The Saturday List #311 - My top ten support act performances

 I was thinking of the great support bands that I've seen over the years. It's funny because the first gig I went to was to see Wings on the Red Rose Speedway tour. I went with my Sister Val, a bit of a hippy, who told me that she never bothered with support bands, because usually they were rubbish. We caught a bit of Brinsley Schwarz, I don't remember too much about them, which is a shame because there were some great musicians in the band who went on to better things. When punk hit the scene, often it was the support bands that really made it worth going. I realised that dodging support bands was not a good move. The first punk band I went to see was the Ramones at the Roundhouse. The support bands were The Talking Heads and The Saints. Both were OK, but the Ramones were so completely mindblowing, I didn't really walk away with any strong image of them. Perhaps the next gig I went to at the Roundhouse was the one which completely sold me on support bands.

1 . 999  supporting The Vibrators at The Roundhouse. The Vibrators were my favourite band, I'd been waiting to see them since the day I got the punk rock bug. The Roundhouse on a Sunday had replaced church on a Sunday for me. This was the one. The Radiators from Space were a decent band, but 999 were awesome. Nick Cash climbed up on the PA stacks, nearly toppling them on the crowd. There was so much energy and aggression in the music, that you couldn't help but be transfixed. 999 instantly became one of my favourite bands. To this day they are amazing. 

2 The Lurkers supporting Generation X at the Roundhouse. My sister Caroline got tickets for this gig from a guy called Chris at Generation X's label. I was quite pleased to see the Saints again, who were always good value for money, but the band that really made an impression were the Lurkers. I thought they were Fulhams answer to The Ramones. The music was fast and furious, just how I liked it. The band looked like a bunch of blokes from the bus stop and to me epitomised what punk rock was all about. I was desperate to get their album, but I have to admit, when I bought Fulham Fallout it made me realise that some bands were better live than on record.

3. The Rezillos supporting The Ramones at The Rainbow. This was how I ended 1977. The Ramones  performance was recorded and filmed. They were amazing as ever. But the Rezillos, a  Scottish new wave band made a huge impression. Their lead singer Faye Fife was a brilliant front person. The band were quirky and played brilliant pop songs. Their albums are well worth a listen.

4. Squeeze supporting Eddie and The Hot Rods at The Lyceum. I loved Eddie and The Hot Rods.  I knew Squeeze from 'Take me I'm yours' which had made the lower reaches of the charts. It wasn't until I saw them I realised that there was far more to them than that. They are brilliant songsmiths. I've seen them dozens of times since, but I have great memories of them from that night. An interesting footnote  was that there was real bad blood between them and The Radio Stars. During their set, The Radio Stars made repeated quips about the lack of success Squeeze were having. As I recall they even performed a song about how rubbish Squeeze were. Funny how things turned out. 

5. The Specials supporting the Damned at The Lyceum. I love The Damned. They are always one of the best live bands you will see. At the bottom of the bill, somewhat incongruously beneath The UK Subs were the Specials. There was a bit of a buzz about them, but until this point it had passed me by. As a kid, I'd loved Ska music, but it had disappeared and I'd sort of forgotten it. The Specials came on stage. There were more of them, more instruments than any band I'd seen in a long time. They were multi racial, whereas just about every punk band was white. From the first notes of the first song, I knew that they were something Special (pardon the pun). They reignited my interest in Ska music at that point. 

6. Misty in Roots supporting The Vibrators at Rock Against Racism festival in Stonebridge Park. This event seemed to pass everyone by. We turned up expecting tens of thousands of people. There were about 500. Our mates, The Ruts were playing their first gig. We'd got to know guitarist Foxy from 999, where he did a bit of Roadie work. Misty in Roots, were the main support. I quite liked Reggae and had seen a few bands, but the performance by Misty was amazing. I was absolutely transfixed. They were far more political than most Lovers Rock bands. I really liked their powerful delivery and their uncompromising stance. I couldn't find a single image of this anywhere. It was almost the Gig that time forgot. I bumped into a mate from Finchley Catholic, who had been slung out for throwing a meat cleaver at the Archery Teacher. I had also left the school and we compared notes on how unfairly we'd been treated. His gripe was that he'd missed when he threw the meat cleaver. We both sat transfixed watching Misty in Roots. He told me after that it was the moment he got reggae, which in the long run made him a lot more chilled out. 

