Songwriter / music industry
A delightful summer’s evening in Denmark Street, Soho, as I attended a promotional event at Rough Trade by Jo Dudderidge, well-known for his work over many years with The Travelling Band, as he promoted his new album ‘Living history’ under the artist name of Later Youth. Upon arrival, I spotted his sister Joanna – who I have known for all her superb event and portrait photography during my tenure with the MU.
A landmark week as ELO reach the end of their tenure as a major live act with concerts in Birmingham, Manchester and London. Julie and I drove up to the Midlands yesterday to enjoy a hometown performance for the legendary Jeff Lynne and to catch up with violinist Jess Murphy who has been with the band in recent years. It was also an ideal opportunity to see Dhani Harrison with his band, as he was to be the noteworthy support for the mini-tour.
My thanks to artist manager Howard Mills for an entertaining evening in Hackney, as we caught up on our respective news at Oslo. Many a fascinating story was exchanged! Around 9pm we walked across to Paper Dress Vintage to hear Henry Grace and his four piece band. Henry is a classic Americana songwriter and the gig was a warm-up for his appearance on the Acoustic Stage at Glastonbury this weekend.
An emotional afternoon as the hugely influential bassist and educator Gary Crosby OBE and his highly-respected business and personal partner Janine Irons OBE together discussed ‘Records That Made Us’ and carried a small but delighted audience through the history of ‘Tomorrow’s Warriors’, plus the musicians and bands they have nurtured to national recognition.
I met up with Ashley Blasse this afternoon in Exmouth Market. Ashley is a rising star in the world of improvisation and production, with focus on a wide-ranging choice of genres, including pop, theatre and video. Gaining respect and reviews for solo lines and arrangements, their playing on guitar, double bass, mandolin and ukulele has contributed to a range of live productions including shows in theatres across the south-east.
I drove into town this evening to catch the top class Studio Kings line-up led by guitarist Mitch Dalton. This is the third time I have had the pleasure of hearing his band at the Pizza Express in Dean Street, with the four-piece completed this time by the excellent trio of drummer Sophie Alloway, bassist Steve Pearce and keyboard maestro Dave Arch.
A marvellous evening at St George’s Church in Beckenham thanks to a very welcome live performance by Home Service, featuring – in particular – the wonderful reeds of Andy Findon, Shane Brennan’s elegant trumpet and the pin-sharp bass playing of my former MU contact, Rob Levy.
An excellent late lunch with rising star Alice Offley at Joe Allen’s this afternoon. Alice is a musician and singer/songwriter plus an experienced professional bass player and pianist. She currently holds residencies as a solo piano player and vocalist in high-end London venues and performs as a session musician for a variety of artists. Alice is launching a new single with a sassy track of defiance; describing what it’s truly like to be an urban female in the 21st century. Is It Because I’m A Woman? is set for release on 6th June 2025.
I attended an engaging forum last night entitled “The Remix: revolutionising the music industry from the ground up”, which took place in the Tavern Room, The RSA, London WC2. The Remix brings together industry changemakers, creative business leaders and talent for an evening of bold conversations, cross-generational skill sharing, and groundbreaking ideas for artist-led business models.
A first visit to the Ramblin’ Roots Revue, the Americana event established in 2017 to bring a range of homegrown and US artists to High Wycombe’s Bucks University. This year saw a strong vocal and instrumental mix over the three days, featuring such well-known names in the genre as Ward Thomas, Savannah Gardner, Danny & the Champions of the World, Peter Bruntnell, and The Hanging Stars.
I visited Steve at Printstore this morning to begin laying out the text, photos and song transcriptions for a 60 page book, which will include the stories behind the songs on my Waterloo Sunrise album plus brief biogs of all the contributors to the project. This publication will sit alongside the vinyl release and offers the opportunity to feature additional images to those captured by photographer Jonathan Stewart for the record sleeves.
