Arthur: William Bartollini, it's such a pleasure to have you here today.
William : Thank you.
Arthur: King of the party organizing. William, you've been in the party planning world since 1977 when you were DJing at the notorious institution Annabel's, and have gone on really po- planning so many amazing occasions for people for pos- for royal families for embassies, private clients, companies, hotel groups.
To name a few the Dubai royal family, Microsoft, Sotheby's, Forbes, Princess Margaret, JP Morgan. What do parties show that people need?
William : I think at the end of the day, parties are made by the people.
So you can actually spend all the money in the world, which obviously I love, but to be absolutely honest, it's made by the people. So you could give them bangers and mash, long as the people are right and they're in the right frame of mind and they love their clients I think it'll be a great party.
Arthur: What are your observations around how parties have changed over the [00:01:00] years?
William : Weddings have changed. For the first thing, is that weddings used to be really in the afternoon with canapes, champagne, and then the bride and groom would leave at 6:00 o'clock and that would be the end of it. Nowadays, weddings are full productions which, you have a marquee, you have a sit-down dinner.
Could be a ceremony or a church service. And then you have dancing. As I say, dinner, cocktail bars, entertainment. It's a full production now, which we like a lot.
Flowers.
Arthur: A lot more moving parts.
William : Lot more moving parts. Yeah. Lot, lot more people helping on the actual wedding.
Arthur: And but do you think much has changed since the 1970s?
William : Oh gosh, yes. The '70s... I'm not saying that I don't have fun now, but the '70s were crackingly good fun. As you said, I started at Annabel's and then I went on to a company called Julianna's as a disc jockey. I've always b- started in the music business, which I've loved.
Arthur: Yeah.
William : And and then I left Julianna's after 15 years, and I went into party organizing. But originally, [00:02:00] the marquees were very basic. The marquee linings, I used to call them old ladies' knickers because they were rather frilly. And the food was very basic. Yeah. Generally coronation chicken.
And 13 amp socket to power everything which would then probably fuse halfway through the party. But people were much more relaxed in those days. If the tent leaked a little bit it was all part of the scene. They didn't mind. Yeah. Whereas now, gosh, parties are fairly serious. Brides and their mothers really expect the best.
Yeah. And they provide these wonderful things called mood boards- ... which show you exactly what the bride wants, and then you have to go away and put it all together. Which is what I enjoy. What I really like is seeing the whole party or the wedding coming together and I always think everything is set beautifully, and then I al- the guests arrive and then they get right in the way of everything.
But that's just my view because I like the look of the whole thing before it starts.
Arthur: at a party, we always remember the times that things really kick off in a fantastic way, but sometimes things are just missing that [00:03:00] punch. Getting people together, people can sometimes maybe not know that many people, and it can just... the energy's not there. Well- What are your secrets for-
For, for people to
William : chill out? If you go back to corporate parties, to be absolutely honest, I used to do loads and I don't do so many now, but in the old days, anything went in a corporate event. We're not going into details- ... but everything's got a bit too serious now. So a lot of companies just have dinners.
But as far as private parties and weddings yeah, quite often there's a mixture of people and some are obviously great friends, relatives, and then you've got quite a lot of people who don't know each other. And I suppose the secret of that is to try and mix them up on the table, and so they get to talk to other people.
I suppose families can be a bit tricky because you could have a few problems relationships in the family- ... so you have to be very careful where you put them. But on the whole with a little bit of drink or not alcoholic, mocktails- ... which I should say probably now.
Once they have had a few drinks, they loosen up a bit, and actually it's a great party. I always say parties are made [00:04:00] by people really.
Arthur: if someone's nervous about a party, different groups not quite mixing, what are the... sometimes entertainment can be a great way of getting people to chill out.
I, I- Let, let's talk about entertainment ...
William : okay. I think to mix people there is a, a wonderful- like a roving band, and they are acoustic, and during dinner they'll go around the tables playing songs, and they'll get people singing and waving their napkins around their heads. And the classic song obviously at the moment is Neil Diamond and Sweet Caroline, which is ve- very funny because it's come right back from the '80s, '70s, '80s, and now it's probably one of the most popular tunes on the dance floor.
Or you could have what they call , the three waiters, which is a bit old hat, but they hide in the audience, or they hide as a waitress or a waiter and then suddenly they break into song during dinner. So th- those are real icebreakers, and then as far as bands, generally the main thing about a band, I think, is that firstly , they don't stick to the client's playlist because they need to watch the dance floor and play music [00:05:00] that fits in with the dance floor.
Or the people dancing. But they've gotta play all the hits, all the ones which get people singing on the dance floor. The bride and groom first dance, and every- everybody's on the dance floor. So I think, you know- guests family, friends who don't know each other. Once the old dancing gets going, they relax a bit.
