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Archive for Jo & Jamie from the Met Bar

Jo & Jamie are part of the Met Bar A-team. Jo James heads up Marketing & Public Relations for both of Como Hotels & Resorts’ fabulous London properties; Metropolitan London and The Halkin. Nearly three years into her dream role, Jo has enjoyed her creative input in keeping both hotels at the forefront of the London scene. Jamie is the Met Bar’s star Membership Secretary looking after the 3,000+ members, and securing the best parties in town. After a career start in Fashion PR, Jamie brings his ‘bleached & blazer’ approach to the Met Bar unleashing a fresh cocktail of fashion zest to all he does!

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29 Jan

2010: A Space Oddity at the Met Bar

Posted by Jo & Jamie from the Met Bar in Clubs, Pubs & Bars 1 Comment

We’ve been facebooking, twittering and generally fussing and flapping about it for months now… and last night, our annual members’ party finally came to fruition. In true Met Bar style, it was an explosion of glam rock glitterballs and futuristic fantasy!

More than 200 Met Bar members descended on the bar and hotel lobby, which had been transformed to reflect our David Bowie-meets-Lady Gaga theme. Lightning bolts were the recurring motif, with a giant astronaut suspended above the dancefloor, surrounded by hordes of disco balls.

Guests ate cosmic canapés and consumed (many, many!) out-of-this-world Barbarella and Major Tom cocktails, while glam rock and electro pop hits blasted out across the lobby.

Our friends from Lost In Beauty were also on hand to adorn everyone with glittered lightning bolts, and soon the whole room was sporting the look of the night!

At 9pm, a wave of champagne was sent around as everyone moved through to the Met Bar to watch celebrity stylist and performance artist Johnny Blue Eyes perform to David Bowie’s Starman. Dressed in a silver catsuit and feathered cape, Johnny’s provocative performance (we can’t detail here how he interacted with our astronaut!) had the room buzzing. When the music kicked in after he left, the stage everyone truly let loose!

London faces such as PVC beauty Miss Pandemonia, Phillip Salon, Boy George and Lady Lloyd mingled with fashion and music PRs and Met Bar regulars, creating our much imitated but never bettered electric atmosphere!

We are still trying to wipe the glitter off our faces this afternoon, and while we don’t like to pick favourites among our events, last night’s has to be one that people will be twittering about for days to come!

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22 Jan

Aloha from the Met Bar!

Posted by Jo & Jamie from the Met Bar in Comedy, Pubs & Bars, Special Events No Comments

For those of you who weren’t aware, this Monday was Blue Monday, officially the most depressing day of the year.

Now here at the Met Bar we don’t take ourselves too seriously (as you may have noticed by now!), but even we were feeling unusually subdued this week, so we knew we needed something extra special to perk everyone up. Luckily, our good friend Jonny Awsum came to the rescue on Wednesday by taking us all on a Summer Holiday, when the Jonny Awsum Show went tropical!

Hawaiian leis garlands were mandatory uniform upon entering the bar, and Russell – everyone’s favourite cross-dressing glamorous assistant – was resplendent in just a grass skirt and a pair of coconuts.

Things kicked off with a limbo competition. There were no surprises when Jo walked away with the winning prize (make of that what you will!). This was quickly followed by a sing-a-long with West End star Jack Shalloo to Summer of ‘69.

Other top hits of the night  included Heaven is a Place on Earth and Freedom with singer/song writer extraordinaire Belle Humble.

A hula hoop competition kicked off the second half of the show, which ended up with just about EVERYONE in the bar having a go. Jamie sadly let the Met Bar team down when he lost out in the final “hula-hoop off”. It was so much fun; the hula hoop was being passed around the bar long after the show had finished!

After the rock ’n’ roll raffle, there was just time to round things off with a final rousing rendition of Summer Nights from Grease – ending the night on a truly tropical high! Take a look at all the action below:

So forget the January Blues, here at the Met Bar we’re all about fun in the sun! Join us next month on 17 February when the Jonny Awsum Show will be all loved up…

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14 Jan

To Detox or To Retox? THAT is the Question!

