An enjoyable and informative meeting with long-term contact Martin Sutton this morning, as he updated me on the developments with his highly successful Songwriting Academy. Martin also outlined the new popular Community App and we put plans in place for a podcast recording next week.
Category:News & events
MU farewell
Julie and I visited the HQ of the Musicians’ Union this afternoon for a drinks reception with the organisation’s Executive Committee (EC) to mark my leaving their employment after 25 years.
Thomas Ames
Born in Strood, Kent, on 11 January 1872, Thomas Ames was the elder brother of my grandfather Herbert. He signed up with the Merchant Navy on his 18th birthday and initially worked aboard ships based at the local Chatham docks.
New Year’s Eve
An exciting and energised New Year’s Eve at the Jolly Farmers in Purley, as Crash ‘n’ Burn delivered a set of rock classics to a lively crowd. Frontman Ian McConnell led the four-piece through songs by AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Blue, Oasis, Bryan Adams, The Who and many more.
Bromley FC
My son Ben, his friend Austin and I could be found at Bromley FC’s Hayes Lane ground for the National League match versus Altrincham this evening. An absorbing game, in which the home team failed to take advantage of some early chances to take the lead and saw Altrincham leading 1-0 at half time.
Birdcage revisited
The plan to make my Birdcage album available as a download accompaniment to Waterloo Sunrise gathered pace today, as I motored down to Canterbury in driving rain to Greg Fitzgerald’s studio. We worked on Radio Play, which is the one track in need of revisiting from the original tapes. The legendary Ralph Salmins has kindly agreed to add his drum mastery to this in the coming days.
BBC reception
I attended a drinks reception in the Council Chamber at Broadcasting House this evening, hosted and arranged by the BBC Corporate Affairs team.
Ringside at Worthing
Julie’s cousin Mark is an amateur boxer and we drove down to Worthing this weekend to offer our support at the Coast to Coast Boxing Club’s ‘Twas The Fight Before Christmas’ event at The Charmandean Centre.
On the town
I met up with Mark Batchelor this afternoon in the Royal Opera House bar in Covent Garden, at the start of a relaxed night out in the West End. We first walked across the crowded piazza and along King Street and into New Row, stopping at the Castle Fine Art gallery and appreciating the Bob Dylan prints in the basement.
Groucho Club
A very pleasant lunch in the Gennaro Room at The Groucho Club in Dean Street, Soho, courtesy of UK Music and their annual December event for music industry communications personnel and name journalists.
Duchess Theatre
An extremely fun evening as Julie, Ben and I enjoyed the rollicking fun that is The Play That Goes Wrong at the Duchess Theatre in Covent Garden. We had superb seats in the back row of the stalls and time flashed by as the cast of nine grappled with the series of dramatic disasters that befall them. Great stuff.
The Musician (winter)
The winter edition of The Musician magazine is being distributed to members of the Musicians’ Union this week. This issue is my last as editor and includes a two-page review of my career as an MU Official.
Soho parties
A very enjoyable few hours in Soho courtesy of two invitations. Namely, the annual lunch arranged by magazine publishers Future at the Sanctum, followed by Ian Shaw’s album launch at Gerry’s Bar.
Vince Dunn Orchestra
A classic afternoon at The Bedford in Balham as the Vince Dunn Orchestra performed an array of standards and festive hits led by a quarter of vocalists including the multi-talented John Park and rising star Zara McClellan.
PPL drinks
I caught the train back from Manchester this morning, in good time to make the legendary annual drinks party hosted by PPL. This year the event found a new home in Park Row, Brewer Street, Soho.
Junkyard golf
A fun evening in Manchester playing indoor junkyard golf with MU colleagues from across the UK. We played the Bozo course and I completed the gently challenging nine holes in a respectable 23 shots.
Pete Thoms
A very pleasant lunch with my former MU colleague Pete Thoms today at The Rose in London Bridge.
Mo Foster tribute
Mo Foster was a respected session bass player, author and a true gentleman. He was extremely popular with his peers and this was reflected in the huge turnout for a tribute concert to him at the 229 Club in central London tonight.
Nigel Price
A delight this evening to find superb jazz guitarist Nigel Price playing locally at Spike’s Place, Club Langley, Beckenham, in the excellent company of French guitarist Alban Claret, drummer Laura Klein and bassist John Williamson.
ENO letters
Officials from the MU joined members of the orchestra of English National Opera at the Coliseum this lunchtime, in delivering over 150 letters from musicians, audiences and public figures urging ENO management to reconsider proposals to axe 19 jobs in the orchestra, and make the orchestra and music staff part-time.
Masterclass
My son Ben has signed up for a series of cricket masterclasses at the Ames Levett Centre at the Kent County Ground in Canterbury for the next five Wednesday evenings. This involves a fairly lengthy round trip from Beckenham, but is fully worth the commitment.