The cocktail bar's open. Cocktails have gone mad now. Everybody has cocktails, which is wonderful, whereas in the old days it'd be some sort of hideous fruit punch with Babycham. But no, now it's yeah, cocktails all go.
Arthur: Describe the dream party for you to organize for someone. Maybe that triggers a memory or, - Well- ... a party in, Venice. You plan parties all around the world.
William : I've been very lucky. I've done parties in Venice, in the south of France, in Switzerland in hotels on New Year's Eve.
I'm lucky I've done a few celebrities, but on the whole I do nice family parties. That's what I like. And obviously if they've got quite a good [00:06:00] budget, that helps because then you can give them cocktails again, delicious dinner-
The best entertainment. And then, some people really spend money.
I've provided Elton John, lionel Richie . Belinda Carlisle Boy George and sadly Bonnie Tyler who died. So I've done lots of different well-known celebrity bands, but but on the whole, I like a straightforward, nice party.
Could be a theme. ... It could have loads of flowers beautiful table settings. But the people, I keep saying people because they make the party. If you're having a private party with all your friends... and on the whole, if it was a 21st birthday, the parents hardly get a look in.
They might have two tables of 10, otherwise it's all the young, which is wonderful. And they mix and they probably know each other and they have a right good time
Arthur: Are there some observations you've had around some small tricks that just, really can help making things work?
For example, the welcome drink
William : on the whole people always have probably the father or whoever provides [00:07:00]champagne. There might be a cocktail, a, a mojito or a Paloma on the tray, and a soft drink. So that's always a good start. Get people mixing
and then as the party moves up a gear, dinner, more drink, and then the party starts after that. But on the whole people are quite relaxed for a party, and they're up for anything really.
Arthur: Yeah. And booking talent, give us an idea - on that.
William : Let's just talk about celebrity musicians.
. I'm not using any names- .. but some of them are an absolute nightmare-
To work with, and they have things called rider contracts. And rider contracts are full of everything. It could be they want Belvedere Vodka, or they want-
, A three-course dinner of such and such.
And you're dealing with their production manager, and they - can be very tricky. They want the best of everything, which obviously makes a better performance.
But so they can be a bit tricky. But on the whole they'll do a very good job. They always come down and meet the client, [00:08:00] which is lovely.
So yeah, I slightly dread booking an act a celebrity band or- Smart alec ... a ne- a new large band. I just slightly, I generally pass the buck to one of my- ... one of my production managers just to look- Yeah ... after the band.
Arthur: And p- party etiquette.
William : . Well- Party etiquette has changed quite a lot. But there's lots ... i, personally I'm a great one for sending out a hard invitation nice invitation. A lot of them now are designed by an artist, so they're not just necessarily embossed or thermographed- Yeah
But I like... to get something in the post with a reply card is lovely. Etiquette on the table where you have a, a place card, which is you have a people come in and they take their card in little envelopes- ... or they look on an easel and they see where they're gonna be sitting, and then they sit down.
Etiquette can actually go out of the window at the end of a party. The young are generally up before the puddings even come. But but on the whole etiquette has changed quite a lot. And of [00:09:00] course slightly changing the subject to food, ..
in the old days, no one really had dietary problems as far as I could see. But now when we do a party, we probably have out of 200 people, we probably have 50 dietary problems. No garlic, no sugar, no this, no that. And the caterers who we use are very used to this- ... and make sure it happens and we don't have any problems on that front.
Arthur: God, so many things to monitor and make sure all goes well. What would be really interesting for everyone to understand is the economics of things and the, the cost. Chairs for example. Where do the prices range from and to?
William : Okay. So when we do a, a proposal , everything is broken down.
And it depends on your budget. I quite o- I don't like doing it 'cause I'm terribly old-fashioned, but I quite often say, "What is your budget?" Because then we've got a good idea of what they want. Some budgets are lo- people do spend a lot, but we do look at less expensive parties.
So you go through the whole shopping list for the party. You've got a marquee, and there's extras. A wooden floor, carpet. 200 people, so you're suddenly up to [00:10:00] probably between 10 and 20,000, or more. There's incredible marquees out there, conservatory marquees, 50,000.
Then you've got chairs. Not so bad, chairs. They're, The old days you just had a g- a, a gilt chair, a Camelot gilt chair. Now you've got every type of chair. Chairs range from £5 up to probably £30. Then you've got tables. They're quite reasonable, £10. Then you've got the linen. You've got the generators to power the whole party, a couple of thousand pounds.
So . the budget is going up by the second. Then you've got a, a normal dance band 4,000 to 10,000. A well-known band, could be a pop star of some kind, that could range from 200,000 up to 1,000,000 pounds. But that's quite rare. My clients are generally they just have a g- generally a good budget, and we put everything to that budget.