Posted by Jo & Jamie from the Met Bar in Pubs & Bars No Comments

So Christmas is a distant memory, and we have already broken our New Year’s resolutions.

But for those of you who are still on the straight and narrow, now is the perfect time to sample The Met Bar’s COMO Shambhala cuisine. Part of the COMO Shambhala holistic health concept, all the dishes are made with raw ingredients and cooked in a way that reduces the fat but preserves the nutrients – the perfect way to fill up without breaking your detox diet.

Of course, there’s also our favourite indulgence without the bad conscience, Afternoon De-Light Tea. With rice flour scones, no-bread sandwich pots and fresh-fruit flavoured cupcakes, the tea is low in gluten and sugar. A naughty treat with less of the guilt!

And for those of you who like us are, quite frankly, ready to retox, we already have parties galore planned for 2010!

We were both back on the champagne as of 2 January (!) and have been thinking about our forthcoming fabulous events ever since the New Year began.

First up we have our annual members’ party. This year the theme is “2010: A Space Oddity”. Think Lady Gaga meets David Bowie. Those of you lucky enough to be members will have seen our animated invite and know exactly what we’re talking about!

But while we’ve been dreaming of mirror balls and glam-rock wigs, we have also been busy creating a tropical-themed Jonny Awsum show to banish those winter blues; another 80s music quiz for all those Kajagoogoo fans; and a Valentine’s burlesque and cabaret night that’s sure to top even our “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” Christmas extravaganza!

So whether you’re a detoxer or a retoxer we’ve got something going on for everyone. It’s time to dust off those wintery feelings and come on down and join us!

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21 Dec

Last Jonny Awsum Show of 2009 at the Met Bar

Posted by Jo & Jamie from the Met Bar in Cabaret and Burlesque, Comedy, Pubs & Bars No Comments

Jonny AwsumWednesday night saw the final Jonny Awsum Show of the year and as with all good TV shows it was a jam-packed Christmas special.

The best acts from the year – The Misers, Jem Cooke, The Amateurs and Alfie Palmer – came back for a Christmas sing-a-long with the Met Bar members, and after a warm up interactive version of “The Twelve Days Of Christmas” (complete with Jonny’s glamorous assistant Eleanor dressed as a partridge) the bar was already in high spirits.

The Christmas music quiz made the stakes even higher with the audience screaming out to be the first to win the coveted Quality Street prizes!

But the magic Christmas moment came at the end when Jonny invited all the guests on stage to join him in a rendition of Band Aid’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas”.

As the song went on guests started to head for the stage and join in, and by the end everyone had flooded it completely! Suffice to say that screaming at the top of our lungs and dancing like crazy to a whole string of Christmas hits we definitely now know its Christmas time! Take a look at all the fun below:

 

This is our last blog of 2009 as we are actually NOT partying for a couple of weeks (!), but we’ll be back with a bang in January with news of our live music, anarchic quizzes and space and fairytale themed parties.

But for now its time for Jamie to put a santa hat over his quaff, and Jo to put flats on for the first time this year and enjoy a festive break – Merry Christmas!

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15 Dec

Rock’n'Roll Week at the Met Bar

Posted by Jo & Jamie from the Met Bar in Music, Pubs & Bars No Comments

NicolAs the home of rock’n'roll, we’re used to live music here at the Met Bar.  But this week was extra special with not one, but two, amazing live performances:

Tuesday saw rock super group Man Raze take to the Met Bar stage to give us a truly incredible punk performance. Man Raze are what you get if you take the drummer from the Sex Pistols and the guitarist from Def Leppard and put them in a new band. And boy did it make for a storming night in the Met Bar!

The music legends performed to a packed crowd, including Boy George and top music moguls, and had the floor shaking and the music pumping. Even Jamie (who is a bit of a pop princess!) got into the heavy metal moment and rocked out with the rest of the bar!

Less than 24 hours later, we were back; this time for an intimate night of music from singer/songwriters Femme Fatale. Singers Izzy Roth, Tasha Bobbe, Lisbee Stainton and Nicol all wowed the audience with soulful acoustics and belting voices.