7. Big Audio Dynamite supporting Simple Minds at Milton Keynes Bowl. I nearly didn't go to this gig at all. It was on the day England played Argentina in the World Cup, and Maradona scored the famous hand of God goal. I'd bought tickets months before. It was only because they were so expensive that I went. Clare accompanied me along with a Welsh and a Greek mate. I was vaguely aware of Mick Jones and Big Audio Dynamite, but hadn't really bothered to check them out. I'd mistakenly assumed it would be a sub Clash rehash. It was anything but. BAD became my favourite band of the 1980's. I will go as far as to say, I prefer them to The Clash. They really are the sound of West London. Hearing E=MC2 echoing out over the park was a sublime moment. It almost made up for the disappointment of losing.

8. Joe Cocker Supporting The Stevre Miller Band, Concorde, California. We are now in 2008. I was on holiday with the family and my Mum passed away unexpectedly. I'd arranged the hioliday around this gig, we'd planned it for ages, but I was devastated. The gig was they day after she passed away. I was all over the place. I've long been a fan of the Steve Miller Band. They are always brilliant, but Joe Cocker was a revealation. A wonderful night that lifted my spirits at a point when I was at my most down.

9. Kate Nash supporting The False Dots at Mill Hill Sports Club. Kate is the daughter of one of my mates. She started putting some songs together and getting a bit of interest. I suggested that she support my band, The False Dots at The Mill Hill Sports Club for a gig for MacMillan Cancer relief that I was organising. Kate's mum had had a brush with cancer and she was really keen to do it. Then she got signed and her management told her she couldn't play the gig because she had a showcase coming up and they didn't want potential fans going to a little local gig instead. Kate told them to get stuffed and brought all her family, old aunties, etc. What we saw was the star quality that would propell her to a top ten career. I admired her gutsy approach. She wanted to do the gig so she did. Six weeks after the gig, she was in the charts and on TV.

10. The Lightning Seeds supporting Madness at Sheffield. A couple of years ago I was chatting to Lee Thompson of Madness at the studios and mentioned that a friend had lost her mother recently and was very down in the dumps. Lee said that he'd put them on the guest list if I liked. As they live in Sheffield, we made our way up. The Lightning Seeds were the support. They were not a band on my radar, but  I thought they were excellent. When we got back, my friend asked me to tell Lee that it had really lifted her and it was the first time she'd had any fun for a year. Both bands were great. I've seen the Lightning Seeds a couple of times since.

Tomorrow I'm going to Ronnie Scotts to see the first gig since Last March, I can't wait, have a great weekend. 

Put me in the Spotlight !

If any of you have no plans for next Friday (June 11th) night and want to have a truly amazing night, why not head down to the Purple Turtle in Camden Town. My band, the False Dots are supporting the notorious Bollock Brothers featuring Jock Mc Donald. We'll be on stage at around 8pm.

For those of you unfamiliar with the work of Jock and his band of Brothers, they hit notoriety by releasing a version of "God Save The Queen" sung by Michael Fagin, who famously hopped over the wall of Buckingham Palace and nipped in to HM the Queens bedroom for a sherry and a chat.

We have a truly fantastic singer, Koni A, singing with us and I promise that if you don't see Koni soon with us, then you'll be seeing her at some rather larger and more expensive venues. We've just been putting the finishing touches to her first single and video and it is truly awesome. The pictures on this blog are some stills from it. It will be a fantastic night of music.

Having run a music studio for 31 years and had such great talents as Amy Winehouse  and Kate Nash pass through the doors before they were signed, I think I can say that I can spot a great talent and Koni is right up there. She is an awesome singer and when we saw the first rushes of the video, we realised she's great on the screen as well.

