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Topic: Tony Blair appoints a "live music czar" (SSC) Return to archive
01-07-04 01:17 PM
Monkey Woman From The Sun online:

Good band's hard to find
Says DOMINIC MOHAN

THERE is nothing quite like seeing a group of musicians plugging in their guitars, turning their amps up to 11 and belting out tunes penned in their bedrooms.


It is up there with sex and the World Cup.

My live music cherry was popped aged 13 in a smoke-filled East Anglian bar by local band The Pleasureheads (I think they split following a bizarre gardening accident not long after).

It was an exhilarating and inspiring experience.

And for me live gigs still are.

But many such pubs and venues are no more, replaced by bland superclubs and stale, Pop Idol-inspired, karaoke bars.

The Government seems to agree, which is why it has appointed the first live music czar � Feargal Sharkey.

The gritty-voiced former Undertone who sang Teenage Kicks and A Good Heart is now the unpaid head of the new Live Music Forum, set up to safeguard the future of real gigs.

Feargal�s task will be to ensure that towns and cities have a vibrant scene and that we do not allow the next Rolling Stones or Coldplay to slip through our fingers.

It is a poptastic idea. OK, it will cost an estimated �100,000 to set up the Forum but that is not much more than one of Led Zep�s mini-bar bills.

The British music industry generates an amazing �4.5BILLION for the economy every year and is one of our greatest exports.

Feargal, 45, told me yesterday: �The money this will cost is a drop in the ocean compared with what the music industry generates.

�It�s one of our top five export businesses too. This is a great investment.

�There has been a shift in culture with more superclubs and fewer live music venues.

�Those kind of venues must be available. There is a social aspect to this too as live music gives many people a lot of pleasure.

�Our goal is to end up with something healthy, vibrant and accessible.�

Feargal�s appointment comes amid growing concern over forthcoming laws for live performance which insist on stricter licensing.



Coldplay ... Chris Martin


These could further deter venues from promoting local talent.

Feargal, who retired from performing 14 years ago, will monitor the impact of the new laws.

If our live music czar encourages just ONE group of teenagers to pick up guitars and take their first steps to stardom by gigging at the Red Cow in their local town then, in my view, it�s money well spent.

Iconic world figures such as Jagger, Lennon, Daltrey, Bowie, Mercury and Rotten cut their teeth in the now- dwindling pub and club circuit.

We may not be good at everything but we�re bloody good at making music.

That is why our rockers are idolised all over the globe.

Manufactured pop means many youngsters would rather stay in to watch a reality show than traipse down the King�s Head.

That can only deter the next generation and snuff out their dreams of making it to the world stage.

The Darkness and Coldplay made it with sheer hard work and determination.

And as Darkness frontman Justin Hawkins said: �I�m really pleased that Tony Blair is a fan of our band but if he is a real fan he should put his money where his mouth is and encourage and invest in more live music.�

So, turn off the telly and pop down to your local music venue � if you can find one � and help to encourage and nurture young talent.

Who knows, you might stumble upon the new Stones � or even the new Pleasureheads.

01-07-04 01:20 PM
glencar I liked a Feargal Sharkey song called (I think) "You Little Thief." I always wondered what happened to him. Thanks for the story, Monkey!
01-07-04 02:19 PM
SHINE A LIGHT great story, thanks MW.