Hi Jenny, and everybody. I just listened properly to the above, having not had a chance to last night with St. Pats day and all that. Anyhow following on from my last mail,
The question that I asked Suggs was something along the lines of:
"Bout ye Suggs, thanks for all the music over the years, keep it up! With both the "Three Pyramids Club" and the mighty "Wonderful" Warner Music and Virgin were'nt very good at promoting the albumns, could you rectify the lack of airplay by Radio 1 by using you're contacts in the showbiz world i.e. Zoe Ball, Norman Cook (who's wedding he sang at) and Jamie Theakston, etc to give Madness more airplay?"
Nicky Horne summed up asking "why don't you use your mates?" to which Suggs replied:
Suggs' Answer
"I'd rather use a bazooka actually, ha,ha. Well funnily enough it's very strange you should mention that actually becase Zoe Ball is actually one of the peoplewho was going to play the Madness single, and then I got this call ...I was going to go in and do an interview with her..so there was a bit of nepitism there. Then I got this call 10 minutes before I was setting off from my house when the producer said "no,no,no,no,no,no" because they just started this policy where nobody over 30 was allowed within the 20 mile radius, even though our record was in the top ten."
Nicky Horne - "but is'nt that complete"
Suggs "yeah"
Nicky Horne "real age-ist stuff"
Suggs "But I saw this documentary about Radio 1 recently"
Nicky Horne "oh yeah"
Suggs " but what we did'nt want to end up being with was Cliff Richard's and Status Quo's side, because they were really rubbing their hands together when all that came out because it gave them a kind of , it's like who's side do you want to be on then ...the old fart's or the young people ..so you're on a hiding to nothing really"
Nicky Horne " but you did notice did'nt you that the 2 executives that were talking there that got rid off all of the aging dj's, neither of those now work at the BBC - they're out and infact they looked pretty oldish"
Suggs "not under 35 that's for sure ha,ha. I mean that was the big joke exactly I mean you were being told by these guys that had been in the music business for 50yrs that you are too old"
So now with these two twits out of the way maybe next time we'll have more luck, eh? Just a thought also but the likes of U2, REM and even Blur/Oasis and others are no spring chickens so even here double standards are practised. Infact many of the dance dj's doing the rounds are in the late 30's at least. Besides Madness have shown they have progressed over this time with "Wonderful."
I think that the secret with these successful older and even younger bands is that apart from airplay and tv time - the fact that they are regarded as permanent groups who stick together helps.
Unfortunately although we know Madness have stuck together in their own way, this is maybe not so in much of the public eye who may see them as breaking up only to reunite, to tour and do Madstocks when it suits followed by another greatest hits compilation. I just hope that people don't assume that the title "Wonderful" meant a compilation instead of a brand new album, with the name taken from the great "You're Wonderful."
Anyhow, thanks for reading this - I hope it provided something of interest to you all. And maybe a glimmer of hope for the future.
Goodnight,
Alan.
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