A few interesting customers of Mill Hill Music Complex

Guess what. I've just started a new blog. I'm sure that many people in Barnet will be think "Hasn't he got anything better to do with his time?". Well this new blog is all about what I do with my time, when I'm not banging on here. I've launched a blog for my business - Mill Hill Music Complex. We get so many interesting characters passing through that I thought it would be a great forum for keeping track of what is happening.

Anyway, here's the latest entry -

http://millhillmusiccomplex.blogspot.com/2010/05/few-interesting-customers-of-mill-hill.html

Hope you enjoy it.

A few questions I'll be asking Mike Freer on Tuesday

I'm having breakfast with Leader of Barnet Council, Mike Freer on Tuesday. He's invited me over to North London Business Park to discuss the way Barnet can help local business. I bet you're thinking "lucky old Rog T, hobbing with the knobs" and that if you write a marvellous enough blog you get special access to the Leader of Barnet Council. Well, you'd be wrong. Mike sent an invite to all of the businesses in Barnet inviting them to the same event. I suppose you'll all be yelling hypocrite at me, having criticised the "FREE DINNER CULTURE" of certain high profile Barnet Councillors, but I actually believe this type of event can be quite useful.

I speak to lots of people who run small businesses. As you may or may not know, I run one myself. I employ nine people and run a music recording, rehearsal, equipment hire and sales business. I'm very successful. Brit award winners, Amy Winehouse and Kate Nash started their careers at our studios and Kate is still a regular. We have about 1,000 musicians a week passing through. We are a supplier of services to Barnet Council, Barnet Homes and Harrow Council, although 99% of our business is private individuals.

Whilst there are many issues I'd like to raise with Mike regarding social provision in Barnet, this business breakfast isn't the forum. We are there to discuss business. I've been a good boy and I've been canvassing other small businessmen I know to find out what bugs them and what the council could do to make their companies run more smoothly. Here is a list of the things we've come up with.

1) Rates appeals. If a company's business rates are too high, there is a system of appeal, administered by Barnet Council. The process can take up to three years to resolve. The Council collects rates at the high rate until the appeal is resolved. I personally got a cheque for thousands of pounds back after my last appeal. Many firms go bust for want of this money in their cashflow. I will be asking Mike to overhaul this and set a maximum time to hear appeals of 6 months. This measure will save hundreds of jobs in Barnet.

2) Business waste collection. All businesses pay rates, which covers refuse collection. A business such as mine, produces very little and what it does produce is actually items the council can recover and sell profitably (aluminium drinks tins). Other firms have a totally different waste profile (and presumably get a better deal for their money as they produce more rubbish). Mike complained at the last Cabinet meeting about the cost of waste collection. Here's my suggestions.

a) Improve recycling operations for business waste
b) Remove waste from the business rate and charge per kilo
c) Encourage private schemes to collect waste from business, especially those which recycle valuable items

3) Future Shape. As you probably realise, I'm fundamentally opposed to the scheme for a number of reasons. As a local small businessman, the thing which greatly alarms me is that the scheme has no provision for small business and preference for local suppliers. You may say "It's a scheme to save money, why should it?". Well for a number of reasons.

a) Jobs moved out from Barnet cost the local economy money. Many of these jobs are for low paid workers and they'll move out of jobs onto the dole queue and benefits. This will cost the council money in the long run.

b) The council recieves much of it's income from local firms in the form of business rates. Why should this money be used to subsidise multi nationals at the expense of local firms.

c) Local firms have a stake in the community and as such have a vested interest in good service in a way multi nationals never will.

So what should Barnet do. Firstly they should have an online business register of every firm in the borough and what they do. Companies trading in these business areas should automatically be notified of any tenders for services which they could provide.

4. Tendering for business. The council's process is not transparent. All tenders should be published and advertised. All relevant information regarding the selection of suppliers should also be published as should the costs. Barnet Council claim that this information is commercially sensitive. This is nonsense. Firms should be able to see why they lost the bid. Council Taxpayers should be able to see why decisions were made. If firms don't want the public to know how much they charge, then they don't have to tender. I guarantee that this would deliver the single biggest saving of any measure they could possibly conceive.