Portaloos, the smartest portaloos. Actually I've got a good story about portaloos, haven't I? Yeah, let's
Arthur: jump into loo-
William : But so- Let's
Arthur: jump into
William : loo ... so we do a shopping list. Catering, we put the right caterer to the job. The theme. It could be themes. It could be [00:11:00] flowers. We did a wonderful James Bond theme last year where we decorated the whole marquee and we had lookalikes of Jaws and Oddjob- Wow
and they really did look like- That's incredible. And it's just good- What a great idea ... it's just good- Did you
Arthur: come up with that idea?
William : Yeah.
Arthur: Wow.
William : I,
Arthur: I- How'd you find them? Were you like, "Okay, I need a-" You could find- "... I need a guy who looks like Jaw- Jaws."
William : You... Over... I've done this for 45 years, starting as a, a little boy, age 13.
But you just get a really good black book and you build up. I generally use the same people, the agents, the contacts, because I know they're good. I use the two or three marquee companies because I know they'll come up with the end product and it'll be good, so I don't have to worry too much.
Arthur: So loos. From a really basic-
Construction site port-a-loo- Okay ... the best loo
William : Good old subject, loos. Say you're doing an 18th birthday and they don't want to spend money on the loos. You probably put in Doctor Who TARDISes, which are hideous chemical loos, but they're fine for that age group.
Then we go up a stage and we go up to luxury portaloos. Luxury. Luxury. [00:12:00] And they've got all the trappings inside, mahogany and flowers proper loo paper. And they're fantastic. And then you can even have a shepherd's hut now, which looks like a shepherd's hut, but it's a loo inside.
And then you go up to the big boys and go to something called a Modifax system, which comes in on the back of a huge lorry, and it's offloaded, and it sits on the ground. So it's just like walking into a normal loo at home. And, you have the loos, you have the basins, the sink. It's fantastic.
So you have all those. And again, it's budget. Some people have a real thing about loos, and they want the best. Some people really don't care. Not too many use the old Doctor Who TARDISes
Arthur: How much does it cost for one of those-
William : Oh ... vacuums? Okay, so a, a trailer, a portaloo trailer could be between 1,200 and 1,500 pounds.
And what we call the Modifax system, which is a bit like an airline system in a way, but we won't go into the details of it- ... has a vacuum system, and that is probably between 5,000 and 10,000 pounds. Okay? [00:13:00] And, as a party organizer, there aren't very many like me who are slightly hands-on, and quite often you might have a little bit of a problem with a portaloo.
Arthur: Yeah.
William : And I'm the first to get in there- ... and sort it out. I quite like it, actually.
Arthur: . All on the detail. Thinking about some of the most eccentric people who have got big budgets and really wanna show love and fun at people, what are the things that you've loved incorporating or have seen?
William : If we talk about odd parties as well, I did this one quite a while ago where my client had a friend who he didn't particularly like. So he hired a warehouse and he invited all his friends and the city friends into this warehouse for drinks, and no one had any idea what was gonna happen.
And I had drapes all the way around and music at a certain time, they picked up this poor chap. He thought it was his birthday. Threw him into a wedding cake. Then these drapes dropped to reveal eight naked women and custard pies, and this [00:14:00] huge custard pie fight started. It was incredible.
And I hid obviously, but I did get covered by- ... by the end of it. And actually, I hate to say it, two or three people slipped out. A lot of people were very cross about that. And a more eccentric party from a client it could be... we did this wonderful party in Scotland where the guests had a whole day of entertainment.
And one of it was to come up on trailers, and then they got to this beautiful loch. And at the far side of the loch they had classical music with a huge firework display. Now there's a budget. If you wanna spend fireworks, it's anything up to 3,000 or 4,000 pounds a minute.
Arthur: A minute?
William : A minute, yeah.
So- A minute? Yeah. That's
Arthur: incredible.
William : So it used to be 2,000 or 3,000 pounds for the whole show. Now it's just gone into a different league, really.
Arthur: Really? Yeah. And what what's driven that?
William : Yeah, I think they've improved.
The design of them, they're quite incredible, really. And the thought that goes into them, and the music. So if a firework explodes up in the sky, generally the music will tie [00:15:00] in with that. It's pretty exciting. But you can really burn a lot of money on fireworks.
Arthur: Can you think of some more unique, experiences you've created?
William : We did the most lovely party in a palazzo , in Venice. That was quite an experience. We took all our equipment up the canal on barges, which I was a bit worried about. But these guys use these barges all the time.
And it was the most wonderful party. It was white tie, . and tiaras. They had the most incredible party. Dinner, entertain- I brought in the New Orleans band who played on a James Bond film in front of a funeral service, and they were playing along the front of this funeral service at, a James Bond party.
