Companies that have dived in at the Deep End include:
Volvo
Ventura
Next Distribution
ASDA
Marks & Spencer
Armstrong Watson
Price Waterhouse Cooper
McArthur Glen
Smart & Cook
The Broker Network
Yorkshire Bank
King Sturge
Next Generation Gyms
Your Move
Hunters
Eversheds LLP
York City Football
Minster FM
Radio Aire
BBC Radio York
Best Western Hotels
Superbreak
O2
Fenwicks
CJ Garland
"The Deep End was a phenomenal event for us. Ian and his team were marvellous. From the light show to the musicians and from the graphics to the presentation, no corner was cut. I thoroughly recommend the Deep End." - Jonathan Hick, DirectorBank
"I can't believe I performed in a theatre full of my workmates. I have never been so terrified in my life!" - Darren Avey, Costcutter
"All I've heard about for the last three months at work is The Deep End. It has become the biggest social event in our calendar" - Colin Cain, Director Otisdale
"To sing a song by my hero Johnny Cash, in a full theatre, was immense. I can't wait for next year" - Dave Asbury, Best Western Hotels
"I can't remember being this excited or scared since I was a kid. What a top night for all our team!" - Kevin Hollinrake, Hunters Estate Agents
"I never believed work could have me rocking the house for Marks & Spencer!" - Mark Brown, Marks & Spencer
"The Deep End was a fantastic event for us to raise money for charity whilst belting out 'Relight my Fire'!" - Roz Ramley, Yorkshire Fire Service
"Our event had me winning the £3000 prize for my chosen charity...not bad for singing a couple of songs!" - Els Tompkins, Sue Ryder Care
"I was terrified but Big Ian and the band boosted my confidence and gave me an amazing experience!" - Sally Thomas, GMAC
"I have just performed on the same stage that the Kaiser Chiefs played last night...Doncaster Dome with 2000 people crammed into it. That was awesome!" - Matthew McCabe, Ventura
"I have seen Travis and Morrissey at Leeds Town Hall, and tonight I had it jumping! I can't believe it!" - Paul Staveley, Price Waterhouse Cooper
"I cannot believe that the quiet lad from our Leeds accounts office could sound like that!" - Erica Swailes, Ventura Director
"The Deep End puts the SHOW into BUSINESS" - Angela Singleton, Yorkshire Life
"It was fantastic to see the personalities behind the companies!" - Ron Godfrey, York Press Business Editor
"When I came off I checked my mobile phone and I had 20 text messages. They were all buzzing and saying that they wanted to take my place next year! The King Sturgeons were a brilliant crowd." - Nina Barker, King Sturge
Entrants ready for Stage test
26.10.2005
by Ron Godfrey, Business Editor, Evening Press, York
WHO needs the X Factor, when there are so many hidden showbiz talents buried among the boardrooms, shops and offices of York and North Yorkshire?
They have been queuing up to take part in a charity concert, dubbed The Deep End, at York's Grand Opera House early next year.
It is the brainchild of teacher "Big Ian" Donaghy, of York band HUGE, who recognises that in business life many know how to behave when they are thrown in at the deep end, but asks how would they fare if the musical talents they profess are tested before an audience of 1,000 - with little time to rehearse?
Yet volunteers have been clamouring for the privilege of possibly "bombing out" at the concert on Tuesday, February 7, even though each entrant must pay £500 to take part.
For that they each get 30 reserved seats for the show for workforce, clients or family, and a chance to win the prize of £3,000 for a charity they nominate.
Ian, who will be master of ceremonies on the night, said:
"I was talking to some business people in York, who said they would do anything to do what I do, but did not think they would ever dare.
"So I decided to give them and all the other corporate wannabees of the region that opportunity, even if it meant giving them a little bit of coaching and rehearsal.
"I found a sponsor, Vortex Lighting, of County Durham, and away I went, canvassing for volunteers. I was pleasantly shocked at people's enthusiasm for the idea.
"They loved the notion of an uncorporate corporate evening, free from the jargon of 'synergy' and 'thinking outside the box'. They were fascinated by the idea of trying to show a partisan audience rooting for their own, exactly who is boss on stage."
The nominated singer or instrumentalist selects a song from a list of options, is given a lyric sheet, recorded backing track and told to learn it.
"On the week of the event they are given only one rehearsal with professional musicians and musical director, before they dive in, " said Ian mischievously. "That is, 24 artistes with full band, full theatre, full on. Right in at The Deep End." Firms that have already signed up their star performers include York firms Hunters Estate Agents, QA Research and Brackenhill Design, the Next Generation fitness club, Wallis Office Supplies, and Langleys Solicitors, plus JM Packaging, of Malton, and Broker Network Insurers, of Harrogate.
