Where's The Scottish Taylor Swift?
Back in the day when I was talking to and filming emerging rock bands in America the stories I heard were all so familiar. A band would sign to a label and get and advance. Every band wanted an advance, but the advance was just a loan against future royalties. Every time they went into a studio or had a beer in the studio that would be taken off the advance. So even a big band with a $1 million signing would soon have burnt through the signing fee. And then they’d be sent on the road to earn back the advance either through album sales or concert income. Usually album sales! And so often on the road they would run out of money, seriously out of money, with not enough for gas, or food, or motels. Then and have to get another advance and so the merry go round would go on endlessly. Even if they hit big they were in hock to the record company for ages.
And it seems the same thing happened in Scotland with A&R men, yes they were all men, signing Scottish female bands, but never really believing in them. A&R by the way stands for artists and repertoire and they are the cutting edge of the music industry, often with the attention span of a gnat. So a new documentary is chronicling the many female bands that Scotland has produced and examining why none of them stuck to the flypaper of success. Did you know an all female Scottish band, the McKinleys, supported the Beatles in Hamburg and elsewhere and played warm up for them in their early gigs? No neither did I, and I thought I knew a bit.
The new documentary is screening at the Edinburgh Festival and covers the likes of Strawberry Switchblade and the all girl Ettes punk band. The former are the only Scottish girl band to have a top 10 success. How about the Twinsets, or Lungleg? They didn’t make it either. And as I say it’s mostly down to the perfidy of the highly centralised music industry and the A&R men who couldn’t see beyond cookie cutter acts like the Bangles and Bananarama. And isn’t that going back a long way? At least I was doing bands in the USA in the 21st century! It wasn’t until the Spice Girls, and I have my own history with them, that the music business thought all girl groups might break through the glass ceiling. Finally they decided that by continuing to support girl bands they might “make it.”
Now it’s a long way from rock and roll to James Pirie blogs, but the same truth emerges. If you stick to your knitting and do the same thing well enough for long enough success will come to you. We were established in 1890 and the knitting we have stuck to is glassware and giftware held together by a strong focus on customer service. And as part of our ongoing focus on serving you, the customer, we have got together a Grand Summer Sale to brighten the wet and windy days.
At half price we have the Skye - Gin and Tonic Copa Glasses by Royal Scot Crystal in a presentation box.
At a massive 60% discount we have some smart Stirling - Large Tumblers by Royal Scot Crystal in an elegant gift box.
And at half price these lovely engraved Wedding Day Highland Crystal Flute Champagne Glasses in a smart satin lined presentation box. Just right for the big day I’d say.