Funeral. And I brought them over, so they went round the tables. . So that was a nice experience. And another one would be we used to always do, for about 10 years, we did a hotel up in St. Moritz. And we'd go up by train. We'd take all our equipment in two big juggernauts, and then we would set up this New Year's [00:16:00] Eve party, take about four days, and then take it down again.
But that was a, a real experience, and every year they would have a different theme. So th- that's nice. I've been very lucky. I've done so many different parties and whatever the budget, I still enjoy them and I like to make people happy And I hold clients' hands. I look after clients. And I've got a good sense of humor.
So sometimes you have a little heated discussion between the bride and the bride's mother, and my job is to go in between them and sort things out in a very nice way. So yeah it's it's a very interesting job. And good f- I got a three, probably three or four more years left in me, and then maybe it's time to retire.
Amazing. I don't know.
Arthur: Performances, entertainment, can be so surprising. ... I guess that's partly a byproduct that the people who tend to envision these things are super creative. Does that- So- ... throw some memories at you?
William : J- just last year we did, the, the...
It was only a party for 20 people, but within a marquee we built this incredible library. It just looked like a r- library with a long [00:17:00] table with a red velvet tablecloth. And again, they had various - musicians, entertainment. They had Father Christmases, they had gospel singers, Latin American dancers just for 20 people.
And then at a given time, at the end of dinner, finest wines, finest dinner, the end of the marquee drops, i.e. the, the, There's a curtain which drops, and behind that we've created a complete nightclub which just looked like a nightclub. You couldn't just look like the interior of Annabel's or Hertford Street.
And then we had bands, we had Belinda Carlisle, we had cocktails, and, so I'm very lucky. That's very creative. I sometimes come up with the ideas myself. Sometimes I have to go out to what they call set design companies, and we work together on on a set or the look of a tent. And o- often, we're using florists.
A- and flowers, my word, the cost of flowers now. £2,000 goes nowhere. I've done parties where people spend £50,000 [00:18:00] of flo- I just think the, the sad thing about that is actually the next day, they don't go to hospitals 'cause they're not allowed to, flowers anymore. So- Really? Yeah.
I mean- Yeah ... hospitals would be an adventure. Hospices? No, you're not allowed to. So I mean-
Arthur: Funerals?
William : No, they're not allowed to go anywhere- Really? ... apart from in the skip. So un- That's extraordinary ... unless guests take some. Yeah. You spend days building these wonderful sets and flowers, and then the next day they're gone.
Yes. So it's a shame, but that's how it is.
Arthur: Life's funny in that, sometimes a really small interaction with someone can lead to extraordinary events. People getting married to businesses being created to yeah, just nice bonds, Yeah, I think- ... all sorts. To to, there'll be countless things of, connections and things that have happened because of the experiences you've created.
Tell us about some of those sort of stories. Yeah
William : I think some people might go away and think, "God, that was a brilliant idea," or, "I'm gonna have that idea at my party or my wedding." On the whole, most people enjoy them, so there's always gonna be a sort of party pooper who doesn't want to join in.
It's like [00:19:00] a fancy dress party, that some of them won't dress up. But a fancy dress party it can break the ice with guests. And then, as you say, you've got, as, as a corporate event or businessmen at parties, you suddenly see a few cards being flicked out at dinner and handed across to each other, bit, little bit of business.
Arthur: D- and but have you heard of people, having their lives changed because of they, they met someone at a party- Oh, my word ... at one of your parties?
William : Oh, yes.
Arthur: Tell us about that.
William : No, I've done quite a few parties where a chap finds his girlfriend to marry for life, or a girl finds another girl to marry- and is in love. It's wonderful. Yeah I've set a lot of people together, I think, without- ... probably without knowing it.
Arthur: I bet you give yourself enough credit,
William : I come over as being very confident, and I know my business. I'm pretty confident with clients.
But underneath I'm a little bit, a little bit shy. But I have the most terrific, rather naughty sense of humor. So you have to [00:20:00] slightly check on your clients before... you have to know how far you can go with a client. Some are very serious. They, that's fine.
And some have just got my sense of humor. Then we're away,
Arthur: And DJing.
Are you still enjoying your DJing?
William : Okay, let's go back. So w- in the old days, obviously I use records, and the, the music was different. In Annabel's we used records, , then it went on to CDs, and then it went on to now USB sticks or laptops.
As far as I have a t- team of DJs who work for me, who basically can cope with all age groups, but sometimes when the age group is right and I feel comfortable, I might wheel myself out on my zimmer frame, and I can do a party. And it's not what I want. It's not necessarily my music.