Just to make sure that the nerves of performers are fully tested, Ian plans to have no set running order. "They will be randomly picked to appear by computer with their names, faces and company logos spinning to a stop on a giant video screen. The tension will be massive." Any budding or frustrated stars in the workplace who want to fling themselves into The Deep End should contact Big Ian, either by email at in@thedeepend. co. uk phoning him on 07737 410405.g him on 07737 410405.
for more information about HUGE - 'the ultimate party band' - CLICK HERE
Rocking Back
23.1.2006
Evening Press, York
PINSTRIPE-suited York businessman Steve Heath is going back in time to the wild-haired rocker days of his youth.
The director of Wallis Business Services, at Clifton Moor, will turn back the clock by competing in The Deep End, a charity concert by talented corporate characters in York and North Yorkshire at the Grand Opera House, York, on Tuesday, February 7.
Musical wannabees have come out of the offices, shop floors and boardrooms of the region in their dozens to take part in the event which allows them only one rehearsal with professional musicians and musical director before they dive in to compete for a £3,000 prize for the charity of their choice.
Steve, 48, is known as the amiable man from Wallis Business Services who with calculators, computer consumables, furniture and shredders keeps offices clickin' and a-tickin'
But many remember him when he kept the whole of York rockin' and a-boppin in pub and nightclub gigs back in the 1970s.
That is when he was guitarist in the likes of Kingsway North, Chase, Roxette and Curfew, twanging out self-compositions or cover versions by artists like the Rolling Stones, AC/DC, Thin Lizzy and Whitesnake. His chosen number this time: The Rolling Stones' Brown Sugar.
So far 21 rivals have announced themselves - talents from companies including Hunters estate agents, QA Research, Ventura, Langleys Solicitors, McArthurGlen, Minster Engineers, JMPackaging and Steven Bradshaw Photography.
Each business paid £500 for the privilege of exposing themselves to possibly bombing out on the night.
The Deep End concert is the brainchild of teacher "Big Ian" Donaghy, of York band HUGE, who recognised that in business life many know how to behave when thrown in at the deep end.
But, he asked, how would they fare if the musical talents they profess are tested before an audience of 1,000, with little time to rehearse?
For their £500 entrance fee each received 30 reserved seats for the show for workforce, clients or family to cheer them on.
Ian, who will front the sell-out concert, said: "Entries are now closed and there are a lot of firms out there who are kicking themselves that they failed to get in early, because it has created a huge buzz in the region's business community which won't have seen or heard of anything like this before.
"All programme takings on the night, as well as an auction to win a duet with me to finish the show - New York, New York - will go to the Evening Press Guardian Angels Appeal."
City director dives in at the deep end
2.2.2006
by Ron Godfrey, Business Editor, Evening Press, York
DON'T take it the wrong way, says Sophie McGill, but next week she will be performing live - with only a partial strip.
No, not striptease. By partial strip, the communications and community director for York City Football Club means she will be wearing the famous red shirt with skirt, rather than strip shorts, when she sings in Tuesday's sell-out In At The Deep End corporate concert, at York's Grand Opera House.
Sophie will be performing for JM Packaging, of Malton, where she is sales manager, belting out Stand By Me.
It could not be more apt, given that key City players let her down. She was hoping to get striker Clayton Donaldson, reputedly a good singer, to perform at the concert, where York businesses each pay £500 for the dubious privilege of putting up talented employees after one rehearsal.
But the concert, which has the business community buzzing, falls on Donaldson's birthday, and he has made other arrangements. So Sophie stepped in to the breach at the last minute. "I don't sing regularly," she said. "Only in the shower, or on special occasions.
"We don't have a game this weekend, so it gives me the opportunity to get in some secret practice, with the help of my Ben E King tape, but don't expect a dark horse."
On the other hand, she is determined if she does get the top prize of £3,000 for the charity of her choice, the money will go towards a sports project, such as helping to expand the club's youth policy.
If anyone wants to see Sophie in action, she has some complimentary tickets left. She can be phoned on 01653 691500.
A special concert website has been set up at www.thedeepend.co.uk, so the public can study the form for the 22 entrants taking part.
LIMBERING up to take centre stage tomorrow night is Scott Anscomb, director of YourMove Anscombs estate agency in Kings Square, York.
He is practising his vocals for the city's very own corporate X Factor-style competition, The Deep End, at the Grand Opera House.
