The very worst thing about running a music studio

 I love my job. I love running a studio, meeting musicians both world famous and just starting out. Sometimes, those just starting out become superstars, such as Amy Winehouse and Kate Nash, sometimes they stay like my band, The False Dots and just play the grassroots circuit. All have stories and tales to tell, which I love. Sometimes, we don't see customers for months, years and sometimes decades, but sooner or later they turn up. Some have been coming in regularly for decades. Last night, I went for a beer with Boz Boorer of the Polecats and Alan Warner from the Foundations. Both are still working musicians. Boz was back from a gig in Anchorage, with the Boz Boorer allstars and Alan was back from a tour of Northamptonshire with Grandma's wooden leg. Both have lived locally for years, but Boz was telling me he's just sold his Mums old house in Edgware and Alan is planning a move to Bedford to be nearer his daughter and grandkids. I hope they'll still be able to make beer and curry night! Boz and the Polecats were the very first paying customer of Mill Hill Music Complex, and Alan was the second! That was back in 1979. Alan was talking about remembering Boz doing a paper round. Alan was telling us stories of how he attended the premiere of the Beatles Yellow Submarine and how he chatted with George Harrison and John Lennon at the after party. I keep urging Alan to write a book, but he always insists he has no stories!

That is the side I love. I also experienced the side of the business that I absoluetely hate. Last month, legendary singer Terry Reid passed away. I had spoken to Terry in June, when he booked a rehearsal for a forthcoming tour. He was in great spirits. Terry has been using the studio for decades. He was a lovely bloke and would always have a coffee and a chat with us. Terry very nearly became the lead singer of Led Zeppelin, but turned them down. He is one of the truly great British singers. Our studio booking system automatically generates a booking reminder 24 hours before the session is due to take place. This helps remind musicians what time etc the session is booked. Sadly, and this was remiss of me, we didn't cancel Terry's booking. Terry's booking was today and yesterday we got a phone call from his wife, who had received the reminder. I felt really bad for not contacting her in a more appropriate fashion, but in the sadness at his passing, it had simply not registered. Terrys wife was absolutely fine and it gave us the chance to pass on our condolences. 

Actually going on the system and deleting his bookings was a sad moment. You realise that this is it. I think the saddest moment of all was when Amy Winehouse passed away. She had a large recording booking. She was working on a new album. She had rung us in July and explained that she wanted to get some ideas down in the studio. She explained that she felt that none of the music she'd released really sounded how she really wanted and wanted to be in control. She said the tracks may just end up being pre production demos or they may be the next album if it goes well. On the night Amy died, her neighbours complained as she was practicing drums at 2am. Unlind press reports suggested that this was a sign that she was, shall we say, not in a sober state of mind. To me, it said she was working on the new material and making sure she could get the performance she wanted. We will never know. But what I do know is that the world was robbed of a great album. 

I was in France when she passed away and the saddest thing was getting out the tippex and scrubbing out her bookings. Back then we still used a paper diary,. It seemed brutal. I felt like a thief in the night, robbing the planet of music when I scrubbed them out. But what can you do?

Over the course of time, we have seen many valued customers pass away. Apart from Amy, the one that absolutely horrified me was when Andy McGoldrick passed away. You probably won't have heard of Andy. He was a local lad, playing in local bands. He was also a much loved teacher at a local school. Andy had a rehearsal at our studios, in preparation for a gig, back in 2006 the same evening. He had just bought a new amplifier and showed me the beauty in his car. I asked why he wasn't using it at the rehearsal and he said he was saving it for the gig, where he would debut it. The gig was at the James Joyce pub. After the rehearsal, we wished Andy well for the gig. At the sound check, he plugged his guitar into the amp, strummed it and was electrocuted. Andy was 27. The really sad thing, was that if Andy had been using our studios, our electrics have circuit breakers that would most likely saved his life. That was no solace at all. He'd simply had an amp with an incorrectly wired mains plug and it killed him. 

Such random things, such sadness. Life is a precious and fragile thing. You never really know when your time will come, so treasure every moment. 

Here is a bit of Terry RIP.