It's what they want on the dance floor. So there's no point having a playlist and just working through that playlist. You've got to read the dance floor, and that's what I do, and that's what my disc jockeys do. Now, it's changed. We [00:21:00] used to lug old cabinets of speakers and old turntables. In fact, my first discotheque was actually made out of my parents' dining room table leaf, which didn't go down very well.
But later on, the equipment's got incredibly good and and incredibly complicated. But . back in the day, we used to carry all our equipment in our vans ourselves. We used to set them up. Very basic it was. But now, disc jockeys have got a little bit... They won't like me saying this, got a little bit precious in the way that we have to, as a party organizer, we have to set their equipment up, and they just turn up and play.
And so that's changed. And the disc jockeys now, there, there's quite a few people who have friends to DJ at parties. I'm not always keen on that because, they could just play their type of music, which I hope, could be trance or could be a-
...
William : Electro. But on the whole, DJs should play what the dance floor want, what the people want, it's not rocket science.
You put on a Queen song, Don't Stop Me Now. My [00:22:00] God, whatever age group, the dance floor actually is packed. And what amazes me is the young, and I call the young 18 to 21, they all know Sweet Caroline. They all know American Pie. But of course, as the night goes on, you go into different types of music.
You could go a bit south of France or, a little bit disco-y which I like. But as I say, I only do a few now.
Arthur: The lucky few. You've got a reputation for-
William : I just, I like to make- ... organizing all the best ones ... I, in fact, it's the one time, if I was organizing a party and then I was doing the first two sets or something, I really do relax then.
And in fact, at parties Once the dancing starts, one's always a bit on edge. I still get butterflies. But once, once the dancing starts, once dinner is finished, I relax a bit. Things are okay. We've got through the speeches. We've got through the dinner. And then dancing starts, and then anything can happen, and it doesn't really matter.
Arthur: Where do you think it came for [00:23:00] you going into bringing people together?
William : If we go back to when I started, and I was started at 13 when my mother used to ferry me about in a horse trailer with my equipment. And I was bringing people together then, but it was different.
It was very different. And slowly but surely I started doing bigger parties. When it comes to parties, bringing people together, that's not really my job. That's the one thing I can't do really is the guest list . but I can get people to come together at a party. Once they're there, once the guests are there I try and get them to mix.
There's a bit of entertainment, as I've said before, some roving bands or, even roving magicians and cartoonists. And they're a little bit old hat, but in fact they do bring a party together. Just breaks the ice,
Arthur: yeah, amazing. We're gonna jump in.
Everyone loves music. Tunes. .. Give us some songs to get people on the dance
William : floor. I'm sorry if people watching this just think I'm old and... But on the [00:24:00] whole, l- let's say the first set, you're g- you're gonna have, I've just said, Queen, Don't Stop Me Now.
You're gonna have a Robbie Williams song. You're gonna have I've said it before, Sweet Caroline. You'll definitely have Dolly Parton, 9 to 5. Shania Twain one of her songs. Funnily enough the Summer of '69 is very pop- popular. I Will Survive, Gloria Gaynor.
And then you get you get a few new ones like we move into perhaps the clubby stuff, like Levels by Avicii, which is a great song.
For the young, the Taylor Swift. Abba is a must. Not too many, good old Dancing Queen is very popular. . You could go back to the '60s, but funnily enough, people aren't so keen on the '60s now. It's really the '70s and '80s which pack the -
Arthur: Madonna and Guy Ritchie's wedding. -
William : I was very lucky on that one. I suddenly got this phone call one evening. I was working in Jersey on a party and s- and I, I'd been told by a friend who lived in America, who I'd done her wedding, that someone special might ring me, but I didn't [00:25:00] really know who.
And then suddenly the call went. Security said "Is that William Balfolmie?" And I said, "Yes." And then he said, "Could you speak to Madonna?" So that was quite a shock, really. But she was very nice. And we chatted away, and then she said, "I want to have a castle somewhere very secluded." So I thought we've gotta get this in the bag quickly."
So I quickly popped up to Scotland, and I found a place called Skibo Castle, which was brilliant. And then,
Arthur: Incredible location.
William : Lovely. But- it's beautiful. It's- And it's very good for It was 50 people, it was for a week, so there was a week of parties.
Every night was another party. , Guy would go shooting and one thing or another in the day. And then in October, I think... And yeah, it was Christmastime for the party- the wedding. So in October she came over, and we went on her private jet, or his private jet, which was quite exciting for me because I hadn't got a clue how to put the seatbelt on '
so I had to watch her bodyguard, which was quite funny, how he put down. Then we went to Skibo Castle, and she loved it. . And then we started planning all the menus and the look of the room and the florists and... [00:26:00] Entertainment was very straightforward. And we did her wedding and her daughter's christening.
And it was great, actually. No dramas.
