Niall Oates -saxophone/flute/bass www.nialloates.com

With his roots in Irish traditional folk music, Niall Oates has swapped his tin whistle and bodhran for a menagerie of woodwind instruments and a gallon of double bass. He began his jazzy ways when Guinness was a pound a pint down the Student Union. His saxophone mentors don't include Zoot or Bill Clinton.

Having worked with Jarrod Coombes in Hullabaloo (www.hullabaloo-uk.com) for 4 years from 1998, Niall went on to learn Lindy Hop at the Urdang Dance Academy in Covent Garden. Shortly after this, he teamed up with Simon Selmon of the LSDsociety (London Swing Dance Society) and opened a swing dance club in central London called 'The Rhythm Lounge. Niall has danced on the feature film Picadilly Jim and danced twice on the Paul O 'Grady show as well as hosting many swing dance events and festivals in the UK.

With a fair amount of booking experience, Niall has been appointed 'chief booker' of RSR's gigs. His past experience has taken bands to Florida, Sun City Superbowl, Dubai, Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, France, Portugal, Spain, Ireland along with performing at and supplying the entertainment for Jules and Jamie Oliver's wedding. More recently Niall has been playing sax with the Lord Large Experiment.

Immersing himself thrice weekly in 1940s glamour, Niall has not completely cleansed himself of his Irish roots. He has named his three children Orlaith, Finn and Aoife.