Member Article

Puppini Sisters to headline Hartlepool’s Diamond Festival

Dazzling vocal harmony trio The Puppini Sisters have been unveiled as the headline act at Hartlepool’s bumper retro celebration The Diamond Festival this summer. The fabulous girls, who are taking the entertainment world by storm, will be among a host of top quality acts appearing in the special entertainment marquee in front of Hartlepool’s Maritime Experience on the evening of Saturday 2nd June.

Also confirmed as joining them are the fantastic North-East rockabilly and roots rock combo Sour Mash Trio plus Big Boy Bloater, who recently supported Imelda May on tour.

The Diamond Festival – a five-day feast of retro fun for all the family from Friday 1st to Tuesday 5th June – is being organised by Hartlepool Council and its partner organisations to celebrate the Queen’s 60 years on the throne. People will be invited to step back in time and relive some of the classic entertainment from the decade the Queen came to the throne and some of the later years as well.

Described as ‘retro’s futuristic vanguard’, The Puppini Sisters and their three-piece band had a momentous 2011, featuring on Michael Buble’s album, releasing their latest album ‘Hollywood’ and playing to a string of sell-out shows nationwide. They also made many appearances on television, including in Michael Buble’s Christmas Special, This Morning, Loose Women and the Alan Titchmarsh Show.

Like the Andrews Sisters, who conquered the charts in the Thirties, Forties and Fifties, the Puppini Sisters are a bewitching combination, but with very diverse and fascinating backgrounds. The three met in the same jazz school. Blonde Kate Mullins had sung in the heavy metal band Killed In Action, brunette Marcella Puppini had recorded the dance hit ‘Revolution’ after serving time in a punk group and redhead Stephanie O’Brien came from a classical choir and was already making a name for herself in the jazz world, singing and also working as a violinist and harpist.

Their gigs quickly became a unique rendezvous for a mix of fans including jazz-goers and nostalgia lovers. Their first two albums ‘Betcha Bottom Dollar’ and ‘The Rise and Fall of Ruby Woo’ combined new versions of classics from the Thirties to the Fifties, jazzy reinventions of rock hits and original songs as well. Their latest – ‘Hollywood’ – features classic tracks including Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend, Henry Mancini’s Moon River, Gershwin’s I Got Rhythm and the love theme from The Godfather.

“We have this obsession with American musicals: the songs, the style, the room they give to the theatrical approach from performers,” says Marcella Puppini. “For this album we kept only the best of the best of what we prefer.”

The girls have also turned their talents to doing sparkling Fifties-style covers of newer songs such as Blondie’s Heart of Glass, Beyonce’s Crazy in Love and The Smiths’ Panic. Michelle Daurat, the Council’s Events and Visitor Service Manager, says: “We’re absolutely delighted to announce The Puppini Sisters as the headline act for The Diamond Festival. “Their combination of nostalgia with a fresh, exciting twist is exactly what we’re aiming to create in the whole event.

“We’ll be announcing other great acts in due course, but it’s already clear that The Diamond Festival will be five days of family fun and nostalgia the like of which we’ve never seen before.”

Tickets for the Saturday evening entertainment marquee cost £15 and are on sale now from Hartlepool Tourist Information Centre in Church Square on 01429 890000. For more information about other Diamond Festival events visit www.whatshappeninghartlepool.com

The Diamond Festival is supported by main sponsor Niramax Total Waste Solutions plus the Vela Group, TFM Radio and Camerons Brewery.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Hartlepool Borough Council .