He will be one of 22 business representatives breaking away from the boardroom, workbench or desk for a chance to win £3,000 for a charity of their choice and among his singing opponents will be his commercial rivals Kevin and Keith Hollinrake, directors of Hunters, that other York-based estate agency. All the competitors face the same problem in the show. They are given only one rehearsal with a professional orchestra and then they have to go on stage, literally in The Deep End.
But Scott has been creating his own audience with passers by through the glass pane of his agency by practising his number, Mr Bojangles.
He said: "It is one of my favourite songs, often associated with Robbie Williams' `Swing Shows'. If I'm fortunate enough to win the audience vote I'll be donating the £3,000 prize money to York Against Cancer.
" My colleagues often tell me I've got a good face for radio, but tomorrow I'm hoping that, instead, it'll be my singing talent that they'll find attractive".
The event, organised by "Big Ian" Donaghy has had the business world in York abuzz with excitement. Endorsement of the fact that it has their approval is the agreement of Len Cruddas, chief executive of York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce to be chief judge and prizegiver on the night.
Getting on the ball for charity
8.2.2006
Evening Press, York
THOUSANDS of pounds for charity - that was the impressive result of the fun at the Grand Opera House.
The Deep End event was expected to have raised a total of more than £5,000 for different causes, and our Guardian Angels campaign has benefited to the tune of at least £2,300.
York Against Cancer and York's St Leonard's Hospice also gained £1,500 each, after event winner Paul Staveley chose them as the charities he wanted to see carry off his prize money.
Our Guardian Angels campaign aims to transform high dependency care for children at York Hospital, and yesterday it got its most significant boost - thanks to this rugby ball.
Audience members at yesterday's event were bidding for the chance to win this signed Leeds Rhinos rugby ball, and sing a musical number on the Grand Opera House stage.
York-based property company Hunters came up trumps by paying a whopping £2,000 for the ball, with members of the company gracing the boards to sing famous Sinatra hit "New York, New York".
Hunters director John Waterhouse said the ball would be kept in pride of place at the company's boardroom.
" It was worth every penny," he said.
More cash for Guardian Angels was raised from programmes at the evening.
Suits really rock
8.2.2006
York Evening Press leader column
THEY were thrown in at The Deep End - and made a terrific splash. Who could have known so much rock'n'roll talent was hidden inside the sober suits of businessmen and women across the region?
Our thanks and admiration go to all the participants. It takes plenty of pluck to sing in front of nearly 1,000 people. Particular praise must go to those who stood in for absent colleagues at the eleventh hour, one man having only a 15-minute rehearsal before stepping on stage. If there is an equivalent of the George Cross for show business, he deserves it.
This was the first Deep End event. Thanks to the terrific efforts of the organisers, it was a huge success, raising big money for our Guardian Angels Appeal and other charities.
We are sure it will not be the last. Get practising.
Putting the Show into Business
Angela Singleton - Yorkshire Life April 2006
It's official says 'Big Ian' Donaghy, frontman of York band, Huge: Yorkshire people really do rock.
And he should know. Huge have sold out the York Opera House a massive three times and shared the bill with A-list chart pop glamourpusses such as Girls Aloud, Rachel Stevens and Sugababes. "I've had various people tell me how much they'd love to do what I do," says 35-year-old Ian, who has been singing professionally since he was 19.
"After one gig, two businessmen told me: 'We've been watching you up there having such a blast with the band, and it looks the business. We'd give anything to try it.' Which gave me an idea..."
So, in February, Ian launched an event called The Deep End, a mix of X Factor and Children in Need with a bit of corporate team-building thrown in. And music fans have gone mad for it.
The Deep End challenged 22 local companies to nominate a staff member to sing or play an instrument in front of a sell-out crowd at the York Opera House. The upside was that the employee would get to perform a song live, with a full band, in front of an appreciative audience and fulfil their wildest rock god fantasies.
The downside was that they would only get a few weeks to learn the song. Worst of all, on the night they would be selected at random, never knowing when it would be their turn in the spotlight. That was an evil touch. Just to crank up the pressure a bit.
"The nominated singers met the band two days before the gig and only got 15 minutes to rehearse," says Ian, who acts as MC for the evening. "The next time they sang with the band, they were on stage in front of 1000 people."
If nerves were fraying on the night, it didn't show. In fact, the very first Deep End event was such a monster success that further evenings are in the planning stages. In May, Ian takes The Deep End to Leeds and Harrogate; plus it returns to York Opera House for a pre-Christmas gig in December. A Deep End event is also mooted for Hull.
