Tori & Dave - Splashmusic.co.uk


TORI & DAVE

Splash are a lively, energetic, piano & vocals, hi-tech act from Liverpool, UK.

Lead vocals - Tori Louise
Piano/keyboard/vocals - Dave Watkin
 
They play both acoustically, or with high quality, custom backing tracks. They cover all genres from 50’s rock n roll, 60‘s soul & motown, 70’s, 80’s & 90’s pop & rock, as well as todays top 40 hits. They never fail to bring the party atmosphere to any venue.

With years of experience performing in live bands, Tori & Dave have built a huge repertoire of material, enabling them to choose the perfect set list for any audience.

Not only do they connect musicially - they're also engaged!

Mobirise

Tori

Tori is a natural talent. From a young age, her confidence and ability to engage with an audience was apparent. Throughout her teenage years she did every job she could to buy her first microphone and sound system so she could go out and perform. At 16 years old, she was one of the youngest acts working around the North West of England, performing regularly at bars, clubs, weddings and birthdays.

At the age of 20, Tori wanted to move away from home and try something new. She joined a ship working as a singer/dancer. Over the next 3 years, she worked on several ships, including the MS Romantika, MV Coral, then later moving to Louis Cruise Lines, Majesty and Spirit. This pushed her as a performer, and gave Tori her first experience at sea, as well as gaining a valuable insight into working as part of a team with various nationalities. The shows she was in include Lord of the Dance, Moulin Rouge as well as a tribute to ABBA.

After so long at sea, Tori took an offer to work for a European agency, Romantic Corporate. This led to show team work touring hotels around the Balearic islands in Europe, as well as hotel resorts in the Dominican Republic.

in 2011, Tori took a break from show team work and tried something completely different. She worked as an entertainments manager for Kanika Resorts and Hotels in Cyprus. This involved hosting a full weeks worth of entertainments programs for adults and children. This really brought out Tori’s personality and honed her skills of presenting on the microphone and connecting with audiences of different ages and nationalities.

Missing working as a full time vocalist, the following year she took a job in a resort in Mallorca, Spain, working as part of a duo called ‘face to face’. 2 months before the end of their contract, her duo partner became sick and was sent back to the UK. Fortunately, Tori had heard of a piano player through mutual friends, so she asked him to join her for the remaining 2 months of the season. This was how Dave and Tori (aka ‘Splash’) first met.

Later that year, after the summer season in Spain, Dave’s band was offered a 6-month contract in Chengdu, China. Tori was invited to join his 7 piece line up as 1 of 3 lead vocalists. This gave her a new experience of sharing the stage with live musicians, as well as working out harmonies with other talented singers.

Dave and Tori have been working together ever since

Dave

Dave began music at a very early age - following in his fathers footsteps, he began learning drums at the age of 7. He soon moved onto keyboards/piano and picked up the instrument remarkably fast.

Throughout his childhood, his knowledge and skill for the piano grew. As computers were developing, so was Dave’s interest in music production. After leaving school, he spent several years working in studios - writing and producing music, using all of the latest tech equipment that was available. He produced several high profile remixes for club acts in the early 2000’s, for labels such as Virgin/EMI, Ministry of Sound and All Around The World records.

in 2009, Dave formed a band and took a 6 month contract working in a hotel in Dubai. His background in studio/production work helped when it came to mixing the band, as well as producing samples and sounds to use through his keyboards live on stage. This part of his career also built his confidence and leadership skills, not only having to perform live himself, but having to manage the band. This included organising and structuring band rehearsals, dealing with money, hotel management and agencies, right down to the quick decision making moments on stage of which song should be next.

After Dubai, he completed many more contracts with his 7-piece band, The Fuse. They worked in 2 different provinces in China (Guangzhou in Guandong Province, and Chengdu, Sichuan Province), as well as on European cruise ships and ferries. This was followed by a return to the Middle East with a long contract in Abu Dhabi. The last contract for The Fuse was in 2014 in Bahrain. Due to several band members settling down with families, they decided to all go their separate ways.

By this time - Dave and lead vocalist Tori had already become a couple and had got engaged. As neither were (or are) ready to ‘settle down’, they decided to begin working as a piano/vocal duo. This is how ‘Splash’ was born…

Splash

Dave and Tori began by performing locally in the UK for a few months before heading out to work at sea. Firstly, they completed 7 months working on various European ferries, for Brittany Ferries and P&O Ferries.

During their time working for Brittany Ferries, their showreel and contact details had unknowingly been passed to the booking agent for Windstar Cruises. After an invitation to work for Windstar, they decided it was a good opportunity to try something new.

This is where Dave and Tori worked for the next 2 and a half years. Initially only signing up for a short run of 10 weeks, their contract was continuously extended, moving throughout Windstar's fleet of 6 luxury yachts. During this time, they covered the Caribbean, Mediterranean, Canary Islands, Baltics, South Pacific and Central America.
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After so long with the company they were keen to get back to working on land. They went on to complete 18 months working in various TUI resorts across the Spanish Balearic and Canary islands.

The same stage presence and energy they had in their live band, they also bring to their duo. They are a young, outgoing, friendly couple who engage well with audiences, but also have the talent to back it up. They have songs to cover all events, from cocktail hours through to lively top 40 party sets, with material covering everything from Petula Clark to Nicki Minaj.

Splash never fail to get the party going…

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