And if that wasn’t enough, we were then treated to a surprise performance from organizer John Fossey (ZEN FM Presents) and his house band. The Motown classics soon had everyone up and dancing for the second night in a row, and in true Met Bar style the 12am curfew came very close to being broken!

So having rocked out and shimmied down, we have come to the end of yet another amazing week at the Met Bar – next week, it’s all about the Jonny Awsum Christmas special!

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23 Nov

An Awsum Bublé Tribute Act at the Met Bar

Posted by Jo & Jamie from the Met Bar in Pubs & Bars No Comments

Jonny Awsum flyerOn Wednesday night, the eighth episode of the Jonny Awsum show (our monthly dose of kooky cabaret) took place at the Met Bar.  We’re used to the usual hi-jinx, the slightly chaotic but fabulously fun feel to Jonny’s show, but we thought there was nothing new that could shock us.

Oh, how wrong we were!

Firstly, Jonny’s glamorous assistant Eleanor was away, so she was replaced by the not-so-glamorous Russell. Russell is Jonny’s wing man, complete with a full beard and dressed in *that* Ginger Spice Union Jack dress, with some interesting lumps and bumps to say the least!

Then, the Rock’n'roll Raffle went without a hitch or re-draw! (A record 25 re-draws has been known in one show!)

However, the real wow moment came later, in the second half, when singer and Michael Bublé impersonator Alfie Palmer took to the stage.

Fresh from recently performing with Michael Bublé himself, where the real Michael Bublé was so impressed he threw him off the bill for fear of being upstaged! (Alfie is much better looking, ladies!)

The Sun had written about Alfie in eager anticipation of his Met Bar performance, but this didn’t prepare us for what was to come! Alfie was quite simply amazing (cue much swooning). By the time he sung his farewell duet with Jonny, the whole bar was screaming for more.

We are delighted to announce Alfie had such an amazing time he’s coming back for the Jonny Awsum Christmas Special on 16 December. Alfie, if you’re reading this, you have two more members for your fan club!

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10 Nov

80s Flashback at the Met Bar

Posted by Jo & Jamie from the Met Bar in Pubs & Bars 2 Comments

I Remember the 80s quizFor those of you who know their Duran Duran from their Japan, last Friday night in the Met Bar would have been the event for you. We time-warped back to the era of shoulder pads, mullets and power ballads for our first I Remember the 80s music quiz.

Hosted by none other than Met Bar loyalist Jonny Awsum, our eight teams of members (including Oasis’s Andy Bell) were each given a different 80s wig, from punk rocker to Tina Turner.

Music intros from one-hit wonders to cartoon theme tunes and famous faces were played in quick-fire rounds.

To buzz in, guests had to don their wig, jump up and scream “I Remember the 80s” first. One point was awarded for every correct answer, but two were deducted if the answer was wrong! Suffice to say, much chaos ensued (what can you expect with a room full of DINKIES and BOBOs)!

After an hour and a half of intense battle (and a little bit of cheating), the final bell tolled and the scores on the doors were totted up by Jonny’s glamorous Flashdance assistant, Eleanor. For the losers, a wooden spoon; for the winners, neon leg warmers and the chance to sing karaoke on stage to Bon Jovi’s Livin’ on a Prayer!

 

Another successful Met Bar event involving fancy dress and slightly wild behaviour (you might notice a pattern emerging!) In fact, we enjoyed it so much we have decided to host a 90s quiz next time. So dig out your combat trousers, your Spice Girls fan club badges and your yoyos, and watch this space!

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5 Nov

Met Bar Spooktacular – Part II

Posted by Jo & Jamie from the Met Bar in Pubs & Bars No Comments

The Met Bar team

We know you’ve all been waiting with baited breath for our second Halloween instalment, following our Met Bar Spooktacular – Part I, and now that we have *finally* recovered, here it is!

