Ha Ha Ha how funny is this - A huge thank you to Gordon Gurvan for finding this in his archives- sleeping on a typewriter should not be tried at home!
The end was nigh, as I fell asleep that day. Spiralling costs in the high interest/ high inflation Thatcher days had left us with a price hike required or more advertising and Vinny was asleep at the keys. What had started out as a limited edition secret had become a circulation war. As we usually only got between 7p-8p per issue it wasn't hard to do the maths.
The one true calculation was I'd be myself and 3 weeks later when we walked into the Barrowlands for New Order, then go backstage and interview them, it seemed a small price to pay. Willy Wonka didn't do music halls but what price for a golden ticket .
All the Deadbeat regulars and others besides (Yes Gary, where is that review) benefited as we sneaked ourselves onto guest lists while the sold out signs blew high in the sky. What I had forgotten though was how beautiful small was. Issue 9 was 800 I think and we sold it out. It was a collectors piece and we went to 1000 for issue 10. My recycling roots were shred on the rocks of rising circulation and when we went back down to 1000 for the flexi disc issue it was a much easier gig. What I forgot when you're flogging 1500-2000 and more is that its more travelling to re-stock the shelves, collect the money, watch a band, get pissed then sleep on a floor in Glasgow, Perth, Dundee or Inverness train station! You also stop putting them out quickly as there's still 100's in all the shops.
Had we stuck at 500-800 there would be no back issues to flog and none under the carpet of 1f L 101 union grove Aberdeen and another 15 addresses in Scotland!
Great life lessons
The end was nigh, as I fell asleep that day. Spiralling costs in the high interest/ high inflation Thatcher days had left us with a price hike required or more advertising and Vinny was asleep at the keys. What had started out as a limited edition secret had become a circulation war. As we usually only got between 7p-8p per issue it wasn't hard to do the maths.
The one true calculation was I'd be myself and 3 weeks later when we walked into the Barrowlands for New Order, then go backstage and interview them, it seemed a small price to pay. Willy Wonka didn't do music halls but what price for a golden ticket .
All the Deadbeat regulars and others besides (Yes Gary, where is that review) benefited as we sneaked ourselves onto guest lists while the sold out signs blew high in the sky. What I had forgotten though was how beautiful small was. Issue 9 was 800 I think and we sold it out. It was a collectors piece and we went to 1000 for issue 10. My recycling roots were shred on the rocks of rising circulation and when we went back down to 1000 for the flexi disc issue it was a much easier gig. What I forgot when you're flogging 1500-2000 and more is that its more travelling to re-stock the shelves, collect the money, watch a band, get pissed then sleep on a floor in Glasgow, Perth, Dundee or Inverness train station! You also stop putting them out quickly as there's still 100's in all the shops.
Had we stuck at 500-800 there would be no back issues to flog and none under the carpet of 1f L 101 union grove Aberdeen and another 15 addresses in Scotland!
Great life lessons
On top of the gigs there were all those free records and the record companies were paying for the DB tape ocassionally!
My vinyl collection is solely down to these freebies and although I handed a chunk of the Beggars Banquet into Record Shak when I moved house there's still some lovely pieces of mint vinyl I can look at.
I love the idea of the middle man - lying down on the puddle to help the bands bridge the gap, surely I'll get thrown a crumb or a bottle of Guinness as they go by, see you on the way back down.
I still don't remember getting my typewriter out though for a photo shot, but it is my olivetti!
No comments:
Post a Comment