Is Live Music Doomed?
- John Bobin
- Oct 17, 2024
- 3 min read
DA MANAGEMENT FEATURE
(An article appearing on the Radio London website, posted 16th October 2024.)
This link takes you to the article as a pdf.
This link takes you to the home screen of a truly fascinationg website; if you are of a certain age you will remember the pirate radio stations. One of them was wonderful Radio London!
"DA MANAGEMENT is a band which plays fifties, sixties and seventies classics. These are truly Music From The Golden Era Of Pop. Da Management is a highly professional, popular, and reliable band.
They all started playing in the sixties and experienced music at a time when live bands were everywhere. Youth Clubs, Church Halls, Village Halls, Dance Halls and Theatres all had proper bands appearing, (with no dreaded backing tracks.)
Beat groups of the day and Rock and Roll and pop singers of the time had their latest records spun on jukeboxes in coffee bars and by DJs on fab radio stations, like Radio Luxembourg, Radio Caroline and (of course), Radio London.
The guys in Da Management love the music they play. They’ve been through several line-ups since the band was formed in 2013. However, they say they’ve been proud of them all.
The latest line-up features four highly experienced musicians. Members have worked with top acts, including Glenn Campbell, Kenny Rogers and The Drifters (to name a few) and in The Fingers, (Mickey Jupp's) Legend, The Boomers, Skint, The Heaters, Thomahawk and The Acme Music Company. (As mature musicians they have all played and recorded in lots of other bands.) A key member was the MD for Kids Choir 2000.
They have two great guitarists/vocalists and a very tight rhythm section (bass guitar and drums). One of the guitarists also plays keyboards and harmonica.
They realise that being an Entertainments Secretary is not easy. People like all sorts of music, and the people booking bands can't please everyone, all the time. Da Management has excellent relationships with all of their regular bookers, as they know how to please their audiences.
The band play well-known songs from a broad genre, based on a golden period, rather than original songs, or numbers from just one band. The members know there are many great tribute bands, but Da Management chooses to honour the memory of a very special time in music, when there were so many wonderful singers and groups leading the way.
The Musicians' Union had a great strapline, many moons ago. It was:
KEEP MUSIC LIVE.
Nowadays, pubs are shutting, clubs are struggling, and the local music scene is suffering. Venues have tight budgets, and they sometimes put on singers with backing tracks, DJs and Karaoke, simply to keep their costs down. In all honesty, who can blame them? The trouble is, the way things are going, live music in small venues may soon end up as dead as a dodo. If that happens, audiences will be forced to pay exorbitant ticket prices to see singers and bands, (with pukka live musicians), in large venues and arenas.
People of a certain age remember the joy of seeing groups playing in tiny venues, when they first caught the music bug. How exciting it was to see those early acts!
What can you do to help to KEEP MUSIC LIVE? Go to see local bands in clubs which promote live music, played by honest to goodness musicians.
You won't regret it!
Here is a link to Da Management’s gig calendar on their excellent website, so you can update your diaries.
If you use Facebook and haven't stumbled across their band page, look no further:
Here are some recent recommendations for Da Management.
"This band is top notch. They are a live band; each member is talented, and their repertoire is superb." EL
"Love this tune, nicely done fellas " MH
"Excellent, really enjoyed that." GC
"Lovely version chaps!!" NK
"Nice job, guys - Love the guitar, Les!" PS
"Great band and great music." BS
"What a fantastic bunch of guys, wonderful band too xxx" GR
"I really enjoyed the new numbers and thought they were delivered
brilliantly." SM
"You made it a brilliant night as usual fantastic music thank you " HS
"It was a good night, thanks to you xx" CW
"Thank you for a wonderful evening, we really enjoyed your fantastic music. You are a superstar Xxx" CO
"A great band. Seen them a few times and would definitely recommend them." AO
"Great band, we were very impressed xxx" ER
"The music was fantastic, well done Da Management." TS
"Everyone has said how good the band was. Everyone was really
impressed. You were fantastic. Thank you once again for making it a very special evening." SK
(Da Management - Left to right: Les Titford, Paul Milligan, Alan Clarke and John Bobin.)
Comments