The Musician (9/21)
The autumn 2021 issue of the Union’s award-winning magazine, The Musician, is scheduled to be dispatched in digital format by email to members this week, featuring interviews with Rosie Frater-Taylor and Robin ‘Scanner’ Rimbaud.
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Music Week Awards
I drove over to the Pestana Hotel in Battersea this afternoon in the company of producer Greg Fitzgerald to attend the Music Week Awards.
TUC Council
I was contacted last week by Paul Nowak, Deputy General Secretary of the TUC, who was aiming to arrange a Greek-themed evening at the organisation’s annual General Council dinner.
Musicians shielding
Joint research by the Musicians’ Union and The Ivors Academy has revealed that 70% of musicians, songwriters and composers who are still shielding are facing financial hardship because of their continued need to shield.
Back in town
Another visit to MU HQ was on the cards today, as I organised the existing MU merchandise stock in advance of our industry, political and retail activities this month.
Safe Space
New reports reveal sexual harassment and abuse remain rife in the music industry despite the #metoo movement.
Bloomsbury Theatre
Great to attend the event in London tonight in which Sara Pascoe hosted a marvellous line-up of comedians on stage at the Bloomsbury.
Memorable victory
An excellent 40 over win for Beckenham 6th XI versus Old Dartfordians at Hayes CC in west Kent this afternoon.
The ‘Old Place’
Ronnie Scott’s club for its first six years was based in Gerrard Street, now the heart of Soho’s Chinatown, and where Ronnie and Pete King established its reputation as a top class jazz venue.
Foxgrove success
My son Ben stepped up for the Beckenham CC VIth team this afternoon, as his home team took on the Middlesex Strikers at Foxgrove Road. He delivered an outstanding bowling performance, taking 4 wickets for 40 runs in 6 overs with his medium pace, plus took a stunning catch on the boundary and removed the opposition’s top scorer. His efforts were recognised with the ‘Man of the Match’ award.
Bowie bandstand
I spent a rare afternoon in Croydon Rec in Beckenham earlier today, in the section of the park where the bandstand is sited, drawn by the structure’s association with one-time local resident, David Bowie.
Abbey Road tour
A particularly memorable day at Abbey Road.
Return to Rimshot
A second visit to Mike Thorne’s wonderful Rimshot Studios in Sittingbourne, Kent, today where mastering ace Mike, producer Greg Fitzgerald and I continued work on my new album, Waterloo Sunrise.
EU announcement
The MU today gave a cautious welcome to the announcement made yesterday by the Government with regards to musicians touring in EU member states.
Proms programme
I now book a full page advertisement promoting the MU Supporter initiative in both the BBC Proms Guide and the Proms Programme. Music lifts our spirits, our communities, and the economy. If you are a music lover and care about the future of music, join the MU Supporters.
Side A sign-off
A very enjoyable day with producer Greg Fitzgerald and mastering engineer Mike Thorne at the Rimshot Studios in Sittingbourne, Kent. We collectively completed the first side of my album, set for vinyl release, with Mike’s expertise superbly bringing out the nuances of Greg’s production.
Parliamentary jazz
Norma Winstone MBE, Claire Martin, Georgia Mancio, Jas Kayser and Nubya Garcia were among the recipients of the event, streamed online from Pizza Express, in London’s Dean Street.
Top gear track
A special treat for Ben this afternoon as we had arranged for him to drive around the junior section of the Top Gear track with the Car Chase Heroes company. His chosen vehicle was a Chevrolet Camaro Bumblebee. ‘Great drive’ said his instructor!
MU Conference
The MU’s 39th biennial Delegate Conference, a key event in the Union’s calendar which was hosted by the Executive Committee on 20 and 21 July, took on a completely different look and feel this summer following the decision to hold the event online.
DCMS Report
The MU, The Ivors Academy and #BrokenRecord Campaign have today welcomed the ‘revolutionary’ DCMS Select Committee report into the ‘Economics of music streaming.’
606 Club, Chelsea
A night in riverside Chelsea as Mark Batchelor and I took our table at the evergreen 606 Club. The evening’s line-up included guitarist Dave Ital (“Cool guitar-led funk, jazz and soul” Time Out) who has played alongside Chaka Khan, Tom Jones, Nile Rodgers, Incognito, Beyoncé, Level 42, Mica Paris, Take That, Lulu, Bobby Womack & many others.
Theme recording
A relaxed session with Greg at the studio today, as we compiled the closing title theme for the album, Waterloo Sunrise. This involved selecting parts from both the completed tracks and from the solos delivered by our marvellous team of session players.
Waterloo market
Photographer Jonathan Stewart and I toured Waterloo once more this afternoon, this time capturing the final locations and shots we had identified during our previous site-finding visits.
MU & FAC guidance
The MU and the Featured Artists Coalition (FAC) are delighted to share a joint guidance for session musicians and featured artists.
Sheffield studios
As part of the preparations for the MU Delegate Conference, I travelled to Sheffield today and visited the Yellow Arch Studios of the Northern Cowboys to meet up with the team who would be producing our event online: Mark Lewis, Thomas Dibb and Elinor Jenkins.
Record Store Day
A marvellous day in the company of long-term friend and business colleague Mark Batchelor which began at 10.30am this morning in Denmark Street, where we met ahead of a series of visits to music-related sites across the West End.
Tour of Waterloo
Jonathan Stewart and I had been discussing the options for my album’s artwork and mooted trips to Bournemouth and Whitstable, amongst others, with a view to capturing a set of seaside scenes.
The Musician (6/21)
The summer 2021 issue of the MU magazine, The Musician, is being dispatched in digital format by email to all members this week.
Canterbury shoot
I drove down to Canterbury this morning in the company of photographer Jonathan Stewart, to visit Greg Fitzgerald’s rurally-located studio once more.
London Bridge
I caught a train from Beckenham to London Bridge this morning to attend a site visit at the Hilton Hotel in Tooley Street with my MU colleague Jane Austin.
Guitar parts
A further trip to the wilds of deepest Kent today, visiting Greg Fitzgerald’s studio near Canterbury. A very productive session resulted in the basics of a new song, The Girl I Never Had, benefitting from a layering of acoustic and lead guitar parts.
Head above water
The latest session with Greg Fitzgerald saw the recording yesterday of the lead vocal for ‘Head above Water’, a revised mix of ‘Promises at midnight’, plus the first performance of ‘The girl I never had’, the lyric for which was completed early this morning.
Album notes
What inspires a song lyric? And perhaps the melody too? Well, here are some thoughts on the tracks I am recording with Greg at the moment.
The Musician (spring)
The spring 2021 issue of The Musician magazine is being dispatched in print format to members this week and also included with this edition is an insert containing the Motions for Conference and the call for Conference Delegates.
