Weekend in Brum
Memories in Music had a very exciting weekend in Birmingham March 6th and 7th. We met some great folks who are willing to help with the charity exhibit, did a couple of interviews with local musicians, and attended The Fairport Convention show at the Birmingham Town Hall as guests of Fairport’s illustrious violin player, Ric Sanders.
The weekend started in St Pauls Gallery, where Symon Bland was kind enough to allow us to use the Gallery as the interview venue. I wanted to get Symon in an interview too, but he somehow escaped! I’ll get you next time Symon!
Musician Joe Digman was the first interview. Joe is a drummer, and his bands, Light Fantastic and Sight and Sound, opened for the bands Sweet, Mudd, and Showwaddywaddy. The Sweet even played at Joe’s wedding. He had some great stories to tell about exploding pyrotechnics blowing tiles off the ceilings of working men’s clubs, pushing his drum kit to pubs in a pram, and playing in local skiffle bands. We had an extra treat when Joe picked up some drumsticks and played the drum kit that is currently on display in the Gallery, once owned by the drummer of T Rex.
The other interview of the day was Jem Brent, who has starred in musicals such as 42nd Street, Rocky Horror, and Starlight Express. Jem shared his stage experiences being understudy for an entire cast plus learning a whole script in German, and being Cookie Monster on wheels. There are fascinating musicians in the Midlands! All the fun was captured on film by Trevor and Jon from Scadge Studios, who are kindly donating their time and film to record these interviews. I am very grateful to them. I’ve got to get them in front of the camera soon…
Later that evening I arrived at the Birmingham Town Hall and was ushered backstage to meet Ric in his dressing room before the show. It’s the first time I have seen him play live, although I have been listening to him play with Fairport, and his own Ric Sanders Group, for a number of years. He’s such a lovely guy. I wished that we’d had the camera there right then to start recording the interview, as I enjoyed chatting to him so much. We’ve arranged to catch up for the filmed interview when he comes back from a quickie tour later on this month. I’m really looking forward to that!
Ric introduced me to some great folks after the show who are willing to contribute to the exhibit in various ways – sharing memories, making contacts with musicians, and sharing their own memories on the website. Meeting Steve from a radio station in Wolverhampton was fortunate, as I hope to be able to spread word of the exhibit to fans of area musicians to see if they might loan us their memorabilia. I love fan items – they are what I had access to see when I was a kid and the memory of how exciting I found it all never wore off.
Dave Pegg (bass player for Fairport) was a lot of fun to meet. He’s going to allow me to film an interview with him, is going to loan me some items from his personal collection, and has already started networking for me – and believe me, you don’t have a clue what networking is unless you’ve had Dave Pegg networking on your behalf! Trust me on this.
So not only did I walk away from the Town Hall on a cloud from all the great music, I also went out with some great new friends and a pocket full of telephone numbers. It’s going to be a great exhibit!
The first of the interviews will be up as soon as Trev can polish them up, and more will be recorded on March 18th. Stay tuned!
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Fan Memories: ELO
Many thanks to Dawn Atherton, who has shared with us some concert memories, one being ELO. Thanks Dawn!
Dawn shares:
OK, starting chronologically, first up is ELO. I saw them at Bingley Hall in June 1978. I was still at school and too young to drive,so my dad took me and my friend Helen, in the car. Bingley Hall was about an hour and a half’s drive from where we lived. I remember telling someone at school that I was going to Bingley Hall and them telling me that was where they did livestock auctions – Bingley Hall was then forever immortalised in my mind as “that cowshed in a field”.
Helen and I went into the hall, I remember that the seats were the folding type that you typically get in church halls or community centres, not the fixed type you get in today’s arena venues. I don’t recall much of the detail of the concert, except that it was absolutely incredible. I couldn’t believe that a band could sound so good live. I had copies of ELO’s LPs “A New World Record” and “Out Of The Blue” and had played them to death. I was dumbstruck by the quality of the sound and the musicianship and found myself really LISTENING to the music, in awe. We had fairly good seats and got a good view of the band on stage. We wandered out into the night, shaking our heads in amazement at the band we had just seen, I never expected the live versions of the songs I knew so well from my LPs to sound as good live, but they actually sounded better.