Arthur: That's what, I think so striking about you is I think your connection with people and- Yeah, clearly, people, like using you repeatedly - because of that, their emotional connection with you as well as your ability to, do the amazing party. And Princess Margaret
William : bless her.
She's up there now. But, Yeah ... no, I did hers. Did you get to know her
Arthur: well? Yeah,
William : I went to meet her in Kensington Palace, which is around the corner. And yeah, I went to see her and we d- discussed music, what she liked.
And it was quite intriguing because one of the songs was called Jump Up and Down on My Old Broomstick. Anyway, since, I found it, but actually on the night of her party, I thought she'll never come up and ask for that. And of course, what did she do? Yeah. She came up and asked for it, and of course we didn't have it.
But nowadays you have an iPad and you can find everything. Yeah. But gosh, she rarely danced. They all danced. It's lovely. And then I've done some [00:27:00] extraordinary parties. I've, I did our king's 40th birthday in Buckingham Palace.
Arthur: Wow.
William : Where we a Saudi prince - had given him a Bedouin tent, which they built in Buckingham Palace for the night, which is where my nightclub was.
And they had Phil Collins. So that was like, I mean-
Arthur: Phil Collins, I mean- Yeah.
William : And
Arthur: then- But-
...
Arthur: These are experiences, most people, myself included, just, on YouTube, you're like, "Wow, that, that looks fun." Yeah.
William : I did a, another party for a family in it was Clapham really, beautiful house.
And suddenly the whole of the royal family turned, everybody 'cause they were friends or cousins. And next thing I had the whole lot on my dance floor. So it's funny, I've been incredibly lucky, i've been to houses, stately homes. It's not all like that, it, sometimes lovely private houses and I see the most incredible sights.
I meet the most incredible people. But at the end of the day, all my clients are lovely and incredible, and it doesn't matter who they are. But as I say I've seen a lot. You go back to the '70s, crikey, different sort of party. Pretty [00:28:00] wild. They're quite wild now, actually. I'm not, But '70s anything went really
Arthur: ' And different cultures,
Looking at, different cultures and how they like to party differently.
I know you've done a party for... maybe a few - parties for for the Dubai royal family.
William : I've been very lucky because the Dubai royal family I had another Middle Eastern client, which I'll come onto in a minute. But He took me to Beirut when it was sadly so bombed out, and we took Shirley Bassey there, and we put on a concert outside for the president.
So that, that was lovely. And then I took Lionel Richie for the same family, Middle Eastern family, Saudis, to Washington. I did that for them. But what was quite, quite a funny story, but I'm not gonna mention names. I did this wonderful... It was a dinner party i- in this Middle Eastern client's house, beautiful house up in Regent's Park.
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William : And there was a marbled room and a swimming pool behind the pillars, and there were about 100 people, quite special people. A few of our royal family, members of the, the government. They were all there. It was quite serious. And they had a Saudi prince who came to say a few words, and one thing or another.
And my client got up to say, "And we're very honored tonight to have His Royal Highness," blah, blah, blah. And the Royal Highness got up, and he walked behind my client and fell straight in the swimming pool headfirst. And my job was to roll my dinner jacket trousers up- ... and to pull him out, and then he went upstairs and changed. As far as I was concerned, it was quite funny. But [00:30:00] we've never mentioned it, never got in the papers. It was wonderful, really. But it was quite an experience for me.
Yeah, I've had a few funny little problems over the years.
Arthur: Yeah, you must learn so much about human mentality, really getting to know who people are like people can be perfectly polite but when things don't go their way and-
William : Well
Arthur: Then, you can really see the, the colors evolve. Yes. On the flip side of that, you'll also see just the most incredible, incredible traits of people. The kind of people who have made extraordinary things happen in the world, be it in music or in business.
Real leaders, r- people who, treating everyone from the famous DJ incredibly well to the people working in the porter loos, making sure that everything's done really well. Talk to us about the people that you've come across that you're like, "Oh my God"
William : I d- well- "
Arthur: I look up to you."
William : I think I'm not sure who looks up to me. But I think- about moods, you've got some clients who can flip, they ... 'Cause they're terribly nervous, a bride. On the whole, brides can be quite tricky up to the wedding, or they know what they want. Then on the wedding they're much more [00:31:00]relaxed.
But sometimes you get a father if a little something is not quite right with dinner or something, he can get a little bit tricky. But of course, that's all part of the, part of what I have to do is to- ... pacify people One thing I think I'm good at is actually getting on with, apart from guests, and you also...
Of course, another problem with parties is you do get a few people who are drunk. So we have that to contend with and, at 2:00 in the morning, the parents go to bed, and then you're left with the young, and, they wanna get in the pool, and, you've gotta watch them. And my job is really to watch them till the end of the party.
