Ok…so where was I ?
Oh yes..spending all my time in Sound Unlimited in Brighton spending my student grant on records by War,Marvin Gaye,Earth Wind & Fire…..I was in LOVe with Soul Music when I arrived in Brighton but having access to so many American imports was Heaven….
I failed my " mocks " in December 1976 and was told that I had no chance of graduating and that it would be better for all concerned if I left University then and there……my Mum and Dad had worked all their lives and saved hard for me to go to University so I knew it would break their hearts if they knew I'd been asked to leave so I resolved to stay and work as hard as I could in the faint hope I'd get a degree….after 5 months of serious study I got a 2.2 ( a Tutu as it's known ) Honours Degree in Biochemistry …so I'm officially Michael Clark B.Sc ( Hons Biochemistry ) …TRUE ! !
Anyway I digress…from 1977 until 1981 I worked in record shops in Brighton and London ..latterly from 1978-1980 in the legendary City Sounds owned by Johnny Wright….to those of you reading this who remember City Sounds you'll know it was a tough place to shop if you didn't know what you were talking about…me and Johnny were the two most arrogant guys you ever met in a record shop..if you made a mistake in asking for a record we would make your life Hell…our customers ,all the top jocks…Chris Hill,Robbie Vincent etc LOVED us….we had the best music and I had the best taste…I still do !
I spent 6 years selling Soul Imports,driving a van to Heathrow at 5 am to pick up consignments of records from Miami and New York…I'd open the boxes at the airport…drive all round London to Record Corner in Balham ,Groove Records in Soho ,All Ears in Harlesden etc selling the records before getting to the shop and get on the phone to Spin Inn, Arcade Records etc to sell …at the end of the day I'd have to drive to all the train stations to red-star parcels to our customers….getting home around midnight usually unless I was DJ-ing …..
So what's my point ?
Simple….
I know why a guy or girl who worked all week to bring home £ 100 chooses to spend £ 10 of their hard-earned money on an album……I know that the customer is always right…they want great music…by real artists…they want value and they want to feel special
The major labels have always taken their customers for granted and that,my friends, is why the music business is in the shit
I joined Virgin Records on January 11th 1981 ,my 25th birthday ,as the first guy employed by a label specifically to sign British Black Music…..I'll tell you about that in Part 3
The Soul Guru loves YOU
x
Oh yes..spending all my time in Sound Unlimited in Brighton spending my student grant on records by War,Marvin Gaye,Earth Wind & Fire…..I was in LOVe with Soul Music when I arrived in Brighton but having access to so many American imports was Heaven….
I failed my " mocks " in December 1976 and was told that I had no chance of graduating and that it would be better for all concerned if I left University then and there……my Mum and Dad had worked all their lives and saved hard for me to go to University so I knew it would break their hearts if they knew I'd been asked to leave so I resolved to stay and work as hard as I could in the faint hope I'd get a degree….after 5 months of serious study I got a 2.2 ( a Tutu as it's known ) Honours Degree in Biochemistry …so I'm officially Michael Clark B.Sc ( Hons Biochemistry ) …TRUE ! !
Anyway I digress…from 1977 until 1981 I worked in record shops in Brighton and London ..latterly from 1978-1980 in the legendary City Sounds owned by Johnny Wright….to those of you reading this who remember City Sounds you'll know it was a tough place to shop if you didn't know what you were talking about…me and Johnny were the two most arrogant guys you ever met in a record shop..if you made a mistake in asking for a record we would make your life Hell…our customers ,all the top jocks…Chris Hill,Robbie Vincent etc LOVED us….we had the best music and I had the best taste…I still do !
I spent 6 years selling Soul Imports,driving a van to Heathrow at 5 am to pick up consignments of records from Miami and New York…I'd open the boxes at the airport…drive all round London to Record Corner in Balham ,Groove Records in Soho ,All Ears in Harlesden etc selling the records before getting to the shop and get on the phone to Spin Inn, Arcade Records etc to sell …at the end of the day I'd have to drive to all the train stations to red-star parcels to our customers….getting home around midnight usually unless I was DJ-ing …..
So what's my point ?
Simple….
I know why a guy or girl who worked all week to bring home £ 100 chooses to spend £ 10 of their hard-earned money on an album……I know that the customer is always right…they want great music…by real artists…they want value and they want to feel special
The major labels have always taken their customers for granted and that,my friends, is why the music business is in the shit
I joined Virgin Records on January 11th 1981 ,my 25th birthday ,as the first guy employed by a label specifically to sign British Black Music…..I'll tell you about that in Part 3
The Soul Guru loves YOU
x
