Saturday, 10 May 2025

The Saturday list #483 - My top ten tips for running a successful band!

 Having played with The False Dots for 46 years as band leader, having played at most of the best clubs and pubs in London as well as playing in Europe, I have a little bit of experience of running a band. I've also run Mill Hill Music Complex music studios since the band started and I've seen all manner of bands come and go. I've watched some artists start and rise to the top, whilst others, who may well have been more talented, have never really taken off. When we started, our mates, The Polecats, who I was at school with got a deal and were on Top of The Pops, inspiring us all to believe that we could 'make it'.

So what do you need to do to have a successful band? Well here are my top ten tips for aspiring band leaders.

1. Decide what you want your band to achieve and set clear goals and put a plan together to get there. I have mentored many artists over the years. The first question I always ask is "where do you want your career to take you?". Probably 75% say the same thing. "We want to get a deal and have hit records". It may surprise you if I say that this is one of the easiest things in the world to do. All you have to do is have at least one song that is a surefire hit (great beat, catchy hooks, etc), which has a vibe which is in tune with current music tastes, an image that is compelling and something unique that sets you apart from the crowd. If you have all of these, then the goal is achievable, but you have to play the game. It always amazes me how many artists who aspire to great things, don't have the basic building blocks to achieve it. So be honest, look at what you actually have and work out how yiu can build on this.

2. Choose the right people for your band. The reason why 99% of bands fail to get off the ground is because the members do not share a common purpose or commitment. If you want to "make it" ou have to pretty much accept that it will take 2-3 years to get established and for that period, the band has to be 100% your full focus in life. Relationships, careers, holidays,etc  cannot be part of the plan. You have to spend your time writing, rehearsing, gigging, recording and networking and you all have to be committed to it. If the band are going our for a drink, go to places where other musicians hang out. Time spent in your local is time wasted and you really don't have time. Bear in mind, if the band takes off, you will be stuck with these people for the next couple of years. If they get on your nerves, it won't end well. Choose the right people.

3. Keep writing new material and study how to structure and compose music so that you get the best out of your ideas. Ultimately, success in music is all about having great music. No band has ever made it without having great tunes. Having quirky ideas is as compelling as having brilliant melodies, if you look at British music, some artists have great natural musical talent and tunefulness, such as The Beatles, Amy Winehouse, etc. Other such as Ian Dury, The Clash and the Rolling Stones,have a spikier talent and quirkyness that grabbed attention. Play to your strengths. The one thing all have is brilliant material and a compelling delivery.

4. Build a good team around your band. Once you start seriously gigging, you will need help. Getting gear to gigs, promoting the band, producing your tracks to bring the best out of them and emotional support, when things don't go well are really important. I mentioned the Polecats at the start. Tim, the singer, had a Dad Barry, who was a plumber and had a van. He would drive the band around the country and became their manager. Such people are the lifeblood of aspiring bands. My band had a mate called Emil, who'd lend us his VW camper van and another mate called Dermot, who drove it and didn't drink! Such people are diamonds.

5. Don't be disheartened when things go wrong. The reason that the False Dots are still going after 46 years (and I think making better music than ever), is that when things go wrong, we pick ourselves up off the floor and step back in the ring. Several times, absolutely key members would leave, just as we thought we'd crack it. You can't get disheartened. If you believe in what you are doing, just treat it as experience. 

6. If things aren't working, be honest with yourself as to why. The biggest mistake bands make is to delude themselves as to why they are unsuccessful and the plan isn't working. Bands are the best at blami ng everything else for their problems. The labels, gig promoters, etc. I've heard the same old stories time and time again. Then I hear the music the band are playing and it is obvious. Generally it is because the songs bands make are simply too self indulgent. One of the biggest mistakes bands make is to try and look cool, writing highly pretentious nonsense, rather than songs that connect with people. They all slap each other on the back, celebrating their own brilliance, then the songs simply don't find an audience. One artists said to me, back in the 1990's that they couldn't understand the success of The Smiths, with their miserable lyrics. The answer is simple, many people connected with the emotions Morrissey shared. When I analysed the artists lyrics, effectively the songs were all "Look at me, I am cool, I am wonderful, aren't I great". The tunes were decent jangly pop, but it was was impossible to connect with. The artist absolutely refused to recognise that his was the problem. Needless to say, they never acheived success.

