My kinda ‘Blue’

I was just contemplating what to write about when out of the stereo sprang Joni Mitchell’s dulcet tones, the ‘Blue’ album to be exact…….what an amazing record for a glorious November morn. I think the sextarians today are sounding as fresh as they ever did……..oh,hang on a minute while I listen to the title track. She’s still my favorite female singer of all time, and probably responsible for my voice breaking….. I couldn’t maintain that falsetto in the bath for too long! I think it maybe it happened on ‘This flight tonight’…..????

There was a timeless quality in the writers of the sixties, maybe there was something in the water. It forever makes me appreciate what a remarkable time it was for music and how every time I would turn on the radio something new and exciting would be there just waiting to be heard.The disc jockeys too back then genuinely enthused about the stuff they were played, they sounded believable! Pirate radio was rebel radio, there has never been anything like it since…..I’ll come back to that one.

Hearing all that great music makes me wish I still had my record collection, then I start to think sensibly, a rarity in itself………..where on earth would they go? I used to be able to dedicate an entire room to vinyl, first it was a basement in my office in Cheshire where I’d be surrounded on all sides by rack upon rack of vintage gems! Then if I moved house I’d be looking at a room fit for my library before I ever checked out what the kitchen and bathrooms were like. Eventually though it ended up as a room I would visit, I’d call in to see how my records were doing…..pull them out from the shelves and look at them, touch them, smile at them.They became my extended family until one day that was it, get rid….and I did.

I’m not alone though, most of my friends felt ‘that was then and this is now’ They were a period in time and in my new minimalist phase I couldn’t be doing with living in a record store anymore. I remember once when I was moving a friend of mine saying ‘Well you won’t be having a house warming party then will you……..there’s nowhere to stand’

Something I don’t miss about record collecting though is that nerdy element. I would buy any album that had certain people on….. never expecting that sometimes they turned up on crap records!! I used to think I needed every piece of work they did……..like hell I did! Enough, I’m drifting back in to my collecting phase again…been there.

Filed under: About Tony Michaelides, Joni mitchell, record collecting, tony michaelides

Plastic Fantastic

I pulled up and into a meter bay right outside the front door of Granada, banged in a couple of coins and marched my band The Plastics, or two Plasticos to be exact up to reception.’Tony Michaelides and The Plastics here to see Tony Wilson..Thanks.’ The lady buzzed through to the studio and within a minute Carol, one of the ‘What’s on’ crew came through to meet us and take us down to studio. The show was just about to begin and we had about 20 minutes so I nipped them in to make up just for a quick polish and then we’d be right as rain, at least that’s what I thought. They both were fine looking specimens so I didn’t reckon they needed much of a ‘face repair.’….. I was lucky I wasn’t there with Steve Tyler or any number of road warriors,might have taken a tad longer! Everything was fairly rushed, obviously but all the time they were smiling and happy to be lead along by anxious little plugger man, notably me!

Tony was introducing a couple of items to camera and while we stood waiting in the wings we were informed that in two minutes they’d cut to a filmed item and that was our cue….we’d then be taken us on to the set for the interview and miked up. They looked very excited and were whispering to each other and giggling in what appeared mild Japanese flirtatious behavior.’Let’s go’ came the cry and on we danced.

The studio floor assistant clipped a couple of microphones on their lapels, Tony smiled at them, someone shouted ’30 seconds left’ then ’15’ and ‘go!’ I eased a sigh of relief, I knew ‘What’s on’ had the video because even in the mayhem I’d phoned ahead to check and as we were there on time no one need know how close we’d come to disaster. Tony voiced a link in to their current video, mentioned where the band would be playing and actually held up the sleeve of the single. Brilliant, much more of a plug for a relatively unknown act than I ever could have expected so I was more than happy. ‘ 30 seconds’ again came the cry, this time until the end of the video.’ ………’And action !’

Tony back announced the video made a mildly humorous comment, mentioned the forthcoming gig once more and The Plastics were on, LIVE ! ‘In the studio tonight I’m delighted to have singer Chica and guitarist Hajime from Japan’s latest sensation, The Plastics making their debut on UK television…..Welcome guys and thanks for popping in’. ‘Hello, Hi’ they uttered back through smiling, excitable grins and shiny white teeth’

‘ So what do you think of Manchester, have you had any time to look round yet?’ Tony spouted. There was a gap, probably 10 seconds , felt like an hour for me…they glanced at each other, Chica smiled and Hajime said ‘I like Beatle’ Pause, another gap, though not quite as long and Tony asked them a question about the album…..not a clue what, I just remember it was another question, another gap and again an even better smile from Chica. Hajime once again uttered ‘I like Beatle’ What the fuck, you like Beatle I was thinking…..who cares, what has that got to do with anything????

