With over 30 years singing and entertainment experience, in fields as diverse as musical theatre, pop, rock, soul, cabaret and even opera, Archie Hopkins is a seasoned professional.
"I can always remember from an early age being fascinated by the old Rat Pack movies. I used to fantasise that I was Frank, Dean or, my absolute hero, Sammy Davis Jr. Not being short, black, Jewish or one-eyed I would settle for Frank or Dean. These guys had every thing style, panache, cash and of course the DAMES. Who wouldn't want to serenade Grace Kelly? That's when the die was cast. I new I wanted to sing Like Sammy or dance like Gene Kelly (another hero) it was total and complete fascination, with a good helping of envy on the side. I first strutted the stage at the tender age of 8 and through the years I have had a hand in many productions, in this country and abroad, including venues like The Royal Shakespeare Theatre; The Birmingham Hippodrome and a tour of the USA.
I took to performing in pop bands in my late teens and early 20s and went on to sing in an 8-piece soul band, just for the fun and experience of it, when as luck should have it, the film "The Commitments" was released, which made us flavour of the month and increased our popularity enormously for a while, it was a great experience. It was around this time that I was studying dance at "The Dance Attic" in Putney and was recommended by my dance instructor to see a vocal coach there called David Bacon, I can't think there has been any thing in my life that ever made such a difference to how I felt about singing. David taught me vocal technique which, even though it took me some months to get close to a proper sound, once mastered it was like having a door opened. I enjoyed singing and performing before this point but since then its been like a drug, there is a physical reaction and enjoyment in singing which will never leave me.......thank you David, very, very much.
Since then I have had major roles in musicals in provincial theatre, played clubs up and down the country, sang at numerous weddings, a funeral of a dear friend and sat to discuss recording contracts with powerful, yet unheard of, record industry people (some, I have to admit, you might have heard of). Unfortunately fate never smiled favourably upon me in the fame department. For me now it's more to do with the love of the performance, like most people in the entertainment industry, I think. Although we wish for that one person to come along, recognise our profound talent, pluck us out of obscurity and make us multi millionaires, we mostly find reward in giving pleasure to others. It really is one of the best feelings to be able to please your audience, and the enjoyment we give makes us feel good too.
You know, all of the so called jazz standards are just great show tunes, songs like LUCK BE A LADY, THE LADY'S A TRAMP, HEY THERE, ON THE STREET WHERE YOU LIVE, they all come from shows like Pal Joey, Guys & Dolls, The Pyjama Game and My Fair Lady, the list goes on and on. So, I never really left them behind, they came with me and now they're calling me back. Now I have come full circle, although I still would love that big break in a West End show, or tour, I have come back to my first love SWING, BIG BAND and JAZZ STANDARDS. I hope I get the chance to share a little bit of my love for performing and some of these great old tunes for you.

Thanks for visiting, all the best,

Archie