View all newsletters
Have the short, sharp Spear's newsletter delivered to your inbox each week
  1. Wealth
  2. Column
February 10, 2010

Lips Open, Teeth Bared

By Spear's

Kiss & Tell Cabaret compose satirical songs for private parties on any theme you can imagine: the pomposity of contemporary artists or an heiress who can’t get a grip on recycling.

My accountant said, “It’s fine, just relax and ride the storm,
but perhaps you might consider a year off from Glyndebourne.

Those jaunty, jazzy lyrics are a product of the crunch – or rather ‘Crunch!’, a song by Kiss & Tell Cabaret, purveyors of swinging satire to the sophisticated classes. (See Kiss & Tell perform ‘Crunch!’ below.) Their singer – and co-lyricist – is Melinda Hughes, an opera singer; together with Jeremy Limb and Lloyd Evans, they compose satirical songs for private parties on any theme you can imagine: the pomposity of contemporary artists or an heiress who can’t get a grip on recycling.

These songs have appealed to the hosts of the many parties they have performed at: from Theo Fennell and Michael Portillo to the Royal Institute of British Architects, Kiss & Tell have graced the grandest gatherings. Drawing on a repertoire of their own songs and those of Kurt Weill and Mischa Spoliansky from the thirties – just as crunched a time as today – Kiss & Tell take a sideways glance at our foibles with a cabaret-sound kicker.

When Melinda first started out with Kiss & Tell, her partner in rhyme was Petronella Wyatt, who performed the song ‘The It-girl’s Lament’, which featured the refrain “Why can’t I find me a man?” Not, evidently, drawn from life.

Melinda, who has sung Madama Butterfly at Loughborough Opera and given concerts everywhere from the Queen Elizabeth Hall to the Al-Bustan Festival in Beirut, also knows the opera world intimately, which allows her a sideline in arranging operatic galas. If that soprano you like is in town, she’ll know about it.

Click here to get in touch with Kiss & Tell – but first, start thinking about just what you would (and wouldn’t) like included in that special song you’re going to commission for your anniversary…

Content from our partners
Abu Dhabi Finance Week in the 'Capital of Capital'
Experience Seekers: The Future of Luxury Travel
How Hamblin Family Law is exploring a groundbreaking pricing model

Instead of a week in Belize or Mystique,
I go on booze cruises to Calais.

Select and enter your email address The short, sharp email newsletter from Spear’s
  • Business owner/co-owner
  • CEO
  • COO
  • CFO
  • CTO
  • Chairperson
  • Non-Exec Director
  • Other C-Suite
  • Managing Director
  • President/Partner
  • Senior Executive/SVP or Corporate VP or equivalent
  • Director or equivalent
  • Group or Senior Manager
  • Head of Department/Function
  • Manager
  • Non-manager
  • Retired
  • Other
Visit our privacy policy for more information about our services, how Progressive Media Investments may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications.
Thank you

Thanks for subscribing.

Websites in our network