My dad had told us that he would stay in the car whilst the concert was going on, however on meeting back up with him I found him with a massive grin on his face. Turns out he had got bored sitting in the car and had gone for a wander round. He bumped into one of the security guards, who let him in – and my dad watched most of the concert from right beside the stage! He has been an ELO fan ever since, and my LPs ended up being played more than ever in the house.
Join Dawn and share your musical memories with Memories in Music. Send your memories to: stories@memoriesinmusic.com We look forward to hearing from you!
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Musicians of the Midlands – Bev Bevan
One of the musicians taking part in our charity exhibit this September is Bev Bevan, drummer for ELO, The Move, and even for a time with Black Sabbath (replacing Bill Ward when he became ill) on tour and playing on their Eternal Idol album.
Bev was born in an inner city area of Birmingham called Spark Hill. Deciding to leave a glittering career as a department store buyer, he picked up his drumsticks and played with Denny Laine in a group called Denny Laine and the Diplomats, moving on to The Vikings before finding a place in one of the most influential bands of the 60s called The Move. The Move had nine Top 20 UK singles, and it was Bev and two other members of this group, Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne, who formed The Electric Light Orchestra. Unlike The Move who never enjoyed success in the USA, ELO found fame there first. The band had 27 Top 40 singles on both sides of the Atlantic, and has sold over 100 million albums worldwide.
ELO ended in 1986, and since then Bev has continued to play, in ELO Part II and a reformed version of The Move, Bev Bevan’s Move. He has also written a book about his life as a star in ELO called, ‘The Story of The Electric Light Orchestra.’ He has organised and taken part in several charity gigs to raise money for the Birmingham Children’s Hospital and Barnardos. He now has a weekly radio show on BBC West Midlands and writes a column for The Sunday Mercury: blogs.sundaymercury.net/bev-bevan/
Bev has kindly agreed to loan Memories in Music items from his personal collection for our charity display at St Pauls Gallery. Among these is a tour jacket from his ELO days. Check out some of Bev’s columns, and of course, his music. Bev Bevan has made a huge contribution to music history.
Are you a fan of ELO? Have you seen them in concert, have memorabilia to loan or share on the website? Met Bev? We’re looking for fans to share their memories. Get in touch and your memories will become part of our exhibit in the Gallery and part of the website.
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Be a difference in 2010
Music fans! Memories in Music is looking for your help to raise money for musician’s charities in 2010. There are a number of ways you can help, and I hope that as many fans as possible will decide to take part this new year.
Fans are often a forgotten element in the music industry. When musicians are awarded for their achievements, the fans don’t usually get invited as guests. Fans are not often quoted for articles in magazines or newspapers about musicians they admire. Fans do have a voice when it comes to sales and voting in certain polls and awards, but not many seek us out to tell our stories and experiences in music. Memories in Music is a chance for you to be heard. We are looking for your stories about concerts, meeting musicians, your photographs, and your memorabilia – tell us what you have, how you started collecting it; tell us a concert experience; donate some memorabilia to the fan collection we are starting. By helping us, you will become part of the legacy of your favourite musicians, and you will benefit charity too. Everyone wins!
Even if you have none of the above, are you a music connoisseur? Do you know your stuff about a particular band or musician? Have an awesome music collection? We’d love to have you share your knowledge by writing an article for our website.
Do you play an instrument? Send us a video and we’ll share it with fans.
Run a fan-based unofficial website? Let us know where it is, how it got started, and we’ll feature it.
Do you have a bit of spare pocket change each month? A dollar a week? 50p a week? How about putting it to a very good use by donating it to the chosen charity of your favourite musician? Our Fanfare project has a great group of Jimmy Page fans contributing monthly to his home in Brazil for abandoned street children, Casa Jimmy, and we are looking for more of his fans to contribute! How about creating a Fanfare group for another musician? Let us know who and we will get the giving going! 50p a week might not seem a lot, but if we get hundreds of fans giving 50p a week, can you imagine what could be done for charity?