7. Understand the dynamics of gigging. Gigging is the most important stepping stone to success. But there are rules. If you don't play enough gigs, you will never get anywhere. If you play too many, at the same place, you will saturate and lose your audience. I'd recommend not playing the same venue more than 4-5 times a year. When you do a gig, always have another one to announce in the locality if possible, but make it 6-8 weeks apart. When you are building a following, there are two things to do. The first is to play free to enter gigs at venues that people actually go to. The second is to get good support slots at recognised venues. The second is better, but the first is more attainable. Different rules apply if you are a covers band, playing for cash. What you want then is a regular circuit of paying gigs. I've never really done that, so I can't offer too much advice, beyond see what pubs are doing live music and hassle them for gigs. I'd recommend checking out the bands playing there, and seeing what goes well. 

8. Have a social media strategy. You won't get anywhere without social media. They say that people need seven social media engagements for things to sink in. Posts have to be engaging and eye catching. Building a following on social media platforms takes time and there is no easy fix. But there are a few good cheats. Follow similar acts, like their posts and comment. This will, eventually, draw attention to your band. 

9. Make your media clips interesting and ensure there is an attractive narrative. One of the biggest mistakes bands make is to put boring, bland videos of the band up, that have dodgy sound quality, with a bland message, such as "Us playing a cover at the Dog and Duck last night". Half the time, it puts more people off the band than it gets to come. It is always worth investing in some coloured lights, so your videos look better and make sure the sound quality is good. Try and make the text sound exciting, so "Last night, everyone went crazy when we played Freebird at The Dog and Duck" is more likely to get a view.

10. Have a strong 'brand identity' for your band. Think of all the good things about your band, all of the USP's, what you sing about, what style of music you play, what you look like and your name. Make sure that when people engage, you've done everything you can to ensure they remember you. Try and make sure that when you take to the stage, you look different to all of the other bands. 

As someone who has been running a band for 46 years, I look back on our career. There have been many phases. I thougght I'd finish this blog just listing how we progressed

1978-79 - We spent this period tring to put a band together and write songs. Our aim until Fen 1979, was simply to have a band we could rehearse with. Once we acheived that, the aim was to get a set together. It all imploded in Spetember 79, but we restarted in December.

1980-82 - This was all about getting the band gigging. We recorded demo's, toured Scandinavia and built up from playing local pubs, to better venues in London. 

1983-84 - This was all about trying to get a record deal. We got close, but the industry didn't want a band fronted by a black female singer. We didn't fit. It all imploded in September. Here's a video of what the labels didn't like!


1985 - This was about rebuilding and getting back gigging. We ended the year playing in Belgium.

1986-87 - The less said about this period the better. We had a singer who wanted to make us a covers band earning money. It was a miserable period./

1988-90 - This was mostly about just playing gigs for the fun of it. We'd lost our spark, but we did a few decent gigs.

1990-2001 - I was doing other things, paying the mortgage and having kids. 

2001-2009 - We rediscovered our love of gigging. That was always what it was about. We did a  couple a locally.

2009-2011 - Much to my amazement, we enlisted a brilliant singer Connie AB, wrote a new set and started playing Camden Town again. As with 1984, we were scuppered by industry racism. Here' a video of Connie singing with us.



2012 -2019 - Allen Ashley, who sang with the band in 1985,  rejoined and we returned to playing local gigs and festivals for the fun of it. We also recorded an albums worth of songs, but the pandemic meant we didn't get around to releasing it.

2021-Present. Allen left and I started singing. The band returned to what I wanted when I first set it, playing Ska/Pop/Punk tracks with a Madness/Ian Dury tone. We started playing back in Camden etc and I rediscovered my love of making music and showing off in front of an audience. What is our aim? To have as much fun as possible and see where the road leads us. Here is an example of our work!

For me, the band was always about gigging and playing our own stuff, to as many people as we can. I feel blessed to have had so much fun and work with such wonderful people over the years! 



The False Dots next gig


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