There was another gap, you couldn’t blame him but Tony expected something to follow on from ‘I like Beatle’ Nothing, not a soddin’ thing. He glanced over at me looking confused in the wings and like the complete pro he was said ‘Great video, let’s see a little more.’ ….and out from the director’s box they cut to the video……again???

We were the final item on the show so they played out with the video, Tony unclipped his microphone and headed straight towards me. ‘ Absolute classic!……..only you could bring a band in who couldn’t speak a word of fuckin’ English’

Filed under: View from the room, Granada TV, The Plastics, tony michaelides, tony wilson

The passing of a remarkable man

I just received a call from Neil with the very sad news that one of our former Island colleagues, Rob Partridge had passed away. Rob was one of the finest human beings ever to have graced the music industry and an engine room giant, yet his greatest quality was that he was an ‘all round good bloke.’ There will be many people in many places mourning yet at the same time fondly remembering someone who made an impact on everyone. I’m not alone in saying I was proud to have known him.

Rob had many qualities not least of all his humility. Most of you reading this won’t know who he was and that’s a shame. He was a hugely talented PR blessed with remarkable communication skills and someone adept at identifying and nurturing talent. I can imagine the impact his death will have had on so many artists from U2 to Tom Waits from just reading the tributes Johnny Marr and Marianne Faithful have already offered. Marianne said he was one of the greatest men she had ever met, Billboard referred to him as a PR giant. Words could never serve to do him justice, he was a very special human being.

Rob was the first person to spot the talent that was U2 and gave his employer Island Records the heads up, yet he was never one to gloat over it. I often wonder if U2 would have gone on to become what they are today without Island and especially without Rob Partridge. He had a unique ability when it came to dealing with artists, he took time to understand them and they in turn loved working with him.

The last time I saw him was maybe 10 years ago yet but when I read the tributes and e-mails and see his picture it’s like I’m there in his front room and he’s defending his dedication to Queens Park Rangers like only Rob could……and always there at his side his wonderful and loving wife Tina. A remarkable half of a remarkable whole.

I’m not the only one who will miss him and look forward to the day someone walks on to a stage to receive the Rob Partridge Lifetime Achievement Award.

Filed under: Journey Through The Past, PR, View from the room, Island Records, Johnny Marr, Marianne Faithful, Rob Partridge, U2

It’ll be alright on the night…I think.

I gently eased the car window down as the cold misty weather collided with my foggy breath. I tried to attract Lady Mercedes’ attention but no joy, she was still singing along to her little Wailer and Jammin.’…somehow I don’t think Bob had traffic jams in mind when he wrote this! The traffic was at a standstill so I kept looking across trying to attract her attention when suddenly she caught my eye, ‘fuh own’ I mouthed. I said it a couple of times as she started to look more confused and then started to frown, even scowl. …Oh my God !!! I just realized how mouthing ‘fuh’ must have looked. What now??? I panicked and started circling my wrist around my ear giving the impression of an old fashioned dial…either that or I was winded my head up…. I might as well have been. Well I mean how do you mouth asking someone if you can borrow their cell phone to make a call.

All the time I was digging myself a deeper hole. I took the plunge, braved everything and did what I should have done from the beginning…I climbed out of the car praying she didn’t have a gun and shoot me on the assumption I was about to attack her…..Lord knows I deserved it. She was very brave and left the car window open. ‘I’m so sorry do you think I could borrow your phone, I only have a TV remote’ What kind of a dumb ass thing was that to say! Now what? ‘I mean I accidentally picked up my TV remote this morning instead of my phone’ It inadvertently turned in to an icebreaker and she pissed herself laughing. I had regained my throne as a complete wanker!

‘You did what?’ she chuckled. I went in to the explanation of being in a hurry to get out.. blah blah, whatever, she let me use her phone, I was spared further humiliation. I called the hotel and asked them to put me through their room …for those that missed the beginning of the story, go back to the last two blogs and pick it up there…I’m not repeating myself because you couldn’t be bothered to be there sooner. No answer from the room, I asked the receptionist to page them..nothing. Oh shit , I have a live TV to do at 6pm and it was getting desperately close. I didn’t call Granada TV, I didn’t dare, I had to make it on time. Even without an answer from them at the hotel I just prayed I’d get there and they’d be waiting ……and hope and hope that this nightmare would be over.

