The Best of Christmas

When I was a salesman reaching targets were never a problem, people buying music loved music and the people selling music loved music. Customers would go to their favorite store and talk to the people behind the counter before they bought anything, they’d compare notes and ask their advice on what they thought was worth buying. They loved the touch and feel of an album, they loved giving and they loved receiving. Music gave us all immense pleasure, people looked forward to buying records. They loved everything about music.

When the Christmas period came the industry would gleefully rub it’s hands together…..time to repackage the hell out of anything and everything. They relished the prospect, they knew the public had no option and would have to spend. They loved music and the music business loved their money.

It was a dream come true, pennies from heaven. If sales dipped a little in the summer then this would more than compensate. It was never ‘will Christmas be good?’ ….just how good. Normally there would be at least one major act with a new release scheduled, sometimes they would even hold back a release until the last quarter just to maximize sales. TV advertising, deals with bands and less royalties to pay out, no recording costs, sling in an unreleased track so the fan base would have to buy it. How to get as much as possible from as many people and as quickly as possible. Happy Christmas! If they were still unsure then there was the record token market ensuring Christmas didn’t end until the end of January. Record shops never needed to have sales in January, there were still people ready to buy.

The Greatest Hits became the Best of, then the Very best of…. all we need to do is move the track listing around, give it another title and we’ll be OK. How many of the same album by major artists are out there? Marketing people gone wild. What happened to the integrity of the artist? Yes there would be a requirement to deliver a greatest hits in their deal, but three, four, five of them ?? …and all the same record just packaged in a different way.I can understand a different sleeve for a different market but the same record with a different sleeve several times over?

Maybe it just became a greedy business. Greed creating greed. The greed hasn’t gone, it’s just the desperation that has set in.

Filed under: Journey Through The Past, record companies, greatest hits, record companies, record stores

Where did you go to my lovely..

With the New Year barely upon us you can but wonder what is in
store for the record business…..mmmm, records and stores, you don’t hear those two words together much nowadays. One thing is painfully obvious is that record sales continue to drop year after year and together with the miserable state of the economy you wonder if even the mergers of the last few years will make any difference to an industry in free fall…….an industry in free fall in an economy that isn’t going to save them. I can’t see the government being there to bail the record industry out of a hole largely of their own boring!

Dismal, maybe even closed for business is the sign in many record company doorways for this year…..and who will pull them out of this mess? Once you could have said ‘the next big thing’ but where is that coming from in an industry that cares much for the moment and has long passed on the longevity of the artist. They have passed on artist development in preference to the quick buck, the quick buck they thought was going to save them. That quick buck got them in to this mess in the first place but it’s unlikely you’ll find any one of them admit to their own failings. When record companies merged it was to cut overheads but no one mentioned the economy to these people, the ones who always thought themselves recession proof.

I could see it starting to change ten years ago but I never expected to see what it has become. For every American Idol instant success story there are a million instant failures. Tempt them with a dollar and still they come running, a public still desperate for their fifteen minutes of fame…..a short term public chasing a short term industry.

Filed under: About The Engine Room, Uncategorized, american idol, record companies

Drink, be merry ..and buy some records.

Where I worked as a salesman in the 70’s, Transatlantic Records they used to have an incentive at Christmas, a drinks offer….like retailers needed an incentive! Buy music and get drunk, it was very hard to entice them…..they were going to buy the stuff anyway so why not tempt them in to buying more with a few bottles of wine or some of the hard stuff? They’d be ordering records and spending their profits on booze anyway..let’s all have a party!

When I used to pull my van up outside a shop sometimes I couldn’t get in the back of it, the booze was piled higher than the records! I’d have to shift a few crates of wine to find any albums to sell! When I was negotiating the Snake Pass, a very hairy route that crossed the hills between Manchester and Sheffield I could hear the constant rattle of bottles in the back. It got so loud I’d have to turn the car stereo up, if I drove through a little town like Glossop and there were road works and a less than level road surface people would stop and stare. My van was sign written, ‘Transatlantic Records’ and yet passing through their hamlet was the sound of a Mercedes milk float, it just didn’t add up! Nice bit of respite for an otherwise sleepy town where nothing really happened. I would try and pass through the same time each Tuesday so the natives could be out on time to greet me.

The retailers too would rush out and welcome me like I was the messiah, the booze messiah. ‘Great I was just going to go to the off license but here’s my boy’ They would order a box of this album, a box of that album and then they’d be asking what they needed for ‘Pack A’ or ‘Pack B’ or the much coveted ‘Pack C’ which would require no further visits to the off license for another couple of weeks at least, or realistically until my next visit. I’m sure off licenses must have hated me back then, I’m quite suprised they didn’t start to stock the Transatlantic catalogue. ‘Here buy a crate of ale and get a free album.