I hear a lot of criticism of fans. Some is not justified, but some is. It is noticeable that some fans spend inordinate amounts of time on the web posting frivolous things, and sometimes things that are damaging or embarrassing to musicians. Even if the posts are good, so much of it is only found on highly specified websites of one particular band/style of music, and that is a shame because this limits the influence your knowledge can have on other music fans. If you spend a lot time on the web talking about musicians, why not give a little of that time, or a little of your money to help others? I guarantee you that is the way to be noticed by the musicians you admire. Helping a cause in their honour is a special thing that will make them proud!
Most of what happens in the fan world rarely benefits charity, but it so easily could! Memories in Music is striving to be a place where all types of music fans can come together to benefit musician’s charities and encourage each other to explore new music that maybe they would not have done on their own. When I started this non-profit, I heard a number of people say how much they wanted to do things for charity in honour of their favourite musicians. Many said they were eager to contribute to charity events and exhibits, to help if only they had a place that was dedicated to this purpose. Well, here we are! It’s never been done in quite this way before. I am confident the fans who join us will make the legacy of musicians richer and be a force to help those in need. Besides all that, it’s great fun!
Be a difference in 2010! Visit the website and get involved.
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A Red Carpet Evening
On Tuesday evening December 15th, Memories in Music was fortunate enough to be at the premier of the Davis Guggenheim film ‘It Might Get Loud’ featuring Jimmy Page, Jack White, and The Edge. We had 14 VIP guests there, all looking fabulous ready to walk the red carpet and enjoy the film. Some of our guests were contest winners who generously supported Task Brasil by entering to win the tickets. We appreciate all the entrants! One guest in a particular, a lovely Jimmy fan called Alissa, donated an extra sum after she won her ticket. These are the kinds of lovely people Memories in Music is honoured to know! Thanks Alissa.
There was a terrible mix up with the guest lists on the night. Confusion reigned as people’s names were not appearing, and everyone was getting irritated standing in the cold while things were sorted out. After some phone calls, all my guests made their grand entry looking awesome! Unfortunately, that was the last time I saw most of them. Two of my guests were late, and I had to remain outside to wait for them as they couldn’t get in without the ticket I had to give them.
Still, being outside and chatting to security had its benefits, as I was in a prime position to watch Mr Page arrive. A flurry of activity clearing the street and putting up extra barriers heralded his imminent arrival. When his car pulled up, everyone was carefully watching the door by the red carpet, but he got out on the other side of the car, much to the delight of the fans on the “wrong” side of the street! One of them was thrilled to pieces to be able to shake his hand, and everyone cheered at him. He was on his own and looking happy, relaxed, and wonderful – as always! He walked right past me and the security let me stand just 2 feet away from him to watch him being interviewed. I couldn’t hear what was said, but just seeing the whole thing happening with no one in front of me was great!
I happened to look up the red carpet just as Jimmy was turning to enter the building, and saw our fabulous Patron Zacron at the door waiting to welcome Jimmy into the premier. I couldn’t join him however as I was still having to wait for my (now very late) guests.
I was allowed to go up the red carpet to warm myself in the building, and waited by the door watching the people entering. Scott Gorham had come in, and Bernie Marsden. Eventually I heard from my guests. I went back down the red carpet to fetch them, and then back up again with them. I think I walked on the red carpet more than anyone else at the premier! People watched me and whispered about who I was. I thought how fun it was being thought of as ’somebody.’ As it turned out though, this wasn’t to be the most impressive thing of the night.
Once in the building I was escorted to the private VIP area. It was wonderful to be able to speak to Mr Guggenheim, and also to Jimmy. There were only a few people up there before the movie started, so the conversations were relaxed and no one had to shout above a lot of noise. Jimmy is a perfect gentleman and wonderful to engage in conversation. It was nice to see him and Zacron having a laugh and catching up.