Why did it go down a storm? Well, there's a feel-good factor to the whole enterprise because everybody wins. The audience (made up of the performers' families, friends and colleagues) have a rollicking good night out and clap and cheer all the acts on; there are no Nasty Nigels or sneering Simon Cowells berating any of the performances; and because each company pays a £500 entrance fee, the winner walks away with £3000 to donate to a charity of their choice.
The talent on display was just awesome. Ian expected it to be good - but not that good. "I thought some people would be fantastic," says Ian, "but the people I saw that night were excellent. Really: there's some real talent out there - people who can really sing.
"A contestant from a call centre sang Kiss by Tom Jones. Now, I have to tell you: he was great, and the band played Kiss as well as Tom Jones' band would play it. They were terrific."
Paul Staveley from York chose to sing - you might think unwisely - I Believe In a Thing Called Love, by The Darkness, which calls for lots of falsetto warbling. Sounds hideous? Not a bit of it. Paul romped home with First Prize.
The Deep End could be coming to your town very soon. And who knows? It might be you up there on stage, rocking the house. And it doesn't matter if you're the MD or the person who changes the photocopier toner; if you've a talent, The Deep End encourages you - nay dares you - to share it.
"Some of the people involved are real high-flyers," says Big Ian who, for a day job, is a teacher at The Mount School in York. "In some cases they are the MDs of large companies who can't remember the last time they felt nervous. This fires them up, big time. Suddenly they have to get out there and prove themselves all over again."
'Guess what we did last night...'
8.2.2006
Ed and Helen's Breakfast Show - Minster FM
The deep end was a hot topic on the show the following morning. Click on the pics to the right to hear what was said (please note: this is a large mp3 file, so a broadband connection is recommended)
In @ The Deep End
The Journal, a Hull Daily News publication- March 2006
I have this recurring dream. Well, it's more of a nightmare, really.
I'm a contestant on Pop Idol, waiting in the wings to perform my big number. Suddenly the band strikes up, so I stride on stage and start to sing the really cool song I have been practising (Mustang Sally, by Wilson Pickett, since you ask)... but - oh dear - the noise that comes out of mouth sounds not unlike the foghorn on the Isle of Wight Ferry (much like in my conscious life, then). The reception I get from the audience is not good. I am booed off and Simon Cowell is nasty to me.
Then I wake up in a sweat.
What does it all mean? Well, it's obvious. Getting up on stage in front of an audience to talk is one thing. But to sing? You must be joking.
Ian Donaghy has been singing on stage for most of his adult life and doesn't have nightmares about it. But then he's good at it - and his astoundingly popular York-based band, called Huge, have sold out the York Opera House on 11 separate occasions, and shared the musical bill with the likes of Mica Paris, Liberty X, Shed Seven, Girls Aloud, Atomic Kitten, Sugababes and Rachel Stevens.
"A lot of people come up to me and tell me how much they'd love to be able to sing on stage, in front of a crowd," says Ian, known as Big Ian to his fans. "Once, after a gig, while we were in the advanced stages of refreshment, two businessmen told me: 'You love what you do, don't you?! Well, we'd love to try it, too.' Which got me thinking. Let's give people the chance to sing on stage - and have the opportunity to raise money for charity while they're doing it."
So the idea for The Deep End was born. This is a special team-building concert event featuring local companies who have nominated a member of their workforce to sing or play an instrument. For £500 per entry, the firm receives 30 seats at the theatre to give to colleagues, clients, customers and family. The nominated employee picks a song from a list and is asked to go away and practise. And very soon he or she will be singing it for real, on stage, with a full band behind them, in front of 1000 people. The winner of the evening receives £3000 to give to a charity of their choice.
It all sounds very Pop Idol and X Factor.
"Oh, it's more frightening than that," says Ian, with a wicked gleam in his eye, "because although you know that you will be singing a song on the evening, you don't know when you're going to go on stage. You're randomly selected, your face appears on a big screen... and then you're up and doing it. You don't have the luxury of time to prepare, either. The singers meet me and the band two days before the gig and they get 15 minutes in rehearsal - that's all. When the clock stops, it's 'Thank you very much - see you on the night.'"
The very first Deep End took place at the Grand Opera House in York on February 7 and featured 22 acts - and it was a (no pun intended) Huge success; so much so that further events are planned. In May, the Deep End goes to Leeds and Harrogate and returns to York Opera House in December. A Deep End event is also planned for Hull.