Filed under: About Tony Michaelides, Journey Through The Past, record companies, record companies, record stores, Transatlantic Records

A cruel Yule.

And so endeth another year, put a yuletide blog on the fire and cast your mind back. It’s a time for the mind to wander (any lame excuse will do!), a time for thought and why not. It still feels strange basking in 80 degree heat when half the world is freezing it’s ass off but I suppose some might call me ungrateful. Not really, just stating a fact…winter implies it should be cold, never mind all that wrong side of the equator crap. You always want what you can’t have though and a bit of snow would be cool….very cool. I must be old, I can’t remember the last time I had a white Christmas, excluding th dumb ones in Orlando when they have the fake snow…yeah, like they ever laid on any fake sunshine for me when I was in Manchester.

I must apologize for the lack of blogs the last couple of days but I really have no excuse, Fox soccer channel was ramped up with match after match and like I said, I was thinking. Whatever, I missed you all so I thought I’d say hello.

A New Year beckons and the challenges are there, bring ’em on! This year was a time to reposition myself but now I’m ready to finally feel like I’ve emigrated. Managing to get my green card was one thing, preparing for what was to come I had no idea. In a weird sort of way I’m not the kind of guy to want it all there on a plate for me….I wanna go get it, make it happen. We make mistakes, but it’s all a learning curve. We weave and we wander but we, or me particularly in this instance come out stronger and wiser…….and yes I do say that every year!

And so for a further slob out on the couch and enjoy Boxing Day, or what’s left of it..none if you’re American , they haven’t a clue what I’m talking about. Back to work for them and those that didn’t have to go in may have stumbled in to the malls. You can’t but help feel worried for the retailers though and the Christmas they must have had sitting there and wondering how they are going to shift any excess stock as we stumble in to a horrendous 2009. Some places were offering 90% off and buy one get two free! Everyone is feeling the pinch and battening down the hatches. The world is a worried place but stick around, shit happens.

Filed under: About Tony Michaelides, Journey Through The Past, mistakes, Christmas sales, Fox soccer channel

Bruce on the loose

If you’re still running around frantically looking for a last minute Christmas present and you’re a fan of The Boss then I suggest you go check out http://www.foryoubruce.com where there is a great new book out. After my last blog I got a comment about Bruce being the reigning king which prompted me to go and check out the site and I was mightily impressed with what I saw. There are some great words and pics and it reminded me once more of what a unique performer he has been for the last three decades.

Springsteen has done well to hold on to his crown but when you look around it’s not hard to understand why. He’s the real thing, he lives and breathes every minute of every show. What I love about him is that even though he has adoring fans he still plays as though he wants to win over a new crowd. His stamina never falters and he has a unique charisma. Springsteen plays like he is playing just for you. I think he is still the greatest exponent at working a crowd, he pushes each and every button, every time. You certainly know when you’ve been to a Bruce Springsteen concert….

Bruce has sincerity, he’s one of us. He feels for the common man and he cares and although he has amassed a small fortune from his many years at the top he still has an understanding of the world we live in and he prays for things to change. He’s the sort of guy you feel you’d like to get to know, the type you could sit and have a beer with him ……if you had a problem, you could tell him. In fact when I met him briefly after the Talking Heads,U2 show in London in the early 80’s he was lovely, a real gent. I wanted to take him home and sit up all night listening to and discussing records. I wanted to find out all about him.

Indeed long may Bruce Springsteen reign, he’s a hard act to follow. When I saw him earlier this year it was a particularly difficult time for him as he’s lost his long time friend and fellow band member Danny Federici after a long illness. The show was on off for a few days but eventually he played and although a little subdued to begin with he still gave us all a great show….I only wished it could have been at a small, intimate venue not just for me but for him too.

Filed under: Journey Through The Past, Bruce Springsteen, Danny Federici, foryoubruce.com, Talking Heads, U2

The shows of old

I don’t miss going to gigs. I spent most of my life there for the best part of 25 years either with bands I was working with or choosing to go and see others in the time I had off. And looking back I saw pretty much everyone I wanted to.

Now here’s the difference…………..I actually saw them, I wasn’t just there. Today you can re mortgage your house and get yourself a ticket somewhere up in the Gods to ‘see’ a band. It’s not the same, something is happening on stage and to prove you haven’t been ripped off they’ll show the performance on a couple of screens in the arena and you can then see it’s the show you paid to see.

I feel very lucky though that everyone who ever meant anything to me I’d seen in a concert hall of less than two thousand. Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Led Zeppelin, The Pink Floyd, Bruce Springsteen…the list goes ever on. I saw Bruce earlier this year courtesy of my ex who very kindly bought me a ticket to the Tampa show. A huge amount of money to be seated up several tiers and I couldn’t help been taken back to the Manchester show when he was touring around ‘The River.’ I’d bought the best part of the two front rows of the circle and re sold them to my friends at Granada TV…I knew the ticket agency so I got them to reserve some seats and it just grew and grew and grew!

