel-voiced opening salvo
of ‘Hard to Handle’ swiftly breathed life into the amplifiers
by segueing into the Black Crowes’ harder version, much to
the crowd’s delight. A deft switch of mood brought Angharad
Rolfe Johnson into the spotlight, as her vocals breathed
bittersweet pathos into Adele’s massive hit ‘Rolling in the Deep’.
The theme of breakups continued with a gutsy cover of Kelly
Clarkson’s ‘Since You’ve Been Gone’, before a set closing climax
of perennial reforming Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Go Your Own Way’
which was richly appreciated by the crowd. Mark Smith on
lead guitar had modelled himself on Lindsey Buckingham by
this point, but regrettably there was no time for the ten-minute
guitar solo from ‘I’m So Afraid’.
Second on the bill were Kilburn & Strode’s The Black IPs
(an ensemble that resembled the size of a developing country),
as 12 musicians and vocalists took up their positions with the
crowd becoming increasingly more lubricated (with alcohol).
The ever-present ringmaster Gwilym Roberts took up the guitar,
with a guest spot reserved for his son Billy in the ‘horn section’;
but it was the ‘easy on the eye’ quartet of Sarah Lau, Flora Cook,
Emer Bollinghaus and new bearded secret weapon Ed Lobb
that would steal some hearts with their vocal harmonies. Emile
Sande’s ‘Next to Me’ started the set well enough, quickly followed
by Bryan Adams & Mel C’s ‘When You’re Gone’ – but it would be
the cover of Taylor Swift’s multi-million selling smash ‘Shake it
Off’ that brought the vocals of YouTube singing sensation Flora
Cook (her vocal style comparable to a young Kirsty MacColl
with the presence of The Cardigans’ Nina Persson) to the fore, as
well as an impromptu acapella from Gwilym for the ‘Get down
to this sic BEAT!’ line (trade mark application pending). After a
throwback to the 1980s with a resounding cover of A-Ha’s ‘Take
on Me’, the evening’s curveball of Ed Lobb’s curious stage swagger
would be unleashed to conclude their set. An inspired Disney
medley of ‘Bare Necessities’ (Jungle Book) and ‘Under the Sea’
(The Little Mermaid) really caught the audience by surprise, but
proved to be the sing-a-long success of the night so far. In Ed,
The Black IPs had unearthed a talented diamond in the rough –
but would he bring the trophy home?
The Non-Practicing Entities from Withers & Rogers
proceeded to pick up the gauntlet thrown down by Kilburn
& Strode, having opted for a Motown inspired set of soul and
funk numbers which conjured up images of smoky music
halls in 1950s Detroit City. The well-oiled crowd responded
gleefully to staple covers ‘I Heard it on the Grapevine’, ‘Aint
no Sunshine’, ‘I Feel Good’ and ‘Valerie’ but Goran Kay, Rob
Patterson, Mark Caddle, Russell Edson, Will Morgan, Jim
Ribeiro, Marcus Walters and Lucy Harrold might have felt
slightly aggrieved that their set was cut short when Scott Mills
Battle of the Bands
The Lexington, 1 July 2015
Withers & Rogers’ The Non-Practicing Entities
Winners of The Battle of the Bands 2015 IP Freely and the Incontinents
Kilburn & Strode’s The Black IPs with Radio 1 DJ Scott Mills
Tibor Gold (right), Chair of Generating Genius, with Scott Mills.
See more on Generating Genius at www.generatinggenius.org.uk
34 35CIPA JOURNAL OCTOBER 2015 www.cipa.org.uk Volume 44, number 10 OCTOBER 2015 CIPA JOURNAL