The council, in my experience, never engage with local firms who could provide services (unless they are friendly with the owners, maybe?). Let me give you an example. Barnet Council have spent a fortune on renovating Canada Villa and turning it into "Rythmik Sound Studio". This provides rehearsal and recording facilities to young people aged 13-19. One of the reasons the council spent hundreds of theousands of pounds and sought lottery money, was "lack of provision locally".

This rather surprised me as my business "Mill Hill Music Complex" is less than 1 mile down the road. We have 10 fully equipped studios and have been established for 30 years. For a fraction of the cost of starting an operation from scratch, we could have provided a far superior service to the council. Did the council ask my advice as a local business who have done this for 30 years? No. You may ask when I found out about the Rythmik project? In February, when we participated in the Barnet Beat Weekend.

In principle I have no objection whatsoever to anything which improves the facilities for young people in Barnet. I don't particularly see Rythmik as competition, but for what they spent setting it up, they could have provided 10 times the amount of services at our studios. They could have also spent the money on other projects across the Borough where there really is a "lack of provision". As Rythmik are less than a mile down the road, you'd think they'd be talking to us about joint ventures. Are they? No. One of our associate companies put in a bid to Barnet to provide some courses at our studios. What happened? They were told "If you want to do that, you have to do it at Rythmik as we need to make it work". They are now in discussion with other funding providers. They have decided that Barnet are too difficult an organisation to deal with. The program will be a groundbreaking project and will deliver massive benefit to young people. The sad thing is that Barnet Council will be completely excluded, as they tried to force the development of the project down a path which was completely unsuitable.

Let me contrast the attitude of Barnet with that of Harrow Council. We've worked with Harrow for several years on the "Gig in the Park" concert. This gives young people a day out and has been developed in association with the Metropolitan Police. It has a strong anti knife crime message. As a result of our links, we were approached by the Council to assist with the setting up of a project rather similar to Rythmik. I arranged for several site visits to the project and for one of my staff to oversee the procurement of the equpment. As a result of this partnership, we were able to advise on equipment costs and have a far more professionally put together operation. They got a far better studio than they would have otherwise had. Many items which they'd hoped to procure in stage 2 were bought for stage one. They also had two qualified engineers on site to oversee the installation. This wasn't in the original budget.

I've no idea who has advised Barnet on Rythmik, but don't you think it's rather odd that they :-

a) Never sought the advice of a local business less than a mile down the road
b) Never offered a local business less than a mile down the road the opportunity to tender for any of the equipment or maintenance
c) Have never sought to engage in any joint ventures for our shared client base
d) Didn't invite us to the relaunch

Don't get me wrong, I hope Rythmik is a roaring success. After all, their client base will be our client base in a couple of years and the more people who play, the better. We fully participated in the Barnet Beat Weekend, organised by Barnet Council, with all of the other Barnet musical suppliers. I thought it was a great idea. I was just really disappointed that there was no follow up from Barnet with us, as it was clear that we staged a highly successfull day. We had a quick meeting after, I sent a couple of emails suggesting ideas and then nothing. I was especially disappointed that Rythmik never even bothered to get in touch regarding the recent Mill Hill Music Festival. We staged several events over the road at the Church. I suggested to Barnet in February that they stage something at Rythmik to coincide, for young music makers in Mill Hill. They never got back to me.

I've read the Future Shape document several times from cover to cover. It is quite clear to me from their flagship music project, that it is pie in the sky. Future Shape is all about big bucks for big business. If they treat every small business in Barnet like they treat Mill Hill Music Complex, it's no surprise that the Council Tax is so high.

Anyway, if you run a small business and want me to make any suggestions to Mike, please leave a comment.