My thanks to Jay Mistry for the invitation to the 21st Music Mogul’s lunch at Mele & Pere in Soho this afternoon. Always a highly enjoyable event, the gathering offers the opportunity to meet new contacts in the industry and to say hello to some old friends. In particular it was a pleasure to meet Andy James of PRS for Music and Oxford graduate Helena Thalassi-Hill, plus catch up with the Queen of UK Americana, Daisy Chute, at the following drinks in The Crown.
A busy day in Mayfair and Soho. Kicked off with a visit to the Simon Carter clothing emporium in Shepherd Market, with its choice of multi-coloured shirts and jackets. I then paid my respects around the corner at the flat in Curzon Place where, very sadly, both Mama Cass and Keith Moon passed away in 1974 and 1978 respectively.
Thanks to Clive Drew, a contact from his former role in PR at PPL, I attended a performance by classical pianist Vusala Babyeva at the London Transport Museum today. Bringing classical and jazz music to the Museum is just one part of its new art, culture and design programming and an impressive series of artists have been booked from February to October this year.
An engaging evening at the marvellous Green Note grassroots venue in Parkway, Camden, appreciating the tender songs of Ed Blunt. With Ed on vocal and acoustic guitar, plus the talented Rob Brockway on piano, the pair delivered a characterful set of his songs such as Sturgeon moon, Where the fig trees grow and These hands delighting the small but packed audience.
A very enjoyable weekend at The Guitar Show 2025 at the Cranmore Business Park in Solihull. The event is the leading UK trade show for everyone involved in the manufacture, distribution and retail of electric and acoustic guitars. Plus the event now also features the Bass Guitar Show and ensures a wide offering of trade stands, equipment demonstrations and performances.
Alerted by photographer Jonathan Stewart that the documentary about the rise of Led Zeppelin was on release in theatres, I drove to Barnes this afternoon to watch the film in the very surroundings where the band recorded their debut album in 1968.
A sublime evening in London Bridge with my wife Julie as we celebrated Valentine’s Day and our having been a couple for thirty years. As Julie had been at work in Westminster that day, we met in the Bunch of Grapes in St Thomas’s Street in the vicinity of the Shard.
An extremely useful meeting today in Adam Street, the Strand, with Chris Peabody and Grace Taylor, the executives behind the Hootenanny initiative for the industry. This aims to connect artists with fans, build community, and drive revenue effortlessly. The facility offers a single platform for music and community, generating exclusive events and fan-only opportunities.
Julie and I drove over to Ripley this evening, to join our friends Dave and Anya Williamson in celebrating their birthdays of note and to enjoy performances by two of his bands. Gigs of all types are such an important element of the music industry in this country and bassist Dave is a prime example of a homegrown musician who has delivered sublime playing and stage presence for decades.
A very relaxing trip to Bristol for the last couple of days, as I caught up with several long-standing contacts in the city. First up was a night out with songwriter and journalist Neil Crossley and top designer Chris Stenner. I worked for twenty years with Neil, principally on The Musician magazine, and it is always rewarding to exchange news of our most recent activities.
I have just spent three very rewarding days at the AMA-UK Conference 2025, the annual celebration of Americana artists and music, which this year has been sponsored by travel business Sweet Home Alabama. Once again the event was centred around venues in the Hackney Central area, namely Night Tales 1 and 2, Oslo, The Moth Club and the Paper Dress.
The idea of the same characters running through the songs on my new album is an intriguing possibility. So far, I have the following three couples in mind: Kevin and Carol (both in their early twenties), Dawn and former partner Nathan (both in their late twenties), plus Courtney and Jade (both in their early to mid-thirties).
In addition to our trips to Rome, Liverpool, Jersey and Christchurch this year, we have just returned from a week in the Scottish Borders. Although delayed by 24 hours at Heathrow thanks to the heavy fog last weekend, we finally flew from London City Airport and arrived in Edinburgh on Sunday evening.
Waterloo Sunrise (theme)