The idea for The Camel Club was conceived by Gillian in 2013 whilst living in Doha, as a way to occupy her wanna be rockstar hubby, Graham. After a few false starts and several changes in personnel, the early line up comprised
Stu Hart on lead guitar and vocals, Harley Webster on rhythm guitar and vocals, Gillian B on keys, Victor Beltran on drums and Graham B on Bass This bunch soon clicked and realised that as well as playing well together, they all got on well, shared a fondness for beer and had the same childish sense of humour. And so the Camels were born.
Playing venues such as the Admirals Club at the Ritz Carlton and the Doha Rugby Club, the Camels soon had a loyal following and an expanding repertoire. However, as is the way with expat bands, people move an and so it was with the Camels. Graham and Gillian are now based in Abu Dhabi in the UAE, Harley remains in Doha, Victor is now living in Switzerland and Stu is destined to be returning to the UK in the New Year. Being based in such diverse locations its not always possible to get everyone together as often as we would like.
To help cope with these changes, Damian Watson and Kate Rochelle joined the Camels in 2016 bringing their own plentiful talents on drums, keys and vocals adding a new dimension to the Camels sound.
Despite the geographical challenges, the Camels, with their shared love of music and of performing, continue to get together to play and entertain audiences in and around the UAE. Fear not, the Camels will live on and on and on and on...........
Meet the Band:
Gillian Barrett - Gillian has rediscovered her inner rock chick with the Camel Club. Apart from keys, she plays a mean tambourine and we have difficulty keeping her on stage and off the dance floor.
Graham Barrett - Bass player and sometimes vocalist. Graham has played in several bands over the years in a number of different countries. It was discovered early on by the Camels that, despite being by far the biggest Camel, he has the girliest voice and so gets lumbered with the songs no one else can manage.
Stu Hart - Stu is another long time musician and the Camels lead Axman. When not playing guitar he can usually be found swimming stupid distances, running the odd marathon or cycling his legs off as he trains for yet another IronMan contest. We just call him Two Soups - don't ask.
Harley Webster - Rhythm Guitarist and the baby of the band. Harles was a real find bringing energy and enthusiasm to the band as well as a rock steady rhythm. He also lowers the average age for which we are all very grateful.
Victor Beltran - The Mexican drummer. Victor has a habit of breaking drumsticks and often covers the stage in shavings and splinters. We love him. Living in Switzerland presents certain challenges but we fly him in when we can.
Kate Rochelle & Damian Watson - The Newbies. Kate brings an amazing talent and a personality to match whilst our resident Classic FM DJ Damian has ventured to the dark side providing a solid drum beat, a dry sense of humour and an encyclopaedic musical knowledge. Never go on a long car journey with Damian.
Federico Ferrante Joined the Camels early 2017
taking over lead guitar as of March 2017
when Stu Hart has to return to the UK.
Federico played his first gig with us at the
Irish Village on February 16th and is now
a regular with the Camel Club..
Troy Riggins is our new rhythm
guitarist and vocalist, taking
over where Harley left off.
Troy is a genuine Canadian
cowboy (Oh yes there are) and a mean guitarist .
Troy lives in Dubai.
Lorenzo (Enzo) Queyquep. Enzo is our
stand - in guitarist. A great bloke and a really
awesome player.
Enzo is a professional musician living and mostly
working in Dubai which sadly means we don't get
to see as much of his as we would like to.
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