Ian Hooper

About Ian

Musician. Founder. Experience creator.

Ian Hooper is a professional musician, radio presenter, theatre performer, and the person behind every Upbeat Experience. He founded Upbeat Rock Academy to teach young people the joy of music, and Upbeat Experiences to bring that same transformative energy to corporate teams across the UK. In 2025, he was invited to Buckingham Palace in recognition of his services to music and education.

The Corporate Journey

From GB Music Events to Upbeat Experiences

Ian's corporate career began with GB Music Events, where he built a reputation for turning rooms full of sceptical colleagues into performing ensembles. His client list grew to include Google, Cisco, HSBC, British Gas, Jewson, United Biscuits, Interstate Hotel Group, Graham & Brown, Sellick Recruitment, and numerous pharmaceutical and legal firms.

He created a global choir of 120 people for networking giant Cisco at the world-famous Angel Recording Studios in Islington (now an Abbey Road education studio). For HSBC, he delivered an intimate CEO musical masterclass for just eight people — proving the format works whether you're filling a concert hall or a boardroom.

Google described their session as their "best team build ever" — and gave Ian clearance to use the quote publicly. It sat at the top of his website for years, because nothing sells quite like a tech giant's national team telling you that a musician from Lancashire gave them their best day together.

Now, with Upbeat Experiences, Ian is relaunching this side of his career with a broader range of offerings — rock choir, rock band, and recording studio experiences — built on years of expertise and a genuine passion for what happens when people make music together.

Milestones

A career built on bringing people together

Buckingham Palace

Invited by the King

In 2025, Ian was invited to Buckingham Palace in recognition of his services to music and education — a moment that reflected years of dedication to young people and communities.

Abbey Road Studios

Recording at the home of legends

When a corporate client asked if their rock choir session could go further, Ian took them to Abbey Road Studios. It was the start of an ongoing relationship delivering experiences connected with the most famous studio in the world.

Google

"Their best team build ever"

Ian turned Google's team into a rock choir. Their feedback became his most powerful piece of social proof — and the quote that sat at the top of his website for years.

Cisco

A global choir of 120

Ian created a 120-person global choir for networking giant Cisco at the world-famous Angel Recording Studios in Islington — now an Abbey Road education studio. Proof the format scales to any size.

HSBC

CEO musical masterclass

An intimate session for just eight senior leaders at HSBC — showing that the same principles of trust, collaboration, and shared achievement work just as powerfully in a boardroom as on a stage.

Upbeat Rock Academy

1,000+ students per week

What started as a music school has grown into a Community Interest Company teaching over a thousand students every week — a safe haven for young people from all backgrounds.

Theatre

That 80s/90s Thing — selling out

Ian's theatre show has become a sell-out success, proving his ability to engage, entertain, and energise audiences far beyond the corporate world.

Radio

That Upbeat Thing — Coastal Radio DAB

A weekly radio show on Blackpool's largest community radio station, bringing music and positivity to the airwaves every week.

Upbeat Rock Academy

More than a music school

The academy has become more than a music space — it's a safe haven for kids from all walks of life. Some face daily challenges, whether that's neurodiversity, autism, ADHD, non-binary challenges, cyberbullying, or living in care homes. The CIC now teaches over 1,000 students per week, and it's growing.

This isn't separate from Ian's corporate work — it's the foundation of it. The same skills that help a nervous thirteen-year-old find their voice on stage are the skills that help a room of corporate executives discover what they sound like when they perform together.

1,000+

Students per week

CIC

Community Interest Company

2025

Buckingham Palace invitation

Community & Wellbeing

Using music to make a real difference

Ian sits on the main steering group for the Responsible Business Network — a Prince's Trust charity — and chairs the Mental Health & Wellbeing steering group for the RBN in Blackpool.

His work through that role helped launch the National Baton of Hope — a suicide awareness campaign that began its 2025 journey in Blackpool, weaved its way through cities across the country, and ended in London on October 10th, 2025.

This work isn't a side project. It's central to who Ian is and how he approaches everything — corporate experiences included. Understanding people, reading a room, creating psychological safety, and helping individuals find confidence through shared creative experiences.

Responsible Business Network

Main steering group member and Chair of Mental Health & Wellbeing — a Prince's Trust charity working to create responsible, community-focused businesses in Blackpool and beyond.

National Baton of Hope

A suicide awareness campaign that Ian helped launch — travelling from Blackpool through multiple cities to London, raising awareness and breaking the stigma around mental health.

A Safe Haven

The academy welcomes young people facing neurodiversity, ADHD, autism, non-binary challenges, cyberbullying, and care home backgrounds. Music becomes the equaliser.

Looking Forward

Why Upbeat Experiences

Ian loves all his work — the academy, the theatre, the radio, the community. But he's extremely excited to be relaunching this side of his career with Upbeat Experiences.

The corporate world faces real challenges right now. Remote work has fragmented teams. People are stressed, disconnected, and craving something that brings them together in a way that actually means something. Music does that better than anything else Ian has found in twenty years of working with people.

I'm really looking forward to working with a new range of companies across the board — helping with the challenges we all face in today's fast-paced, hectic world. Music has the power to connect people in a way nothing else can. I've seen it thousands of times, and it never gets old.