The very first winner was Paul Staveley from York, who chose to sing one of the most difficult songs ever composed. 'High pitched' doesn't even begin to describe it. "He sang The Darkness' I Believe In a Thing Called Love!" laughs Ian. "Seriously! Paul's a guy who works in Human Resources for a company called Ventura. A real nice lad, six foot five and his voice was made for it. He rocked the house. He looked like he was scared but he looked like he was loving it at the same time."
Of course, The Deep End is all about taking people out of their comfort zones and putting them in the middle of a frankly terrifying, soul-bearing 'Emperors No Clothes' situation. "Many of the people getting up on stage are real big hitters in their fields," says Ian. "In some cases they are MDs of large companies who can't remember the last time they were scared. And then I come along with this big musical challenge... and suddenly they feel like they're back at school again, doing something really frightening."
And when they get on stage, says Ian, everyone is in the same boat. "It doesn't matter if you're a prince or a pauper. Once you're up there and the adrenaline is pumping, you're all doing the same thing. But the band is red hot, so that helps. Take the sax player, David Kemp. He's been on world tours with stars such as Chris Rea - so these are top-notch musicians you're performing with."
Some contestants handle the pressure better than others. "There was one person who, at the last minute, wasn't going to go on," says Ian. "I had to take her to one side and say: 'OK, if you're struggling, all you do is turn round and imagine that all the band are naked and that all the audience is naked, and you're the only one with clothes on.' In the end, she got up there and did a top job.
"Because the crowd was with her. Everyone has all their friends and colleagues rooting for them: I expected that. But what I didn't expect was that people from the other companies would be rooting for them, too. It was as though they were saying: "You're brave enough to be up on stage - I'm down here. You are worthy of my respect, time and support.' So everyone was getting out of their chairs, clapping, singing and going mad for it. It's gorgeously tribal - but a very friendly evening."
For his day job, Big Ian swaps his stage persona for the classroom and becomes 'Sir'. He's been a teacher for the last 14 years, and is soon to take up a new position at the prestigious Mount school in York. "I like mixing the two parts of my life," he says. "I'm too rock 'n' roll to teach; but I'm too teacher to rock 'n' roll. Teaching is the same kind of thing as performing: if you're not the best act in the room, you die on your backside. You have to make the kids excited about learning."
Certainly the kids are excited about Big Ian's pop pedigree. "They say: 'Your life is mint, isn't it, Sir?' And you know what: they're right. I do a job I love, but I can also get out there and do a gig with the band. I've got a gorgeous wife and a gorgeous little 2-year-old girl with another little'un on the way in July. Life is absolutely ace."
Making waves
20.2.2006
by Ron Godfrey, Business Editor, Evening Press, York
The Deep End has spread beyond the borders of York.
Now Harrogate and Leeds are preparing to rise to the same challenge that had business people in York cheering at the city's Grand Opera House earlier this month.
In York, there will be a repeat of the event which left the whole city buzzing for days before and afterwards.
Organiser "Big Ian" Donaghy said: "I have arranged a Christmas Deep End again at the Opera House for Wednesday December 6. It will be an amazing alternative to the traditional office Christmas party and I've already recruited more than half the acts."
Mr Donaghy, a teacher and singer who fronts the York band Huge, formulated the event, which he describes as "gorgeously tribal".
It took the form of a corporate concert, in which entertainers were drawn from the entire business community, with each firm paying £500 for the privilege of participating.
The winner, Paul Staveley from Ventura, earned a cheque for £3,000, for the charities of his choice - split between York Against Cancer and York's St Leonard's Hospice.
Each of the 22 performers were given one rehearsal only and then randomly picked to perform before 1,000 people who packed the theatre.
Now Harrogate business talents are pawing at the ground to strut their stuff and escape from the hurly burly of working life.
Mr Donaghy said: "I am in talks with Harrogate Theatre management and I have been asked to organise a huge gala evening for businesses at the 1,500-seater Leeds Town Hall. I am aiming to stage both of these in May."
He said the response to the York concert was enormous. "On the morning of the event we had six companies pleading to join and I had to turn them away. For days afterwards I had phones and emails galore plus something like 25,000 hits on my special Deep End website, www.thedeepend.co.uk.
" We had some very influential people at The Deep End and word spread quickly. It also stimulated interest from large corporates who now want me to train up their workforce to put on a similar show. I am having talks with eight such companies based all over the north.
" It seems that I've created a monster that everyone loves."
"101% enjoyment for all involved!" - Dean Tecwyn, Price Waterhouse Coopers"