The movie went by as a bit of a blur for me. Being honest, I have to say that it was only Jimmy’s parts that really captured my attention fully. I am sure though that fans of Edge and Jack White will be equally pleased with their parts. The crowd enjoyed it, as was obvious from their response.
After the film back in the VIP suite, a few more people appeared than had been there previously. Not many more though. It was an interesting place to be, and I tried to take in as much as I could just from an observation standpoint. Jimmy was so gracious. Only a few people photographed him, most of us just chatted to him and the others in the room. Even when you aren’t talking to him, watching his lovely manner with people is every bit as entertaining. It has also been entertaining reading what people wrote about it afterwards. People who weren’t there making it seem like they were is eye-opening. You discover things about people that maybe you wished you didn’t. Like watching this phenomenon: Every once in a while, the door would open, and some forlorn soul looking desperately for a way in would appear, before the door was unceremoniously closed on them. I watched this with interest and a large dose of embarrassment. Why on earth people would put themselves through the humiliation of being turned away is beyond me. Far better to NOT be seen doing this I would have thought.
I was unhappy with one thing – the lack of true hospitality to one of Jimmy Page’s stature. They were handing out cans of Pringles to eat along with the drinks. Yes, cans of Pringles. Pringles?? That is the best you can do for Jimmy Page? Wow. At one point I almost went to ask him if I could get him anything to eat, or even if I could get him a fresh glass of water, but it wasn’t my event so I refrained. Still, you learn a lot watching these things, and I learned a great deal. I did enjoy the company in the room, and the crew representing Planet Rock stand out as being just super. I enjoyed chatting to them a lot.
Jimmy stayed for a really long time. It was around midnight when he left. He came to every person he had spoken to saying goodnight, calling them by name even if he hadn’t known of them previously. He is truly awesome. Spending time with him and observing his lovely manner with people makes me realise that it is only the jealous, the self-seeking, and the downright nasty, that would talk trash of any description concerning him. All the dazzle of walking the red carpet, talking to the famous, being seen in a VIP area, all paled into comparison to just watching him and how he treated people. That was the real highlight of the night and the one thing I will always be grateful I got to observe. More people like him in the world would make it a better place.
Jimmy Page is truly deserving of a red carpet, and not just for the reasons you might think.
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Musicians of the Midlands: Joan Armatrading
The Midlands has a rich musical history with many influential musicians coming from the area. A lot of the musicians will be well known to everyone, but you may not be familiar with some. Rather than focus on one type of music, the Memories in Music exhibit will try and represent as many of the musical styles as possible. It is always a good thing to stretch your musical horizons! I learned that a long time ago from my music hero, the awesome Jimmy Page. There’s so much to hear in his music, and I remember carefully noting every time he mentioned a musical influence of his and him saying that he wasn’t just locked into one thing. I do notice fans getting locked into one style of music, sometimes even one musician or band, and I think it is a shame as you miss so much. My music library has a lot of different stuff in it, as I do try and give everything a go at least once. I may not like it, but I have a go because I just might!
Hopefully the fans who contribute to Memories in Music, and our exhibits, will encourage people to stretch their musical tastes. You may find a lot of joy in something you might never have discovered on your own!
The first musician I would like to profile from the Midlands is Joan Armatrading. Joan was born in St Kitts, but was raised in Birmingham. Like a lot of musicians you read about, she spent a lot of time playing her guitar and lost a job because she insisted on playing during her breaks.
Joan is considered to be the first black female artist to achieve success in the industry performing her own material. While performing in the musical Hair in London, she met Pam Nestor, with whom she started to compose songs which featured on two albums in 1972 and 1975. Then in 1976, Joan released a solo album simply titled ‘Joan Armatrading.’ This album entered the UK top twenty and the song ‘Love and Affection’ from the album was in the top ten. She went on to make 16 albums, her latest, 2007’s ‘Into the Blues’ debuted at #1 in the US Blues chart and was nominated for a Grammy in the Blues Category. Those two honours were the first to be achieved by a UK female artist.