Last Thursday the Met Bar was transformed by the fabulous Serena Mattar into a rock’ n’roll graveyard for our Death on the Dancefloor party. Giant cobwebs, dismembered skeletons and ex-rockstars’ gravestones littered the bar, making more than a few of our day-time guests jump!

As dusk descended, the Broken Hearts hit the decks and the special effects make-up team from Lost In Beauty, Primrose Hill arrived to give the Met Bar team our macabre makeovers. With us both transformed into a vixen vampire victim and suicide cupid (guess which was which!), it was time to drink some Devil’s Punch and get the party started.

Joined by the ever fabulous Johnny Blue Eyes (stylist to Beth Ditto) dressed as no other than Jesus (complete with light-up crown) the party was full of the weird, the wonderful and the downright scary. Miss Pandemonia was resplendent in her usual PVC get up. Throw in a couple of super-sized red Japanese wigs, Marie Antoinette’s ghost and a dead prom queen and you’ll get the idea!

When Freddie Mercury scrambled onto the bar for a rendition of  We Will Rock You, we knew our Halloween party was going down in the history books! Definitely one of the wildest and kookiest nights we’ve ever had in the bar, and our members certainly created the infamous electric atmosphere.

And, as if one Halloween party weren’t enough, on Saturday night the bar hosted fright night festivities again. Yes, two of our members clubbed together and hosted a Halloween party for a crowd of 150 guests. Jamie dusted down his wings and shot himself through the heart once again to join in yet another gory celebration, with the bar hitting capacity for the second time in a week!

Suffice to say we are now ready to leave Halloween behind for another year… roll on Christmas!

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27 Oct

Met Bar Spooktacular – Part I

Posted by Jo & Jamie from the Met Bar in Clubs, Pubs & Bars No Comments

Scream Tea at the Met BarWith our penchant for extrovert occasions, it’s no surprise that we take Halloween very seriously here at the Met Bar. Not content with just one instalment we will be updating you on our Halloween happenings in a two-part fright night special.

Yesterday saw the launch of our Scream Tea menu in collaboration with turntable goddesses, the Broken Hearts. Inspired by the work of Tim Burton and Tim Walker, as well as their own interest in the macabre and the aesthetics of Halloween, the Broken Hearts have created a delectable seasonal menu that will be available daily 3pm-6pm from Monday 26 October until Saturday 7 November.

Guests can expect a frightfully delightful menu including seasonal pumpkin, blackberry and blood-red versions of the legendary low-fat cupcakes, combined with a classic Broken Hearts colour palette and a few spooky surprises such as taxidermy crows, giant spiders and edible artwork by illustrator and Halloween-enthusiast Rob Flowers. You can also expect to hear a mouth-watering culinary soundtrack handpicked by the Broken Hearts themselves.

And speaking of the Broken Hearts, they will be our special guest DJs on Thursday night for our Death on the Dancefloor Halloween Extravaganza – until then ”stay spooked” for our next episode where we will spill all the gory details…

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8 Oct

FrankMusik Live and Found at the Met Bar

Posted by Jo & Jamie from the Met Bar in Clubs, Pubs & Bars No Comments

FrankMusicAs a child of the electro generation, it’s no surprise Jamie became a big fan of electro-pop whizz kid and singer-songwriter du jour, FrankMusik.

Recently back from touring with Keane, Pet Shop Boys, Lady GaGa and Perez Hilton Presents in the US, it only took a few calls to entice FrankMusik to the Met Bar decks.

Or, we should say BACK to the Met Bar decks? Although not commonly known, FrankMusik used to DJ here regularly before starting his glittering music career!

His return was much anticipated, and after a quick bite in Nobu on Thursday evening, he came down to an already packed bar full of Met Bar members, achingly cool music moguls and the gorgeous Natalie Imbruglia (with friends Sam and Holly Branson).

With the paps going crazy outside, the atmosphere was quite simply electric – echoing the sounds from FrankMusik himself including remixes of his latest hits – the beat-boxing and vox-popping went long into the night.

Suffice to say it was Berocca popping for us on Friday morning! Watch this space for the next big Met Bar party…

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