Barnet's got talent !!!!! The Barnet Beat weekend

As some of my readers may know, I run a music rehearsal and recording studio in Mill Hill. Barnet Youth services organised the "Barnet Beat Weekend" this weekend. We were pleased to take part and we staged an open day, with various activities taking places for free at the studios. Amongst the main activities, we had Sound Skool doing a DJ skills workshop, Rock United doing one of their Rock School's and Drumsense showing off their program.

For the Sound Skool sessions, teenagers came down and were able to try Beat matching, Scratching and drop mixing. For Rock United, musicians came down, were schooled in the art of playing in a band and finished off recording a song. Drumsense explained the various programs they have on offer. We had over 50 teenagers turn up for the various activities during the day. They all seemed to enjoy the activities and it was great to see so many young people engaged in positive activities.

The program was organised by Barnet Youth Services, although we put our own program together. Lloyd Gee who organises Barnet Youth Services came down to check out the activities at the studio and told me what was going on elsewhere in the Borough.

I would say that generally Education and Youth services are one area Barnet does pretty well. The Beat Weekend had all sorts of activities at a whole host of venues. I don't know what arrangements other providers had with Barnet, but we funded all of our activities ourselves, so we weren't "being subsides" at all. I would like to see a far greater emphasis on sports and arts for young people. One of the reasons I run my business is specifically to encourage young people to participate in useful activities. I was explaining to Lloyd that many of the facilities we provide for young people we run at a loss (these being partially subsidised by other activities at the studio). In the long run I believe that these pay off as once young people become engaged with music, they stay with it and as they can afford to use other services.

I'm in a lucky position that it's my own business and I can make the rules. Nothing is more rewarding than seeing how young people can develop and flourish, when given the opportunity. Two of our customers have developed their careers at our studio and gone on to huge international acclaim. Both Kate Nash and Amy Winehouse used our facilities before they had deals. One of the best feelings was seeing Amy Winehouse on Top of the Pops for the first time, playing a guitar she'd bought from our shop the week before. Kate still uses our facilities and I think she enjoys the down to earth atmosphere we provide.

We've got a couple of other up and coming artists at the moment who I fully expect to be talked about in the same breath as Amy and Kate in a few years time. Maybe a few of the people who took part in the Barnet Beat weekend will get a taste for music or find a previously hidden talent. I sincerely hope so.

The Mill Hill Music Complex Top 10 customers

Today feels like an old fashioned Christmas holiday. The Kids are all off school, we're going tobogoning soon up at Flower Lane park. I love the snow and I love spending time playing with the kids in the snow. Even our Boxer dog is enjoying it !!!

As such, with the extra little bit of time on my hands, I thought I'd compile a little list of my top ten Mill Hill Music Complex studio customers. We have between 500 and 1,000 musicians a week through the door, so here's a pick of some of the most famous and a few notes about them. To qualify for this list you have to have had a chart hit, they are listed in a sort of Chronological order of when their association with us began.

1. The Polecats
2. The Foundations
3. Morrissey
4. The Damned
5. Amy WineHouse
6. Madness
7. Kate Nash
8. Eddie Floyd
9. David Soul
10. The Black Kids

1. The Polecats
Our very first paying customers back in 1979. Boz and Phil were at Orange Hill School with me and they needed a place to rehearse. Still good mates with them all.


2. The Foundations
Alan Warner is an old friend. We recorded our first few demo's in his studio (as did the Polecats!). A great guy and a great band.


3. Morrissey
As Boz Boorer is Moz musical director, much pre production of various albums has been done with us. A true genius.


4. The Damned
As I'm a punk rocker and the Damned released the very first Punk single "New Rose", it was a real buzz to hear this blasting out of room 7. Nice guys


5. Amy WineHouse
Amy rehearsed with us for the year or so before she went big time. She's lovely. When she received her first big cheque from the record company, she marched into the shop and said "wrap that blue guitar up for me" When we asked if she wanted to try it, she said "No I trust you" - three weeks later she was playing it on Top of the Pops.


6. Madness
Lee Thompson is a long standing customer and a great guy. He did a charity gig for me last year, where we raised £3,000 for the MacMillan Trust and Teenage Cancer Trust. Threw his heart and soul into it and sorted out the venue.