Needless to say the show was incredible but what made it so good was you could see the energy close up, the sweat on his brow, the facial expressions , the interaction with his band, you could see it all. Sound and vision all rolled in to one…..it felt like he was there performing just for you. Bruce isn’t the only one who misses those days, he’ll still turn up and jam at a small venue with someone he likes, he needs the buzz he gets from seeing the whites of people’s eyes. His show has been tailored for arenas for a couple of decades now because he has become so huge but as used to it as he has become I bet he yearns back to that golden era when performances were so much more intimate. It was so personal.

With bands like REM, U2 it was even better as I watched them grow up playing clubs and performing to a handful of people. While the price of success means a greater demand for more people who want to see you, I can’t help but wonder that for so many concert goers today it’s all they have….stadia tours seem to be the norm.

Filed under: Journey Through The Past, View from the room, Bruce Springsteen, led zeppelin, REM, The Pink Floyd, U2

A nice leisurely drive…

The weekend came upon us for the Bickershaw Pop Festival, the glorious British month of May……..If there was ever a worse weekend for weather you’ll have to remind me, I think it rained from the moment we left home until our last gasp return….it was the pits!!! It happened early on in my experiences of outdoor festival and I don’t have a clue as to why I ever even considered going to another. Standing knee deep in mud in the pouring rain to watch anybody is just not worth it yet somehow I enjoyed every minute of it.

The time came and we congregated at the pre determined meeting point for our journey in to the unknown. I wish I could remember where that meeting point was, let’s say college but I can’t be sure. I do know it was Saturday May 5th. No need for a role call, everyone was there on time…. rucksacks at the ready, a few stale sandwiches, some coke ( a cola that is…) and the exciting air of anticipation circling over us. A pop festival here in Lancashire, and in Wigan of all places……somewhere unknown in rock legend and certainly not a landmark on any rock n roll tour!

I’d picked up the van the night before, proudly produced my new driver’s license and drove it home. I parked it on the street so everyone could see it. The following morning I arrived at what I thought was early at our rendezvous point and already half the chosen few were there. Within thirty minutes everyone had turned up, we loaded up people and possessions and were off. I had a map and chose to go on the M6 to get to Wigan, not the quickest route but the biggest, sexiest road for a novice driver……I’d only passed my test a few weeks earlier.

Away we went, merry and singing along the way to the compilation cassette I had put together for the drive. Good stuff, shite voices!
The rain was relentless and though I wasn’t speeding it was time to pull past this grubby lorry that was throwing all sorts of shit up at us. I had remembered my highway code and all the rules of the road….to accelerate drop down a gear. I was doing around 55mph by then and as I indicated and pulled out into the center lane I dropped from fourth to third gear( I don’t think fifth had been invented then…) Wham! about a dozen bodies came hurtling through and slammed in to the back of our seats with a couple almost flying over it. ‘What the fu……’ they cried in unison, my only defense being that it had said in the driver’s bible that if you needed to increase your speed drop down a gear…….well I did that. I don’t remember anything about what speed you needed to be doing…

About an hour later and still raining we arrived at our first sign which proudly declared ‘Bickershaw’ left, 3 miles.

Filed under: About Tony Michaelides, Journey Through The Past, Uncategorized, Bickershaw pop festival

Peel or no Peel

So there was Barry an avid John Peel fan recruited from his teenage years languishing at boarding school. He hadn’t got overly friendly with his fellow classmates some of who were sons of diplomats, air force kids and the like but the ones he did latch on to were those with similar musical tastes. Saturday afternoons were a time to be cherished and as well as listening to his radio show, Top Gear he would read what Peel had to say in his weekly column for the music publication ‘Sounds.’ On one such occasion he was spouting off about the time he had to make a sudden exit from broadcasting on the West coast of America in the 60’s, how he was forced to abandon a large proportion of his precious record collection…..and confess that they were records he thought he would never see again. Sad and forlorn Peel hadn’t bargained on the thinking man from boarding school.

One such rarity was Annette Funicello…..when Barry told me I thought he said Annette Funny Fellow. I knew Peel was renowned for his obscure tastes even back then but who the hell was this? Funny fellow she was not….. obscure, not to these two avid music enthusiasts. Said madame was originally a Disney Mousekateer and as she got older she started to record soundtrack albums about surfing. Well I did say obscure! They were released on the Disney owned subsiduary Buena Vista.

