We Are Randox | BANDOX’s début performance at Randox FEST 2018
We Are Randox | BANDOX’s début performance at Randox FEST 2018
Thanks to our series of We Are Randox staff profiles, we have the opportunity to find out more about our colleagues, and one of our favourite things is when we discover a lesser-known talent, hobby or interest. From top bakers to renowned athletes, dedicated volunteers to inspiring youth leaders, and charity fundraisers to creative artists, many of our staff are just as busy outside of the office as they are in it.
This month, in the search for our next We Are Randox interviewee, we’ve been lucky enough to find not one but five humble musicians working in our midst!
The newly-formed Randox staff band, or BANDOX as they are known to those of us here at Randox, made up of drummer Suzanne Alexander, Rhythm Guitarist Jeremy Parker, Bass Guitarist Scott McKeown, Lead Guitarist Max Brown, and Vocalists Sally Picton and Rebecca Aldous, recently made their début performance at our annual staff fun day, Randox FEST.
After playing an entertaining setlist of both classical and modern musical anthems including Sweet Caroline, Sweet Home Alabama, and Livin’ On A Prayer, for which they received a gallant round of applause and even demands for an encore, the band sat down with us to tell us a little bit more about themselves and to share some interesting anecdotes.
Drummer Suzanne Alexander
Suzanne is an experienced brass player, drummer and percussionist, having played at a number of gigs over the years as part of a brass band and impressively also a céilí band. Suzanne also got married this year. Congratulations Suzanne!
Rhythm Guitarist Jeremy Parker
Jeremy is the newest member of BANDOX, having only joined the group 2 days before their exclusive Randox FEST performance! Not only does Jeremy play guitar in another band called ‘Chivalry is Dead’, but he also plays the trumpet. Something you may not know about Jeremy however – he has been known to preach the odd sermon!
Bass Guitarist Scott McKeown
Matched only by his flair for colourful and bold shirt choices, R&D Product Manager Scott’s skills on the bass guitar have seen him play in rock concerts across the country. The best-dressed member of the Randox Biosciences team, Scott is always ready for a rave.
Lead Guitarist Max Brown
Max is well-known throughout the Randox office for his creativity in our Graphic Design team. Less well-known however, unless you follow him on Instagram, are his skills on the electric guitar. Fun fact about Max – he once had a trial with Sunderland Athletic Football Club while at university but suffered fallen arches and had to withdraw.
Vocalists Sally Picton and Rebecca Aldous
Sally and Rebecca are no strangers to the mic, having performed around the world with the Belfast Philharmonic Choir, for which the well-oiled singing duo’s favourite songs to sing are those by ABBA. Rebecca has a bassoon called Bob and Sally used to be a rugby referee.
So there you have it – our staff band! BANDOX will be coming soon to a Randox event near you, so keep an eye out on our social media channels for live performances and exclusive interviews.
For autograph requests or further information, please email randoxpr@randox.com
We Are Randox | Eamon Lenehan, Randox Rockstar Extraordinaire
Creativity can take many forms. And there’s nobody who seems to embody this saying better than our Global Marketing Manager, Eamon Lenehan.
By day he’s a Marketing Guru coming up with creative and innovative campaigns for Randox products. But by night he’s a rockstar in a Northern Irish Indie Band – playing drums and writing new songs!
As we continue our #WeAreRandox series of staff stories, we’re delighted to have found out about Eamon’s musical alter-ego.
We love getting to know the hobbies and interests that make our colleagues who they are and hope that Eamon’s story encourages other musical members of our team to meet up, chat about their shared interests and find out just a little bit more about each other.
Here’s Eamon’s story.
My background in music is something I’m very proud of but just never get the chance to talk about at work because I’m always so busy! At Randox I head up the Marketing for the clinical side of our business – our RX Series clinical chemistry analysers, Randox Quality Control, and our Randox Reagents. I’m also heavily involved in the Marketing for the Randox Health Grand National so I’m never short of work to do!
Basically I’ve always been musical. I grew up in a musical household and learnt to play the piano from a very young age. As my interest in music grew I then took up the drums too. I still practice regularly and I’m often asked to play in bands or orchestras at musical performances by local production companies.
In my teens I was lucky that a good number of my friends were musical too and so quite early on we became involved in the Belfast music scene. I got to know the sound team at the Empire Music Hall and also Gary Lightbody from Snow Patrol who is very supportive of up and coming musicians. In 1996 I was lucky enough to be part of a band who supported Snow Patrol. That was long before they became so well-known, back when they were just part of the university scene in Belfast. I learnt so much from them.
As time went on I had the opportunity to become involved in an increasing number of musical projects to build up my experience. For example, I was involved in a project that Paul Cook from The Sex Pistols was producing, which was amazing, especially for a fellow drummer.
I guess my friends and I became inspired by all the musical talent that we had grown up around and had been lucky enough to work with. We took inspiration from bands we had been in previously – I myself had been in a band called The Scenes – and then in 2010 we pulled together and started up our own band in a studio in Northern Ireland called Mogul Studios.
The band was called Levity Breaks – made up of myself on drums, singer and bassist Marty McLaughlin, keyboardist Jonny McGuiness and guitarist Richie Lappin. You can do a quick google search and find some of our songs very easily.
I’m most proud of a song we wrote called ‘The Floor’, the video of which was produced for us by Maverick Renegade Productions. It was our début single and it did really well because it’s a big, anthem-style tune which evokes a lot of emotion. We got to perform in gigs across Belfast including The Limelight.
Once again we were lucky to receive support from Gary Lightbody’s artist development company, Third Bar. We were selected by the company to receive the Bushmills Live Legacy Fund in 2014, which meant we received some funding and also performed alongside headliners The 1975 and Tired Pony during Bushmills Live in the summer of that year.
It was such a fantastic time in my life and I’m proud to have been part of something so huge. I am now doing some session work for a band called The Irontown Diehards and am excited to bring my experiences and ideas to their new album.
I have two passions in life; marketing and music, and I’m hoping that my talents in the former will help promote my involvement in the latter. It all boils down to creativity and that’s what I love about both of my interests. Of course knowing Gary Lightbody doesn’t hurt either…
Randox wouldn’t be the innovative and forward-thinking healthcare company it is today without the creativity and hard work of people like Eamon. We’re delighted he’s part of our team and that he brings his enthusiasm, commitment and talent with him every day to Randox.
If you want to hear some of Eamon’s music you can check him out in action on the drums here:
We can’t stop listening!
Make sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram to stay up-to-date with the hashtag #WeAreRandox for more Randox staff stories.
For more information about the #WeAreRandox initiative please contact Randox PR by email: randoxpr@randox.com or phone 028 9442 2413