7. Kate Nash
Kate is very special. Her dad Steve is a good mate of mine and we sold Kate her first Electric guitar, when she had a broken leg. She still comes down. She's down to earth, looks after her friends and loves her family. She was in the reception chatting to me about her dad's bad leg before Xmas. When she went back to the rehearsal another customer remarked "She looks just like Kate Nash". No airs and graces at all !!!


8. Eddie Floyd
Flew in from the States, had a three hour jam with his band and then immediately set off on a 21 date UK tour. It was great to hear "Knock on Wood" blasting out. Nice guy.


9. David Soul
David came down to a rehearsal with his girlfriends band, who he was doing some singing with. Posed for pictures with all sorts of people. A real gent. Of all our customers, he's the one who EVERYONE instantly recognises.


10. The Black Kids
Flew in from the states and rehearsed with us for two weeks before their first UK tour. A nice bunch. It was great seeing them on the Jonathan Ross Show the day after their slot finished.


Not a bad little list. A good smattering of world wide hits, Brit awards etc. Some days I enjoy going to work !!!!!

Why does the Daily Mail hate women?

Sometimes I read something and I just have to respond. Some things are just so completely out of order that they cannot be let pass without comment. There are many things I dislike, but pretty near the top of the list is the Daily Mail. There are many things I don't like about the Daily Mail, but the way it portrays women is disgusting.

I can remember spending an evening discussing the awful rag with sadly missed cousin, film director Midge MacKenzie. The highlight of Midge's career was the BBC drama "Shoulder to Shoulder" about the suffragette movement. Midge was a self made woman, who started her life sharing a bed with my mum (her auntie) in a run down Oldham slum. She was sent to Dublin during the war, to escape the bombings and started her career as a secretary in an advertising agency. By the time I was old enough to appreciate her she was an established director and amongst other things set up the Sheffield Film festival. Midge had a great intellect and a way of seeing things as they were. That is one reason why Director John Huston chose her to make the last documentary about his life.

Over a bottle of wine a few years ago, I happened to mention my dislike of the Daily Mail. She spent the next hour explaining how disgusting the paper was and how it had done more damage to women and their self esteem than everything else put together. She explained how the Mail's agenda was aimed at keeping women suppressed and concerned about their appearance, rather than their rights and their careers. Midge explained that the Mail had a systematic editorial policy of ridiculing anyone who didn't confirm to their view of a perfect woman (ie a stay at home mum lovingly kowtowing to their husband).

I'd fogotten this conversation until just now. I got an email from my sister with a clip from the Mail concerning Kate Nash. Now my sister has lived in Florida for the last 30 years. She's married to an eminent retired doctor, once responsible for the emergency health care provision for the US senate. A couple of years ago, whilst visiting, she came with her husband to watch a gig I was promoting for MacMillan Cancer relief. The support act was a then unknown Kate Nash. Kate is the daughter of one of my best friends. She put on a storming show at the Mill Hill Jazz Club, donating all her fees to charity. Within a few months she was number 1.

My sister has followed Kate's career from afar and sent me a clip from todays Daily Mail online entitled "Spotty Kate Nash Braves the Cameras". This disgusting little story shows a blown up picture of Kate's face with a spot on it. The audacity of the girl.

Well I'm sorry Daily Mail, 21 year old girls get spots. It is normal. To put a story like that in you paper just shows what a bunch of lowlifes you are. What message are you sending to girls? Don't go out unless you are perfect. What will my 13 year old daughter think if she has acne? She'll think she's disgusting. She'll feel undermined. She'll feel worried. To be honest, this story makes me sick.

Well Kate, we're four square behind you. It would make more than a few spots before you were anything other than fantastic. You have talent, unlike the cowardly Daily Mail reporter who didn't even have the guts to put his name on his masterpiece.

I'm sorry to say that I had almost forgotten my conversation with my amazing inspirational cousin. I just wish the thing that made me recall it was something more inspiring than that horrible little story in the awful rag.