Fortune prevailed and 10 minutes after I’d called the traffic started to move. I thanked my lady in red (Mercedes) waved and left her in a trail of exhaust fumes. She probably thought I was a posing dickhead, I just knew I was late and sped off to the hotel. I arrived at the Britannia illegally early, parked outside on double yellow lines and prayed they were there… and low and behold there they were in the lobby listening to their Walkmans. I gasped a sigh of relief, I needed a pee but I wasn’t having one….well not voluntarily anyway !

We hadn’t met before but ‘Hi, let’s go’ did the trick as I marched them to the car which was parked outside the front door. The trip to Granada was less than 5 minutes the way I was driving and for the entire journey all I did was prattle on about why I was late and how lousy the weather had been. 8 minutes later we were there, just in time.

Filed under: About Tony Michaelides, Granada TV, tony michaelides

Lady in red…Mercedes

It was starting to get late, I looked at the car clock and it was 4-30pm. I was supposed to be at The Britannia Hotel in 10 minutes to pick up my band and I was still 30 minutes away, better call them. I reached in to my inside pocket for my mobile phone…SHIT! in the haste to make an early start that morning I’d picked up the TV remote instead of my phone, damn now what?

Everything on both sides of the motorway was at a standstill, the traffic was going nowhere. I glanced out of the car window and noticed a very nice lady in a beautiful old red Mercedes sports alongside me in the outside lane, not looking too stressed and hastily applying her make up…..from what I saw she didn’t need any and when I saw a mobile phone on the seat beside her that was it, I was in love! No I wasn’t going to steal it but could I just borrow it to make a call? I was in the middle lane, luckily she hadn’t spotted me staring at her gently stroking lipstick on to her luscious, pouting……OH SHUT UP !!! Then she stopped and started to puck her lips. That was it, we were already on a deserted island together and she was wafting me with a giant palm whilst feeding me strawberries out of her cleavage. Damn wrong again, it was pissing down with rain, bleak and foggy on the M62 and I was probably surrounded by Leeds United supporters. I checked for traces of ‘Man United scum’ scarves, rattles, mugs, jerseys anything that would alert a baying mob. Not a popular choice of club the other side of ‘The Hills’…..

I instinctively glanced over to see what my alternative was in the inside lane, secretly hoping it was a some old hippie with a headband, rolling papers, some beads and a Grateful Dead album who hadn’t even noticed the seventies let alone the eighties and wouldn’t know about mobile phones unless he could drop in a piece of Lebanese hash and take a toke. I was just looking for someone to make my choice of phone begging easier…but it was even better than that, a sweet elderly couple who, first of all would never have had a cell phone and secondly I didn’t dare risk frightening, albeit my intentions being good. I was back to Lady Mercedes. By now the lip gloss was on but luscious lips were busy mouthing the lyrics to what seemed like Jammin’ by Bob Marley?? I edged my window down ever so slightly to check……….brilliant it was! I had an ‘in’… he was one of my artists. OK pretty lame I admit but that’s my type of logic, it gave a me an opportunity to communicate.

Filed under: About Tony Michaelides, Journey Through The Past, lady in red, tony michaelides

It’s grim up north…

The idea of regional promotion tours were to help create awareness for the artist and more often than not they did. You would take artists in to do radio interviews, there would be an opportunity to meet the radio folks, the odd lunch, a drink here and there and then when you went back in to try and get their record played they’d be able to put a face to the name……….it didn’t guarantee you’d get on the playlist but it didn’t do any harm either.

The same principle didn’t really apply to television because the first time they usually met the act was when they were on camera. Although I made some great friends in television over the years Granada was always my favorite TV station. In the 70’s and 80’s they had an amazing bunch of people working there, all very talented but equally great to deal as well. When I first started plugging, Tony Wilson was one of those guys. It was very important for me to try and get my acts on ‘What’s on’ which was part of Granada Reports, the local news show which he presented. I had a fair amount of success, he’d done U2, The B2’s, Eddie and the Hot Rods, Grace Jones etc for me but this time round I’d sold him on the idea of Japan’s equivalent to The B52’s, a zany outfit called The Plastics.

I’d given Tony their album and we’d agreed they looked the part, a lovely lead singer called Chica and her partner, main man and guitarist Hajime Tachibana……he’d have them in, a short interview followed by a clip of their video, it would look great and do wonders to promote the upcoming show.The press they were getting was good but there was nothing like TV for whetting people’s appetite. I thanked Tony and went ahead arranging to fly them up to Manchester for the appearance.