Peel had put out a plea via his Sounds column and on air to say if anyone knew where he could locate same then please get in touch. Here was Barry’s opportunity to show his appreciation for all the wonderful music Peel had introduced him to. Barry had remembered seeing them in a record store in Sheffield, Jeff’s records on Division Street so off he went. He returned home packaged them up and sent them off with a little personalized note for the great man, ‘Hope you enjoy these and thanks’

Barry had attached his name address and telephone number, more as a matter of course than expecting anything, least of all a reply when one evening the phone rang. It was John Peel.He had called to say thanks and what did he want for the albums. Barry was insistent that he had already had more than enough from just listening to and enjoying his radio show and please take them as a show of his appreciation. Peel would have non of it and several days later a package arrived with an accompanying note from him saying he hoped he would enjoy the enclosed.

Great days when people would enjoy sending friends and colleagues records they thought they would appreciate and receive the same in return. Sadly those days are long gone.

Filed under: About Tony Michaelides, Journey Through The Past, Annnette Funicello, Barry at Record Collectior, Disney mouseketeer, Jeffs Records, John Peel, Sounds music papaer, Top Gear

Getting in to Top Gear

Barry was remote and feeling isolated at public school…..not only was he picking up a formal education, he was being formally educated in music. John Peel introduced him to a whole new world and one that would evolve in to a career. Such was the effect Peel had on him that later on he would start to work at the newlyopened retail outlet, Virgin Records. After learning his trade there the time came to move on and two years later, in 1976 he became proprietor of one of the country’s finest record stores, Record Collector in Sheffield.

Although he passed all his exams, I’m not sure his parents enrolled him at public school for the other education he was to receive, the one he loved the most……….he left with a passion for music that has never subsided.

The new national station Radio One had recently started and though no real substitute for the recently outlawed pirates, at least they provided an opportunity to hear the exciting bands that were all around, on both sides of the Atlantic. Here on Saturday afternoons resided the legend who was and always will be John Peel. For all of us growing up in the 60’s ‘Top Gear’ introduced us to the music that would change our lives…forever. The record I first remember hearing was Mr Tambourine Man by The Byrds, for Barry it was Electricity by Captain Beefheart…….we were both in for the ride, and we weren’t getting off.

Music was the common denominator for all of us. We’d compare notes, see what records each of us had bought and then find out where these amazing bands would be playing. Most of them came to Manchester and if they didn’t, we went to them.Houldsworth Hall on Peter Street would put on ‘Grass Eye benefits’ and great as they were I’ve yet to discover who they benefited apart from us. Further up the street stood The Free Trade Hall. Everyone has their own special memories of where they saw their favorite bands and for me it will always be here. Over the years I saw a multitude of bands at dozens of venues all over the country but I will always hold my fondest memories for The Free Trade Hall.

I missed the legendary Bob Dylan ‘Judas’ gig in 1966 but it was still where I saw Led Zeppelin and The Pink Floyd for the first time, and both for under a pound!

Filed under: About Tony Michaelides, Journey Through The Past, Free Trade hall, John Peel Top Gear, led zeppelin, radio one, record collector, Virgin record shop

Take that …..or leave it

I wouldn’t deprive anyone who worked hard any success but I always maintained Robbie Williams was the luckiest pop star alive. I think his management team have done a marvelous job under the circumstances as I would imagine that at times he’d be a hard act to handle…. he’s prone to doing what he wants, when he wants.

I worked with Take That around ‘Back for Good’ and was there at the press conference when they announced they were calling it a day.They had continued for about a year after Robbie left and there was a lot of love for them but they were feeling they had taken it as far as they could and retired gracefully. When Robbie left Take That I don’t think he acted the same and then went on to have some extra digs at Gary. All the while Gary retained a dignified silence and didn’t enter into any war of words choosing to concentrate on his solo career.

Mark Owen also released his own album around the same time as Gary, brave in itself and was always very supportive of Robbie. When people were looking for a quote or more likely looking to see if Mark would have a dig at his old mate he was genuinely supportive of him and would mention how much he missed him. As the two youngest in the band they shared a lot in those formative years. Not of the band ever showed any animosity towards him even when Robbie was making a fool of himself, tagging on with Oasis at Glastonbury and doing anything just to get noticed.

When he first released his own solo album it bombed and it wasn’t until ‘Angels’ that anyone gave a toss and then for some reason he was propelled in to the stratosphere…..and all from just that one song. Everyone around him worked brilliantly to convince the public of his immense talent when it was just this one very good song. England has always championed the ‘cheeky chappy’ yet here in the US they couldn’t see it, they didn’t know what all the fuss was about. I find it quite amazing to see how he has become the most successful UK male artist ever! Just think of the names he’s been compared with…George Michael, Elton John???? I can’t say I agree……not even close.

Filed under: Journey Through The Past, Managing Creativity, Gary Barlow, Robbie Williams, Take That