Cork City Samba Band played Live at the Marquee with less than 24 hours' notice

Being in the right place at the right time made all the difference as they ended up opening comedian John Bishop's Live at the Marquee comedy shows

Cork City Samba Band with comedian John Bishop

Appropriately for a 20-member band, timing was everything when it came to gig of the summer for Cork City Samba Band. 

It was a case of being in the right place at the right time when they teamed up with comedian John Bishop to open his Marquee Live comedy show. 

The percussion group normally performs indoors — at Marina Market or other venues on Wednesday evenings — but this week they decided to take advantage of the bright evening and head to the city centre.

They were in the middle of a typically energetic and fun session when the Liverpudlian comedian happened to stroll by — he said he likes to have a wander and get a feel for the place when he arrives in a new city or town. Bishop dined at Café Paradiso before visiting the Corner House and Sin É and he was so captivated by Cork City Samba Band's lively vibe that he booked them on the spot — even if he didn't quite remember brokering the deal the next morning.

Band member, Alan White, said it was pure chance that they happened to be there to catch his attention: "And he's kind of just like 'what are you doing tomorrow and Friday?', and I said 'not much'."

Alan White presents John Bishop with a Cork City Samba Band t-shirt

The band opened Bishop's first comedy show at the Marquee on Thursday evening in front of thousands of people and are booked to be there again this evening.

Cork City Samba Band was formed by Darragh O'Connor and Rob Hamilton in 2012 and has around 20 members at any given time.

Band members range in age from 20s to 50s and are typically from Ireland, France, Spain and Italy — new members are welcome each year so keep an eye on their social media for the next joining dates.

Instruments include the large surdo drum as well as cowbells, tambourines and snare drums and the band leader uses hand signals and whistles to alert members to the next rhythm they are to perform. 

For his Live at the Marquee show, John Bishop is joined by the Cork City Samba Band. Picture: Denise O'Donoghue

Bishop isn't the only celeb they've been teamed up with — they performed at the O'Donovan brothers' homecoming in 2016 and at the Indiependence Festival in Mitchelstown. And they'll also be at the Mixed Ability Rugby Tournament at Musgrave Park this evening before they head to the Marina again. 

They'll be performing in Lismore on June 17; at the MidSummer Festival Parade in Cork city centre on June 21 and at Clonakilty Vintage Fair on July 2. 

They also have one other fairly big event coming up but are keeping the details under wraps for now.

Cork City Samba Band and John Bishop

John Bishop himself is working on doing a show entirely in sign language — he has a hearing-impaired son and has already done a show with the assistance of a sign language interpreter.