The day arrived, they had flown up the night before and the plan was to collect them at the hotel late afternoon……perfect, it gave me time to drive over the Pennines to Yorkshire, get a few things done and still be back by 5pm. I did what I had to do and headed back to Manchester. I remember it well, it was a lousy day, the mist had descended and there were a couple of nasty pile ups on the stretch of the motorway that took me over the moors. It looks bleak up there at the best of times, that day it looked like a scene from Hound of the Baskervilles. I was sure Sherlock Holmes and the good doctor would emerge from the fog, maybe they’d offer me a lift. Even if they had, the weather was that bad I probably would have mistaken them for Gollum or a couple of Trolls and run a mile. By now the dark was descending to make everything totally ethereal. I hit the play button on the cassette, I had recorded one of my favorite radio shows the previous night, I couldn’t believe it, Jim Morrison was singing ‘The End’

‘This is end, beautiful friend, the end.’ I believed him, eerily I left the cassette playing and Jim kept reminding me…….

Filed under: Journey Through The Past, View from the room, Granada TV, Jim Morrison, The Plastics, tony wilson

Reasons to be cheerful

I was ready for a road story but I changed my mind. In fact I changed my mind again so I will do it,
just not now. It’s my prerogative deal with it!……..unless I change my mind then I’ll deal with it.

I awoke fresh as a daisy and thrust myself in to the day, then I sat down to read my e-mails and decided on a change of plan. I looked at my blog and was about to start to ramble and rant when I noticed it had gone beserk in the last 24 hours thanks to the wonders of Alpha Inventions, an ingenious idea by a bright young chap where your blogs are posted in blogosphere for all to see….it’s a kind of cyber sighting for random writing.

Yesterday got a little manic so I didn’t get to post anything which is unusual for me. I’ve decided to clear out my clutter……. which should see me left with near nothing. It’s all become very exciting though, crap I ‘think’ I acquired for a reason has become redundant….and it only took me 20years to realize it. Then again I was never one to reason with reason, what seemed unreasonable then seems reasonable now. Everything for a reason, eh. Cars, clothes, gadgets , furniture……..out with the old, in with very little! I will soon be able to dance nimbly on tiptoes without falling over my Lion King slippers, broken electrical devices that I never did get round to fixing and every other equally useless object which I acquired for a ‘reason.’ How many times have I threatened to get rid but……. there was alway a reason not to. I’m still trying to work out how I ever justified this to myself, how I explained it all away. I must have had a reason. It’s just me and Batman left with the one suit now.

So now that I have applauded myself over clutter clarification I’m adopting that as a life philosophy, have what you need not what you think you need to have. Simplifying is good, I’m a good simple Tone.

Filed under: About Tony Michaelides, clutter

On the road again and again and again…..

Going on the road with artists to do regional promotion tours used to be so much fun….occasionally you might get the less than inspiring rock n roller, but at least it made you aware that that was the last time you were taking them anywhere ! In their desperation for ‘promotion, any promotion’ some product managers would tell you anything……..by the way, product managers are the people at the record companies who, for better or worse ‘manage the product’ notably the artists and their releases….what to do with them and how to do it.They each have several acts and they look after the day to day marketing, press , promotion etc of those acts and liasing with all the different departments at HQ. They are subjected to the wrath of irate managers and as soon as they get any shit they get on the phone and bark at someone else……usually us, the promo people. It’s a kind of product manager therapy but it didn’t take long for us to become immunized!

If an artist manager thought they didn’t see enough activity from the record company, and it’s their job to make sure something does happen for the act they represent then they would bark and scream at varying levels to usually the product manager. At the highest level a very influential manager may call the President directly to complain and they in turn might just sack the culprit so they could get on with the rest of their day…..anything that required the least amount of sorting out usually involved sacking someone.

If a release was struggling at getting any national interest ie national radio play or network TV then it was assumed that regional activity would happen….never did quite work that one out. We would get ‘the call’ not asking, consulting or seeking advice ..we would just be told we needed to put a regional promo tour together. It didn’t matter if the record was badly received they just needed to show the manager something was happening. In turn I’d get on the phone call some radio stations tell them what was required and make it happen, irrespective of whether I thought it made any sense or would have any effect on the record………and we wonder how record companies pissed it all away.

I had made a lot of good friends in regional radio and TV so it was always good to see them anyway and after the work was done we’d go out and have some fun. Pleasurable yes, productive from a professional standpoint, not always. Naturally when you had a new artist like Massive Attack, Neneh Cherry, Natalie Imbruglia, U2 who had killer debut singles you were only too happy to take them out on a promo tour, but those decisions should always be left to those that know, who’s job it was to identify what was the best way to promote the act they had entrusted in you. Common sense really, why would you employ anyone if you didn’t think they had the ideas and could do the job?

