The Signatures: Review of 2025

Well, what year 2025 has been…

Stefan says goodbye, Freddy says hello!

Obviously, for us and our audience, the biggest news came in June, when Stefan left the band after nearly ten great years, and his place as frontman was taken up by the energetic singer, Freddy Gillmore! 

A change of lead singer is always a daunting prospect for a band, but The Signatures have survived many changes in lineup over the years, so we weren’t worried – we had every faith that Freddy would be welcomed by our audiences! And we weren’t wrong! The feedback we have received since the change has been phenomenal, and Freddy is now an integral part of The Signatures story!  

If you haven’t seen this man perform yet, we urge you to come along to one of our 2026 gigs and experience this new lineup yourselves! 

And of course, we thank Stefan for his time with the band and wish him well for his future career. 

Guest Performers

Throughout 2025 we had the privilege of welcoming some fantastic performers to share our stage!

Eddie Holman

In June we had the pleasure of welcoming Mr Eddie Holman to a series of gigs in Southampton, Camden and Northampton. Eddie started his career as a child performer, and throughout his career has been noted for his superb vocal range, spanning octaves! Commercially known for songs such as What You Don't Know Won't Hurt You and the acclaimed ballad Hey There Lonely Girl, amongst many others, it was a pleasure to perform some of his Northern Soul classics such as Wanted In Three States, I surrender with him!

The Flirtations

For Brierly Hill in March, and Camden in June, we were elated to welcome the original 60’s girl group, our good friends The Flirtations! The group have toured with music giants throughout their career, including supporting Tom Jones! The Flirtations have been welcomed into the Northern Soul fold and 2025 saw them release another album – Love Makes The World Go Round.

Steve Ellis

The original voice of The Love Affair, known for hits such as Everlasting Love, joined us on tour for gigs in Liverpool, Newbury Retro Fest and Brierley Hill. Unfortunately, illness meant he could not continue for gigs in Southend, Sheffield and Hertford.

Sidney Barnes: One Last Time tour

In September, the man, the legend that is Mr Sidney Barnes, came to Blighty for his One Last Time tour! At 84 this was the last time Sidney would be in the UK and we had the privilege of touring with him!

With dates in Brierly Hill, Middlesbrough, Bury St Edmunds, Southend, Epsom and Sheffield, the audiences were treated to a performance by a singer who has worked with some of the greatest singers and bands in Motown and Soul. The reception from the audiences was astounding and after the gigs, fans had the opportunity to have their photo taken and chat to this amazing man! We Love Sid he’s part of the band and we all keep in regular contact with him.

Amy Hodkin

Amy has danced on our stage many times, and she is one of the leading lights in the charge to bring Northern Soul to younger generations. In her hometown of Sheffield, we were proud to be able to give Amy a DJ slot and she did not disappoint. 

Lorraine Silver

We have spent much of the year on tour with Lorraine Silver, her song Lost Summer Love widely regarded as a Northern Soul classic. The song became popular with the Wigan Casino audience in the 70’s, and she is still going strong! 2026 will see us joining forces with Lorraine again for around 20 dates.

March of the Mods

This is a fantastic set of gigs with a truly admirable purpose – to support and raise money for the Teenage Cancer Trust. We were part of the lineup in Southampton this year and pleased to say we will be supporting this excellent cause in 2026 at Brentwood and Dartford.

Retrofest

We love to play a festival – we end up meeting so many different people, and the 2025 Retrofest in Newbury was no different! It was great to spend some time with people appreciative of all things retro! And we are pleased to announce we will be back for Retrofest 2026!

Doon The Watter Revival Festival

In August, we had the pleasure of performing at this fantastic festival. It was the first time we had performed there, and it was an amazing experience. The crowd really got involved and the festival itself combines a mix of live acts and DJ performances, covering a range of music from Northern Soul to Ska to modern indie. We enjoyed it so much that we are coming back to do mini Scotland tour in the summer of 2026!

Together Again Festival, Bolesworth

In July we played the highly rated Together Again Festival, with well known acts such as UB40, Jake Bugg, Olly Murs and many, many more! Playing another family friendly festival is a great way to introduce Norther Soul to new fans, and new generations!

Warners Weekenders

We have been fortunate to have played to amazing audiences at two Warner Weekenders at Heythrop Park and Thoresby Hall. These weekends are such a pleasure to play, with such energetic and enthusiastic music fans! And we are so pleased to have been invited back in June 2026 to Gunton Hall in Norfolk hosting our own Northern Soul Weekender!!! This will be a great event – come and spend the weekend with the band and some of our special guests including The Flirtations!

Looking forward to 2026!

It’s been a great year on tour with The Signatures, and we now look forward to 2026. Our 2026 gigs are now listed on our tour dates page and we have introduced a map to make it easier to see the gigs near you.

The best way to stay up to date with what we are doing is to sign up to our mailing list!

We look forward to seeing you in 2026!!