Joan plays guitar and piano. Her musical style is a mixture of pop, blues, folk, and even reggae. Her songs are very moving and her fans often credit her with warm and soulful vocals that reach out to them. I’d love to hear from any fans of Joan that have seen her in concert and want to share the memory with us, or add to the little bio here. The music of the Midlands is certainly richer thanks to her.
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An Evening with Hossam Ramzy
On Friday the 9th of October, I took a trip to Bristol to see Hossam Ramzy at the City Academy. We set out at 1pm, but even that early getting to Bristol was a bit of a nightmare – who imagines stationary traffic at 3 in the afternoon? We battled the traffic with a coffee pit-stop for encouragement, checked into our hotel and went off to the show.
There was no where near the venue to park, so we had a little trek through the streets to get back to the Academy, and then we had to find the right building. Several of them were emblazoned with ‘City Academy Bristol,’ but hearing the lovely strains of an Arabic violin drifting through the doors of one building, we knew we had found the right one. A quick glance around at the waiting fans and you could see Hossam’s wide appeal, as there were fans of every description and age present.
Before going in, we stopped at the table where Hossam’s CD and DVDs were on sale and bought ourselves a few. While I was looking for the things we didn’t already have, I heard someone calling , ‘Annie, Annie, hello!’ It was Hossam, who had come out from his sound check to say hello to some of the guests. He was fairly quickly swamped with fans who spotted him, so we had a quick hug and hello before we went into the auditorium.
The first two rows were marked as reserved for VIP guests, so we took a seat right in the front row, dead centre. Richard always wants to go back a few rows where he knows the sound will be better, but hey – I wanted see everything as well as hear it, so we stayed at the front. The venue slowly filled up, and just about ten minutes before the show started, in walked a tall gentleman with long curly blonde hair, carrying a big bag. It was Robert Plant. He sat right near me just across the aisle. Cool.
Hossam was introduced by a very enthusiastic lady who picked up his mic for her introduction. She left it centre stage, so when Hossam came out to play his first order of duty was going to fetch it after noticing it was no longer near him. He is very warm and personable, so I instantly felt like I was at a friend’s house for the evening as he joked about having to work for a living while setting his mic back up. Incidentally, he had to do it again later because she did the exact same thing after the interval.
After introducing the band, they launched into the first number, which featured a gorgeous flute solo that floated hauntingly around the room. Now, I love Hossam’s music, but I am sorry to say that I can’t pronounce the names of the numbers, so I don’t have a set list for those of you who know his music well. But the titles hardly matter, the music is simply amazing. If you haven’t experienced Arabic music, you are really missing out. I first got into it by listening to Robert and Jimmy talking about their musical influences, and as usual, where they go musically, I am glad to follow. It’s definitely something you should add to your music library.
Hossam had some local dancers share the stage with the band. Having never seen belly dancing live before, I was unsure if I would like this part of the evening, but my doubts were short lived, because they were great! Lots of fun and very graceful – just terrific to watch. I was just fascinated. All of the guest dancers did a lovely job, but Hossam’s wife Serena is something else again. You could see instantly that she was something special just by the way she carried herself on to the stage, and she was divine. I could watch her dance all night. She was so captivating that at times you almost forgot about the music. When I chatted to her at my launch party I asked her about learning to belly dance she told me how much work she put into the art, and it really showed. I loved watching her.
Hossam told us bits and pieces about the music he was playing, and so I learned more about Arab culture along the way too. Every musician on that stage was superb with their instrument, but like his wife’s dancing, Hossam is a cut above, and a master of his drum. There wasn’t one person leaving that building that didn’t have a huge smile on their face excitedly praising the show. They played until around 10.45 I think – time sort of flew past!
One funny incident happened, during one number the musician playing a tambourine looked down to see the jingles on it falling off. He lost several of them, but carried on valiantly as the drummer next to him laughed at his predicament. All was well for him after the interval.