Filed under: record companies, plugging records, record pluggers, regional promotion

Weather beaten

Brrrrr it’s been a little frisky round here and not in a ‘luuuuuuuuuuurve’ Barry White kind of way. I’m currently under a wind chill advisory…well not me personally, we all are and in the northern counties they have a freeze warning.! I’m a hardened Mancunian when it comes weather…or at least I thought I was. Yesterday was so exciting, not only did I have socks on but a jacket AND a woolly hat. I was late leaving the house because I felt the need to share the experience with my friends in the UK……..I was genuinely excited and they thought I was taking the piss. It’s sad, we used to share so much and now my temperature crisis seems to be of no concern to them.Where are people when you need them the most, where is the love, where is the warmth?

Today I’m undecided, I have no idea which socks I should wear, is it to be the same hat, what about the feet? The flip flops lie in a corner, sad and neglected…….I feel bad, no one needs to treated that way. We’ve been through so much together and now they feel rejection…..they feel that my affections lie elsewhere, that I crave for a fully bodied shoe. Once again I need my friends, what can you honestly say to footwear that feels this way? I just wish they would call, make me feel that I’m not going through this alone. Maybe it’s a mid feet crisis but I need to get this out of my system…..I know we’ll be back together soon and yet I do understand when my flip flops tell me they give me all the space I need.

I don’t think I’ll discuss the weather with people back home anymore, they have their own crosses to bear… I know only too well. Nevertheless, my ex, Marie (no not marine!) arrives today with my husband in law Rob and once more it’ll be the topic of conversation……’we’ve been saving up for this for so long and it’s cold!’ Like it’s my dam fault!!

I used to think it was only the British who had a fascination with the weather but now I feel it’s a multi national obsession. Here you’ll sit around in 95 degree courtyard bistros and celebrate another hurricane skirting past you…then it’s back to the TV to watch the weather forecast and wait for the next advisory from the hurricane center in Miami. In hurricane season, a mere 5 months!… you get them every couple of hours, and boy do you need them……global warming and the whole ‘world gone mad’ weather changing patterns means there’s no avoiding it.

In spite of all this, today I actually felt like I got dressed! Living here in the sunshine state I share the same wardrobe as Robinson Crusoe with the exception that my loin cloths are probably slighlity ‘dressier’. Here my caps , hats and numerous chapeaus are donned for a different reason, to help protect my dome…..and to help preserve my Adonis look, never easy as the years advance. Hey, but what the hell Adonis is a lot older and he always got good press.

I’m off to brave the elements….elementary, my dear Watson. Full report to follow

Filed under: About Tony Michaelides, View from the room, tony michaelides

Days of future past

Factory Records started life at 86 Palatine Road in the Manchester surburb of West Didsbury. They set up shop in the second floor flat of co founder Alan Erasmus where they remained for the best part of the next decade. They had a vision, they wanted to put out good records…..a vision much the same as their fellow independents Mute and 4AD. I always loved that philosophy of label heads back then who wanted to release records they would be proud to have in their own record collection. It’s easy to enthuse about something you genuinely love and esoteric at times their tastes were, Factory always were true to that. It was the template on which Chris Blackwell built Island Records and one he carried through until the end when indulgences like that became too overbearing.

In 1979 I was working for Island myself as their regional promotions guy and visiting Piccadilly Radio in Manchester as one of my ports of call. After I’d been in to palatine Road to see Tony Wilson there a few times I got to know the girls who worked there and starting popping in once, maybe twice a week for a coffee. There was Lesley who ran the office and later went on to marry Rob Gretton, New Order’s manager and fellow Factory fellow! Tracey and Lindsay also worked there too and it became a great place to go and hang out for a while. Lindsay was also Tony’s ex wife (1st ex that is…) so the whole office was quite a family affair. Alan would be in there from time to time and it’s where I first met people like James’ Tim Booth, Donald Martin from A Certain Ratio, Hooky and any number of Factory band members. It was a kind of club where people came and went…..I knew that because years later when I had my own offices in Manchester it became a stopping off place for bands to pop in and raid my cupboards for CD’s!

I used to see Tony regularly at Granada where he was a presenter/journalist or down at Factory HQ so I got to know him quite well. He would interview the bands I’d be working like The B52’s, Eddie and the Hot Rods, Steel Pulse and more notably a whacky Japanese outfit from Japan called The Plastics. In fact they were around and touring the UK quite soon after The B52’s and were a kind of Japanese version of them,only a little stranger! We’ll save that story for next time.

Filed under: Journey Through The Past, record companies, Alan Erasmus, B52's, Factory Records, Granada TV, Hooky, James, Rob Gretton, The Plastics, Tim Booth