As a writer and
occasional reviewer of Things Blues, The Hat has always been
conscious that he is partaking in a Minority Sport. I started young
and like most addicts I never give up on the idea that, given time,
we will Take Over the World.
I have written a good
few times before about the nature of the Blues Broadchurch and how it
comfortably embraces so many styles and shapes and sounds and –
despite the occasional outburst from the definition and genre purists
– it still manages to bring joy to thousands in the UK every day of
the year. From major bands, (now sometimes with even four front
line guitars!) to the gritty solo acoustic guitarist; from the soul
shifting saxophone to those singers and song-writers who take you to
another place - clubs, festivals and radio stations capture our ear
and feed our habit. It is, quite frankly, Quite Big.
Yep. That sounds good
and if you go and watch live music you may think that is not a bad
situation for the blues and its off-shoots. Actually, move outside
the gig and it's Terrible; it's almost invisible; it has no national
presence; it has no national representatives; nobody speaks up for
it. Give me a wall, and I will Bash My Head against it.
As I write, Country
Music, for years the butt of unfunny jokes about Broken
Relationships, Dead Dogs and Pick-up Trucks, had just taken over Radio 2
for three days of 'Country 2 Country'. We are not talking here about
American Country Imports, this is the UK Country Music scene. It has
gathered a huge following, stages national events, packs out national
awards and festivals and not infrequently crosses over into the
mainstream charts.
So, blues people, as
Pete and Dud used to say - “Who do you turn to? Who do you get in
touch with?” I dunno mate.....
Well, your first port
of call could possibly be the IBBA, The Independent Blues
Broadcasters Association. At my last glance there were about 130
British Blues Radio stations operating at various times during the
week. However, only 42 of them are members of the IBBA and of those
only about half have any visible profile. Their first strap-line -
on a less than exciting website - is 'Promoting blues radio across
the UK and worldwide'. Well that's a good start and certainly bands and
tuned-in promoters know all about the active and informed radio
presenters. These guys stick out a mile, run terrific programmes and
would be out there doing it with or without the IBBA. Does this
'national' organisation mean anything to anybody outside the active
few? Is it not amazing that only last month, years after the IBBA was
established, some enterprising soul has finally set up a busy Facebook
page for 'The Best of British Blues Broadcasters' where you can now see
current radio show listings and posts from radio disc-jockeys across the country all in
one place for access by a wider public? But as well meaning as the IBBA may be, have the blues-going public
ever heard of them? I doubt it. They pop up with a play list once
a month but generally their profile is so low you would need a very
expensive Blues Detector to find them.
OK, where do we go next
to run up the National Blues Flag? Unlike the IBBA, The British Blues
Awards does have a public profile – er, but, only Once A Year. The
BBA is run by a handful of dedicated and hard-working blues
enthusiasts, with a zero budget and, against all the odds, they have
managed to build up an annual event, which attracts tens of thousands
of votes and not a little controversy with the yearly Blues Awards.
Every year, The Hat writes a piece in support of this event, not
least because of its tangible and very public encouragement to young,
new and independent artists. Despite the naysayers - those who would pick a
fight in an empty awards room - the BB awards still carry kudos and
are received with pride. They are very happily taken away after the
photograph and appear prominently on every nominated artists' website
and CV. Show me an award winner who thinks his or her award is
valueless.
But, where is the BBA for the rest of the year? Despite all the work that goes in to it, this one off event last for barely an hour; is usually a bolt-on to a festival; attracts a very low attendance and then disappears for another year. If this is the national face of the blues, don't blink, you will miss it. Even the festival where it was held last year, didn't manage to send a representative to attend the event.
But, where is the BBA for the rest of the year? Despite all the work that goes in to it, this one off event last for barely an hour; is usually a bolt-on to a festival; attracts a very low attendance and then disappears for another year. If this is the national face of the blues, don't blink, you will miss it. Even the festival where it was held last year, didn't manage to send a representative to attend the event.
There are some national
moments - of course there are. The unfairly reviled Paul Jones
Radio show is world famous and yet still gets into trouble for not being
seventeen hours long and including some favoured musicians. Similarly
Jools Holland, himself no slouch in bluesology, can only find time to
slot in the occasional national moment for blues fans. You will probably know of other rare national fleeting moments. Then, a few years ago,
some wily promoters finally came up with the notion of holding a London
'Blues Fest'. (The Hat had the idea in 1996 btw). However, using a
high-cost central London venue, this has meant inevitably that the
event has to be commercially driven. In consequence, the connection
between some of those on the major bill and the UK blues scene gets a bit
stretched - to the other side of tenuous.
What has never been
beyond dispute is that the UK blues world has some stupendous talent
that should be playing both nationally and internationally. Those
that do make it across the seas – east or west - do it on their
own. Outside the MU there is no national help or guidance available.
If they are lucky, they gather good people around them, smart and
sassy PR people who are interested in them and their music; managers
who want them to succeed because of their talent; people who can sort
transport, venues, visas, food and somewhere to sleep. Not many gather the full house. One very
successful musician said to The Hat many years ago “I play guitar,
I tend to forget what happens after that”. That still happens and
it has national repercussions.
The Hat was listening
to the much respected fast-talking blues Dj Dave Raven recently. He
was talking about the huge Blues Foundation 'International Blues Challenge' which has just taken place in the USA. There were no
British musicians at this major affair. Why? Not because we do not have dozens of worthy candidates. Simply because a band or
soloist has to be nominated by a properly constituted 'affiliated and attributed blues society'. The
national British Blues scene does not have such a thing - there is
no single body in the UK that can nominate an artist to compete in
this event. There's a song in there somewhere - 'so no one goes and
nobody knows'. I gather that some members of the IBBA have talked about
the possibility of establishing such a body, that can seek out and
support an artist for such a venture, but the questions of funding,
organisation and above all, the will and determination to succeed are
still pretty daunting to the faint-hearted.
The British blues
festival and club scene is dynamic and organic. From Bristol to
Newcastle, from Norfolk to Keighley, from Edinburgh to Ealing via
Lincoln, Derby, Sutton, Richmond and Colne and dozens of other
cracking clubs and venues, stuff happens because determined
individuals make it happen. There is no pay. They work their socks
off, they do it for their love of the music and for the undoubted
pleasure it brings to others. Without them, and the too-few-to-number
daft and dedicated radio Djs, some quite brilliant musicians would go
unheard.
I like to hear people stand up for what they believe in. I also happen to quite like Dolly Parton. I think she is one smart cookie. So, let's listen to
Dolly Parton putting up her verbal dukes on behalf of her music....”If you talk bad about country music, it's like
saying bad things about my Moma. Them's fighting words.”
Who is standing up and fighting for the blues? Is it too much to ask
that it is well past the time that the British Blues Broadchurch got a national voice - so that the rest of the world can hear something we are pretty damn good
at?
Pip Pip!
The Blues Man in The Hat
Pip Pip!
The Blues Man in The Hat