Maida Vale

A fascinating yet mood-settling visit to the BBC’s historic Maida Vale Studios in north west London today in the company of MU National Organiser for Orchestras, Jo Laverty, and photographer Jonathan Stewart. We were there to support the BBC Singers who received the devastating news last week that the BBC were axing the entire group after ninety-nine years of top class performing and recording.

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Rimshot

Another enjoyable visit to Rimshot Studios in Sittingbourne, this time to finalise the inclusion of the remixed Promises at Midnight in the Waterloo Sunrise album, in the delightful company of master engineer Mike Thorne and producer Greg Fitzgerald.

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Guitar Show

I travelled up to Birmingham on Friday to oversee the installation of the MU stand at this year’s Guitar Show, organised as ever by Jason Hunt and his team. Joining me during the two-day weekend event were the excellent duo of Stephen Brown and Benson from our Midlands office.

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Power Station

An impromptu day proved rewarding as I marked my birthday with a trip down the Thames in the company of my wife Julie, my son Ben and my stepdaughter Lisa. The destination being Battersea Power Station with a view to seeing what had been constructed, following all its years lying empty since the legendary landmark was decommissioned in 1983.

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Studio 2

A superb afternoon at Abbey Road courtesy of Revival, as producer James Reynolds steered the team in completing vocals, bass and piano for their next set of releases. On hand were star names Jools Holland and Emeli Sande, who joined us to add their world-renowned talents to the tracks, plus Mousse-T and choir leader Peyton and his host of excellent vocalists.

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Final mix

Always a pleasure to visit Greg Fitzgerald in Canterbury and to work on tracks in his rurally based studio. Thanks to a quality contribution by session supremo John Thirkell on trumpet and flugelhorn horn, we polished a final mix of Promises at Midnight, which now features a heartening balance of horn flourishes and lead guitar courtesy of the excellent Ashley Blasse.

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Lyric sheet

A productive morning with Steve at Prinststore in Kingston preparing a lyric sheet as an insert for the Waterloo Sunrise album. This gave the opportunity to include more of Jonathan Stewart’s superb photographs on the reverse, as we were able to fit all of the lyrics on one side (albeit at 7 point!)

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Awards at the Empire

The UK Americana Awards returned to the Hackney Empire tonight and reminded us all of the huge value and reward of a supportive community and uplifting live music. The Awards ceremony is the culmination of a week in Hackney featuring an industry conference, which was attended by 300 delegates, plus two nights of showcase gigs with 80 artists across six venues.

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Americana launch

A cracking evening at Night Tales in Hackney, as the UK Americana Music Association kicked off their annual Conference with a superb series of performances by former winners of the Bob Harris Rising Artist Award, all backed by the Northern Cowboys supplemented by the excellent CJ Hillman on pedal steel and guitar.

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Stacey Brothers Band

Mark Batchelor and I met up this afternoon at the Nellie Dean pub in Dean Street, Soho, ahead of attending a superb performance at Ronnie Scott’s by the Stacey Brothers’ Big Band Steel Dan Project: aka the Royal Scammers. The 14 piece band deliver an amazing collective sound and reflect the depth and nuance of their world-renowned inspiration.

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