So I'm generally there till 6:00 in the morning or whenever- Nice ... which I don't mind at all. But you have to watch them. And they'll raid the drink. They'll find where the drink's been hidden. But as far as all my subcontractors, I think one of my stronger points is I get on with everybody. The lovely portaloo guy, the lovely generator guy the staff, the way...
I try and make it fun for them, and I try and look after them. I would always give people behind the scenes dinner [00:32:00] and an area to sit. And they, that's what I li- I generally, I quite like the people behind the scenes, and it can be terribly funny with them '
Arthur: so- so many experiences. A- and things going, last minute almost wrong. Have you got any stories there where, something's not arrived, and then there's been some very quirky series of events that have meant that everything works out okay?
I've
William : had loads of little things, in this country, the weather is one of the worst things. You could suddenly get a storm just before a party. And that, that's... You're just used to that sort of thing. But I always remember, back, we're back on the portaloo again, but it was hilarious.
It wasn't the beginning of a party, it was the end of the party. And it was about 6:00 in the morning, and the portaloo man came to hitch on the portaloo, I don't know why, early to take it away. And as he took it away, as he went down the drive, there was this banging on the door.
And we'd locked a girl into the loo, and she was on the way back to Basingstoke with the loo man. So that was quite funny. Anyway, we got her out. So those sort of stories. I I quite like. I like funny little stories like that. And of course, [00:33:00] then for years after, you can tell the story, there's lots. There's lots of little stories Oh, you sometimes get actually you do sometimes get a few guests who can get a bit stroppy about things. You try and tell them where to park their car. Very boring. "Can you park there?" And they don't want to or ... So g- some guests get a bit stroppy over things.
Generally I hate to say alcohol can play a little bit of a part, but alcohol also can make a fun party. I don't want to go on about alcohol. Yeah. But it relaxes people, and they let their hair down a bit.
Arthur: And how does one work out how much alcohol to order for a party?
William : I generally know f- just say a party of 100, I would know, that you get five glasses of champagne out of a champagne bottle, and you get the same-
out of a rebel. So I can just work it out. And I always tell them to order more perhaps on sale or return, and then they've got enough for the night. Cocktails generally, it's unlimited really. People come up and order a cocktail, and it's made for them. But again, we just have quantities of everything, and we [00:34:00] try and cover every eventuality.
Sometimes a caterer might run out of something, a- and then suddenly there's a, a midnight dash to the local Tesco's. But on the whole we cover everything
Arthur: And dinners. How do you th- make sure that dinners don't ru- run on too long?
William : Well-
Arthur: And things like, for example, speed of plates, they arrive at your table.
There are real bottlenecks there. And explaining that to people you need to have another five staff if you wanna hit these timings."
William : Yes. The most annoying thing is, apart from the dinner, which we'll come back to, but is the father and the best man if we're at a wedding.
And then they say, "Oh, we're just gonna speak for 10 minutes," and they go on for 45 minutes. So that puts the whole party or wedding back. And even at parties there could be a speech, and again, it could go on and on. And sometimes they're funny, and sometimes they're absolutely diabolical, not funny at all.
And but then so they could sit down to dinner late, but dinner you have to keep it going. You've gotta have enough staff. And if you haven't got a... If [00:35:00] the client said I don't want that number of staff," then you have to explain to them that the service for dinner could be a bit slower.
But people expect, what, starter's gonna eat 20 minutes, main course probably 45 minute, you don't wanna push them too hard through it. But again, at a party people are really gagging to get on the dance floor and, ... especially at a wedding, but on the whole, you keep it going,
and also it's slightly different now. So in the old days, again, you would have a bowl of coronation chicken, but now the food comes out on a plate. So , everybody gets their own plate, and on it is filet steak and Béarnaise sauce and whatever. And it's much easier. So it's plated up in the kitchen- and it comes out to each guest. So it's easier in a way.
Arthur: Yeah. Is it rude to ask DJs for song requests, do you think-
William : Okay ... when you're
Arthur: at a party?
William : So I would say that all our DJs, and we have different types, will probably say, and I would say to the client or whoever it is, "Could I have your 20 best songs?"
That straightaway gives us an idea of what they want. And then [00:36:00] that's given to the DJ. We , definitely wouldn't play it in that order. But we would include, if they're good songs and they're gonna fill- ... the dance floor, then we'd play them. So yeah, of course people can request songs.
And
Arthur: if you're at a friend's party, what's the rule on asking the DJ to play a song? Do you think that's fair play or-
William : There's, there's- ... does it damage the DJ? Yeah. To be honest, you can come up and ask the DJ, and if it fits in, quite often they'll come up and ask for a song, and you say, "Yeah.
That'll fit in now. You can just play it now." And I think if probably the song doesn't quite fit in, I probably say I haven't got it.
