Originally published in The Cambridge Student in 2015
The Handlers are perhaps the most versatile cover band in Cambridge, intent on getting their audience to “dance, boogie and sing along to ‘Hey Jude’ for 25 minutes at 3am”. It’s no surprise that they find themselves in high demand, claiming to have had “more gigs than hours sleep” over the course of May Week last year. I caught up with a few members of their sizeable entourage before they played two sets at Churchill Spring Ball.
As with all their gigs, they had very little planned, relying instead on audience suggestions. This gives their shows incredible spontaneity: “At MedSoc Ball we were meant to be doing a background Jazz set, but people kept shouting out suggestions so it became a Michael Jackson, Beatles, Bar Mitzvah disco.” This remarkable flexibility means they can switch genres on cue; “we’ve even done a reggae cover of ‘Gay Bar’ by Electric Six when someone suggested it. Another thing we like to do is cover Daft Punk’s ‘Get Lucky’ in every style we can: be-bop, double-time, swing and a capella versions.” The band love playing these high-energy sets of pop, funk and boogie covers which get the crowd on their feet. They also deliver “traditional background jazz sets” at numerous student events, and in recent years have played Klezmer music at both the CUJS Ball and Magdalene May Ball.
So how do the band manage such versatility? It’s made possible in part by the fact that the band members are talented musicians individually; “There are two organ scholars and everyone except Cameron and Omar are choral scholars.” This means that they are adept at picking up new or unfamiliar songs, often with no prior practice. “We tried doing a rehearsal once and it was atrocious, so we haven’t done a single one since. The process of rehearsal takes place during gigs.” By playing together they have developed an outstanding rapport such that they don’t need to even “mention, signal, or even make eye contact” during a song to segue into a new piece. As one member remarks, “you can just change song and you’ll know that the other seven or eight members of the band are listening and will go along with it immediately.” All this means that they are able to play anything their audience throws at them; “people will shout out a song we’ve never played before, like ‘Thriller’. Then one of us will pick a key and because everyone’s such a wonderful musician they play it pretty much perfectly.” There have been some comical misunderstandings, however; “this one time at Jesus Halfway Hall we were playing ‘Blame It On The Boogie’ by Michael Jackson and our drummer shouted ‘Car Wash’ to me as the next song, which I heard as ‘Star Wars’. So the song segued into ‘Star Wars’ and everyone just followed along.”
May Week 2015 looks to be just as busy as the last, with “at least one gig confirmed for every night”. I ask if the hectic schedule can get in the way of their social life in May Week, but it doesn’t sound likely given that “the mantra of the band is that we sound terrible sober.” The endless string of shows are “incredibly stressful,” admits one band member “but they are also really, really good fun.” Make sure you catch The Handlers over the next few months if you’re looking to join the fun, and be sure to wear your dancing shoes.
Tom Ronan 