If we absolutely had to find something to criticise, Richard thought the sound was just slightly too loud. It was a wonderful, wonderful evening. If you have never seen Hossam play, I urge you to go if you get the chance. I am hoping to have him play somewhere at a Memories in Music event. If you love music, Hossam and Serena’s show is one of those things in life that you owe it to yourself to experience.
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Big Bad Licensing Issues
For the past few months I’ve been working to find out exactly how to go about selling certain music related items in my online shop and at exhibits to raise funds for the charities we support. It’s a huge undertaking, especially when you are minus some key ingredients that make it easier, namely a fancy lawyer and millions of pounds to make doors open. I’m just an ordinary fan trying to do something good for causes I feel passionate about, and resources are limited. Still, I’m proud of what we are doing, so I waded in. The people I have dealt with have been polite and I have learned a lot, so I am finding it a good experience over-all.
I’ve discussed the process with friends and briefly online. The different perspectives and stances people take on licensing and copyright issues are fascinating. On the one hand you have the musicians and the licensing companies who work for them. Musicians work extremely hard to create the music and the all the trappings that go with making an image. Most reasonable people agree these things deserve to be protected, and people wanting to use them should expect to have to get permission/pay before they do. It’s only right. Can you imagine how hard it would be for a musician to look after and protect copyright/trademarks on their own with practically an entire world of people waiting to use their work for various purposes? It’s more than a full time job – answer all requests, examine all merchandise or websites to decide who has a use you find genuine…it would be impossible. They’d never be able to do anything else again if they attempted this job alone, so enter licensing companies.
Then on the other side there are fans, many who have good and legitimate reasons for wanting to use protected material. Some will just blatantly take it and do whatever, and then others will go seek permission. If you get the permission great, but what if you don’t? How you deal with that says a lot about you. Raising funds for charity, educating people, these are good reasons to want to use material that is not yours, but you may still get a no. It is a shame, and can make you feel hard done by. I’ve been unable to do some things even for charity because it would interfere with big business deals and exclusive rights to do things that companies pay major money to acquire. But I can’t complain too loudly because I’d want the same if it was my creativity in question. My webmaster and I worked hard on the MIM logo, and I wouldn’t want people taking it and doing whatever with it without my consent. Yes, sometimes licensing companies do over-step their mark and bully people. It can be an ugly thing when people have total power and are the only game in town. I applaud fans who stand up to bully tactics that are just plainly that – bully tactics and no more.
But it helps to realise too that not every thing is a bully tactic by a licensing company, and not every person who wants to use material that is protected has a good motive. Some hide behind loud righteous indignation to justify actions they know are wrong. I’ve heard lots of excuses for poor behaviour, and a fan can be just as big a bully as a licensing company, and seriously unreasonable in their quest to do whatever they want with protected material. I dislike this as much as I dislike it when licensing companies are heavy-handed.
I am working to raise charity money, so I will strive to abide by the rules even if they are harsh. That may mean that I have to pump sunshine all over things that others will resist. Whatever you do, whatever the outcome of your permission seeking, before you act, think of others, put yourself in their place, and act responsibly. That makes for a happier world all around no matter what the issue.
I found this article helpful: http://www.templetons.com/brad/copymyths.html And yes, permission to link to it is given! What are your experiences? I’d love to hear from you.
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Memories in Music Launches Into Work!
On Tuesday August 11th, Memories in Music officially launched as a company. We had a great day and spent part of it filming Led Zeppelin fans on the grounds at Knebworth House, where the band played their last UK concert 30 years to the day. I just love talking to passionate fans, and that day was very special. You can still see all the excitement they felt 30 years ago, and to be able to look down to the stage site while hearing the stories was wonderful. These are the kinds of things Memories in Music wants to record for music history. Fans of the future will really enjoy the first hand accounts of people who were there witnessing events like the Knebworth ‘79 show. I did!