Arthur: What are the mistakes that people make when, thinking about having a policy?
William : One, one big mistake actually is say you set the marquee up, you've got a reception area, you've got all the tables for dinner, and then people think the reception area could turn into chill-out area with a bar.
Now, what you always n- definitely need is the bar near the dance floor. There's no question of that because you're [00:37:00] getting your drink and you'll hear a song and the next minute you're on the dance floor. If you're the other end of the marquee, you'll find that everybody to start with will all go to the bar.
So you've got to have the dance floor, the bar, chill-out area right right near the guests as they're dancing. And I think another mistake is if some clients... Some fathers and mothers don't like the noise, so they say we're gonna put a nightclub tent up." And sometimes you're getting...
It's very difficult to get people to move at parties. So that, that can be a problem too.
Arthur: There must be so many benefits of having someone help plan these parties. Oh. For example, things like ice, right? If you've not had experience doing a party, you're not gonna get the ice right or the, the water order or-
William : Yeah.
I think for people who decide they're gonna do their own party or wedding I think it's a shame because they've got to think about what's going on. They've got to see the marquee up. On the day of the party,
we can help with the guest list, and put out the cards for them. But all these little things that they have [00:38:00] to do, and I just think, especially a wedding, which there's so many details, the last thing they want to do is to have to plan their own party.
But some do. Some do. It's all the little details. It's just thinking everything through, every eventuality, things which can go wrong. And as you say, ice. . The caterers bring the ice. The caterers bring backup drink. The caterers bring everything that, that, that is needed.
Bottle openers corkscrews, all that sort of thing. So they bring absolutely everything. So these are little things which could be forgotten.
Arthur: How long were you at Annabel's
William : for? Probably a year and a half, three nights a week. I did Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and then I-
Worked for this other company. But Annabel's was... in those days, you had to wear a tie, you had to wear a suit.
Arthur: But W- William, how on earth do you cope with the pressure?
You're organizing- ... the now King's party at Buckingham Palace.
How on... Yeah, how do you deal-
William : Forgetting the k- forgetting the King slightly, but organizing any party I'm pretty calm leading up to it, and I enjoy the first day when the marquee arrives.
I get terrible [00:39:00] butterflies, but , I think that's a good thing. . I have a list all the time in my pocket. I have timings in my pocket.
Invariably you can do meticulous timings, and then, it...
The father says, "Oh, such and such hasn't arrived." Yeah. So you have to wait. So weddings, times can just go out the window. But yeah, I have a list of timings. I have a list of things to remember, when the band go on, when the caterers come out. I try to remember everything.
And as I say I like lists.
Arthur: And what are some of the most unusual requests you've had?
William : Oh, crikey.
I've done parties where they want animals.
I've often had llamas and- Llamas ... d- donkeys. Donkeys. D- things on the table yeah I can't really go into that one 'cause it was a little bit below the belt, but- yeah, I can't go into that one. But it was a, it was actually a carnival. It was a, a circus theme.
Arthur: Yeah.
William : And yeah, the client wanted something a bit odd.
But anyway. We've had pole dancers. Brazilian dancers.
Arthur: What are you most grateful for having gone [00:40:00] into this career?
William : It's an interesting career because, to be absolutely honest you never know what the year's gonna be like. . There's no point doing financial budgets on parties and weddings or corporate events y- because you never know what the year's gonna be like. So we had COVID, where there were just no parties, and then...
at all, obviously. The odd little party for 20 people or w- little wedding for 20, but on the whole, there was no work for, what was it, 18 months, a year. And then suddenly, after that, I thought, "My gosh, it's n- it's never gonna come back." Then suddenly, the year after COVID, it came back, and it was probably the best year I've ever had.
Parties, weddings, corporate events. So things can be up and down. You never quite know. I like to try from May... not August, May through to September, I like to try and do one a week because I... It's just me. I see, oversee every single party myself, and I have a little team of people who help me.
And yeah, so that's what I like to [00:41:00] do. But you just never know, the beginning of the year p- can be quiet, and then the next minute, someone rings you up. Last November, November's generally not a very good month, and suddenly, this wonderful client rings up, great budget, and wants a full-blown party up in Rutland.
That changes the month, but it's a way of life. It's more of a way of life. It's not like a hedge fund guy in the city who might write himself a bonus of few million. You never do that, I can tell you. You might run your life on the company, but bonuses are they're not really there.
It's a definitely a way of life, which I enjoy, look, we have holidays, family holidays, but you don't write these big bonus checks. That's how it is. But I like it, it's all I've ever done. Parties are, is really my life. And I've done it for a long time.
Arthur: William, it's been such a pleasure to have you today.
William : Thank you very much. Good fun.
