2 Shades of Grey is a musical duo which performs for both social and charity events in the Lancashire area.

They have performed together and separately for more years than they care to think about but this long musical experience allows them to perform a range of songs “from the Delta to the Diva”.

Barrie is the vocalist and Mike is the guitarist.

Barrie started out singing with a country group the The Wispers before joining  R’ n’ B group The Blackjacks and then forming The Devil’s Disciples.

They became the Uptown Go-Go Band when Mike joined and they performed Soul and Motown music. After several personnel changes it later re-formed as the Uptown Band when Barrie and Mike rejoined it.

Mike started off with the Avalons which became briefly the Expression after a number of personnel changes. He then joined the Devil’s Disciples who changed their name to the Uptown Go-Go Band.

During this era they played at venues such as Nelson Imperial Ballroom, Manchester’s iconic Twisted Wheel, and Rawtenstall’s Astoria Ballroom supporting acts like Long John Baldry (with Elton John on keyboards), The Who and the Walker Brothers with memorable evenings supporting rock ‘n’ roll legends such as Little Richard and Duane Eddy.

In between working with groups in the 60s, Mike played with the resident dance band at the Imperial Ballroom in Nelson. He later played with the 60s revival groups Shades of Rock and Oh Boy before joining the re-united Uptown Band in the 1980s.

After leaving the Uptown Band Barrie continued singing in a variety of settings with choirs, light opera, and performing at special occasions. He also released a CD “In My Life”. A selection of songs from it can be accessed on the home page of this site.

Now back on the road together after some years 2 Shades of Grey are now looking to entertain friends and followers old and new in a variety of venues with a particular interest in offering bespoke performances for private parties, celebrations, and for  special occasion e.g. Burns Nights, St Patrick’s Day, Independence Day.