We held our private party in the Lytton Suite at the Hotel Novotel at the foot of the drive to Knebworth House. I won’t go into all the details because you can read all about it here (http://www.memoriesinmusic.com/launch.html) and see some great photos. We had very prominent guests from the business world, musicians, and even the owner of Knebworth House himself Henry and his wife Martha. But the best thing about the launch was the fact that people got excited about participating in our projects because they love music and they want to give something back to the musicians who gave them so much joy. Combining those people with charity events through Memories in Music will make a fantastic contribution to the music industry.
One very special charity project I would like to mention is Fanfare. This is a project for fans who admire a band or a particular musician and would like to do something to express their thanks. I’m looking for fans to become part of a team that makes regular contributions to their favourite musician’s charity. Memories in Music will find out what charity that is, collect the money, and send it off to the musician’s charity. We will send regular reports to the musician about their Fanfare list so they will know who you are and that you are making a difference in the world in their honour. Send me an email at info@memoriesinmusic.com and I will be happy to discuss it with you and set up your Fanfare List. We have one just about ready to go for Jimmy Page’s fans. I hope more fans will like this project and decide to take part. And please, do not think you need to contribute some great sum of money. No one will know what you donate each month anyway, just that you are part of the list. Only the group totals will be posted, and every little bit helps. Imagine if all the fans of a musician or band pledged to give one dollar/pound each a month for 12 months to charity – can you imagine how much money that would be? You can make a big difference with even a little giving.
There are a lot of projects on the go, and right now I am looking for fans of Birmingham based bands. If you are a fan of The Moody Blues, Black Sabbath, ELO, The Move, Duran Duran, Robert Plant – or any other band from Brum, get in touch. We have a very exciting project in the planning stages and we would love your help.
Check our website for updates!
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Led Zeppelin 30 Years Since Knebworth ‘79
In 1979 I was still in High School in the USA. Led Zeppelin had been my favourite band for half my life, and when my friend who owned a music shop in our town told me about the concert they were going to play at Knebworth Park I was thrilled to pieces. I was also devastated because I wouldn’t be there to see them. Again. I was never there to see them and it was the biggest heartache of my life – I was always too young and not allowed to go even when they were in the States. Other people’s memories had to suffice as the only way I could live my dream of seeing them live.
It wasn’t all bad though. My friend Merle had Zep fans all over the globe that would send him magazines and newspaper clippings about them, and I even got to see some bootleg footage in the back of his shop – which I hasten to add that Merle never sold and told me never to buy because they were to be shared so as not to rip off the band. I had great times pouring over his box of “Zep Treasures” that he collected. I knew things about Knebworth would come in eventually and I checked every day trying to be patient. Sure enough the reports, the photographs, and the cuttings trickled in and I was the happiest girl in town devouring it all.
No one imagined it would be their last ever performance in the UK, and quite nearly their last performance ever. I never imagined that I would wait for another 28 years to see my hero Jimmy Page step onto a stage with Robert and JPJ and with Jason Bonham sitting in for our beloved Bonzo at the 02 Arena. Back then I didn’t know any of what was to come as I sat in the record shop with a cup of Merle’s jasmine tea reading what the Zeppelin fans had sent him. I also never imagined that one day I would be standing in the field at Knebworth where they had played, and setting up an exhibit of their memorabilia in the House – in the library where Sir Edward Bulwar-Lytton kept his amazing books that I had learned to love because Jimmy mentioned them, and talking to loads of fans in person as they shared with me their memories of that wonderful August in 1979.
If you have a memory of being at the concert please send it to me. We’ll be creating a special web page and share your memories of the concert with other fans and any photos you’d like to share too. I already have a nice selection of them, and I’ve got a great interview with a member of The Fairport Convention who also played that August. I’d like to include bios of all the bands that played that festival, so watch out for it in the coming weeks.
It may have been 30 years ago, but it seems like yesterday. Time flies when you’re having fun – and I’ve had a guaranteed source of fun ever since I heard the first note from the guitar of the fabulous Mr Page, from JPJ’s bass, from Bonzo’s drums, and from Robert’s amazing voice. Yeah….life is good!
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