3dB English ceilidh band, was formed out of the Seven Stars Ceilidh Band specifically to perform for dance functions in a noticibly English style.

Leslie Basil Bunelik Thompson. Accordion, harmonica.

As you may guess from the name I have roots in East Europe. Although weaned on the folk music of Ukraine and Somerset in my early years, my first professional band was with Billy Ocean way back in the days of soul bands and real Hammond Organs. Later, I turned back to folk music and the accordion, playing with Russian dance groups based in London and getting involved in the folk scene around Brighton in the 70s. When I moved to Devon in the 80s I was soon in demand for English Country dance bands in the area and also set up Troika - a band which performed East European folk music at arts centres, festivals and clubs all over the UK for a period of ten years. I formed the Seven Stars Ceilidh Band in the 1990's and renewed my relationship with Eddie Upton from Brighton who was now director of Folk South West. Through FSW I became more appreciative of the folk music of the region, and so started 3dB a ceilidh band specialising in English music and dance, with the novel twist of incorporating a sprinkling of Ukrainian music alongside some previously unpublished Devon tunes.


Simon Hopkins, Guitar, banjo, vocals

Simon started his professional career in the 70s playing in folk clubs in England and Scotland, before moving to the Shetland Isles where he became involved in local bands and traditional music. He moved to the South East and joined Jacko Lantern, a folk rock band performing in the Reading area. His versatility and professionalism quickly brought him more work in a variety of bands playing folk, blues and R&B and later played with Trefellas, an Irish trio based near London. Simon was a founder member of ZigaZag in 1998, a band which has become well known in Cajun circles not only in the UK where they have appeared at all the major festivals but also in Louisiana where they appeared on radio & TV. As a result Cajun legends such as Jessie Leger and the great Eddie LeJeune have chosen Simon and ZigaZag to back them on UK tours.

Simon has a strong voice and an authentic banjo style for Irish & Scottish music, and on guitar he has the rare ability to provide rock-solid accompaniments at the same time as injecting melodic lines ideal for English dance music.

Mike Cosgrave, trumpet, tin whistle, guitar.

Mike was a founder member of Celtic/World music crossover band Sin é with whom he has performed at the Lincoln Centre (New York), QEH (London) as well as major festivals such as Celtic Connections, Sidmouth & Rudolstadt in Germany. The band may not be a household name, but musicians in the know quickly recognised Mikes impressive agility on a range of instruments and he is frequently asked to go on tour in Europe with Celtic singer/songwriter Jackie Leven, to contribute to critically acclaimed CDs (A Decent Man by singer/songwriter Michael Weston King), and to work alongside leading lights of the British jazz scene such as saxophonist Mark Lockheart and bassist Alec Dankworth. He has even toured Khazakstan without a donkey! We are indebted to his young family for keeping him at home in Devon where his prowess on guitar and tin whistle impart a distinctly Celtic flavour to our music, and the trumpet gives an unusual but distinctly English accent to 3dB

Hi Les, just to say a huge thank you to you and the boys for such a great evening at our Barn Dance recently. You were really instrumental (sorry) in making the evening such a success. Everyone had a great time and altogether we raised over a grand for our school funds, which was fantastic. Thanks again, we'll look forward to the next one!

Best wishes from Jill Brock and everyone at Stoke Fleming Primary School

Hi Les, We're back from our honeymoon and I just wanted to say "thanks" for providing the excellent music for our wedding reception. Everyone enjoyed it very much. I'm sorry I didn't say goodbye on the day, but I got caught up with arranging taxis.



Steve

Hi Leslie,

Dan and I would like to say a big thank you to you and the rest of your band for playing at our wedding on 19th May. We had such a great time and all of our guests commented on how fantastic you guys were. We were a bit apprehensive about having a Ceilidh because you never know if people will get up and dance but even those people who had sworn never to dance again were up on the dance floor!! The music was fantastic and we were really grateful for your patience during the many moments of confusion! We will definitely be recommending you to friends and family and hope we have the opportunity to hire you again in the future.

Many thanks again,

Natalie and Daniel

To Les and the band,
thank you so much for the amazing job you did for our wedding reception. We had a brilliant time, as did everyone else. We have had so many compliments about choosing you - we wanted to pass these on.
Joe & Kate

Hi Les

just a quick email to thank you so much for a very enjoyable barn dance on Saturday. Everyone enjoyed themselves, particularly the children. Thank you for making our 40th birthday a memorable occasion.

Kind regards

Jill & Andrew

Hello there,
My name is Tom, I have the good fortune to be getting married on the 16th of august at Clovelly . You played at my friends wedding last year and everyone had a great time, I wonder if youd be available to play at mine this year?

Hello Les
Thank-you for the best night!
With such a mixture of ages this truly is a night that will go down in the history books, everyone getting up and having a dance. I haven't laughed so much in years.
Chris is a great caller, please pass on my thanks to him and the rest of the group.
Thanks again Les.
Kind regards
Sharn

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