London Fields # 45
First published Inpress, Melbourne on 31 October 2007
NB: Each column has a name, but these do not appear in print; printed versions may differ slightly to those displayed here
We found ourselves sat huddled and shivering in a local beer garden after work the other week. The practical ramifications of the smoking ban (which was introduced in the summer) are now really making their presence felt, as the clocks go back and the long nights close in. We sat there so that the few smokers in our party could continue as they always had.
There’s often talk here that the welfare state has evolved into the nanny state, but the health of the UK does give cause for concern, particularly in the light of some recently published reports. The nation is drinking far too much, and some of the largest problem drinking levels were found in average middle class areas. This will get see a huge rise in liver and heart disease, and a subsequent strain on the NHS as a result. Even now casualty departments already have a pretty rough time of it with the drink-related injuries and incidents every weekend.
Now the garden we were sitting in was equipped with gas fires, but sadly these weren’t turned on. I’m aware that these are a hugely inefficient form of heating at a time we’re being asked to be much more aware of our environment. But in recent weeks the health secretary Alan Johnson has said that the people of the UK face a threat to rival global warming, and that is obesity!
According to the Foresight Report, the UK has the highest obesity rates in the European Union with 24.2% of adults now classed as obese. The predictions given by for 2050 are even more startling and alarming; mainly that 26% of children, 50% of women and a staggering 60% of men will be obese by this date. The health service is struggling with this already, and they’re not alone. In Lancashire, the fire brigade is wondering if they’ll have to impose fees on helping to move very heavy people. This is not a joke – some people can’t get out of the house without a crane. In North Wales, they’ve has an obese dummy weighing over 26 stone especially built to give their emergency services practice with something they’ll experience more and more often.
Harry Enfield returned to the BBC in April after a long absence with Ruddy Hell! It’s Harry and Paul. Enfield may not be well known in Australia, suffice to say that The Fast Show grew out of characters rejected by Enfield for his own show back in the ‘90’s. Anyway, some sketches were based around two enormous teenage children, known as Jamie and Oliver, whose life only moves from one take away to another fast food joint, only stopping for some chocolate on the way. Although never stated, perhaps it is a factor that crisps and chocolate are so much more available and affordable than fresh produce? And while Jamie’s School Dinners did actually achieve some success, our supermarkets (one of which Jamie advertises) can’t agree a standard labelling on displaying dietary information. Looking for lunch last week, I put the macaroni cheese back after seeing this small tray represented 110% of my daily allowance for saturated fats.
English cooking has improved over the years; so the lard-heavy recipes of Two Fat Ladies tended to leave a reactionary and slightly sick taste in the mouth. But now it seems that Nigella Lawson has jumped into the frypan with her latest series, Nigella Express. This new series sometimes seems one step from how to take the ready meal out of the freezer and pop it into the microwave. Nigella smiles and tosses her hair as she boasts that the only exercise she ever does is to skip to the fridge. Then she uses half a kilo of chocolate to make 12 "therapy" cookies, and I feel fatter for just watching it. Later she fries bread and rolls it in sugar for instant midnight gratification, and then shovels it down. Now the Daily Mail has started a whole thing about Nigella’s weight, but that’s not the real issue here. Rather it’s about responsibility to a populace that is rapidly heading towards avoidable diabetes and early death. Although on one level it’s simply a matter of less food, less saturated fats and more exercise to avoid this, the British mindset also has to be overcome. After a long day, it’s hard to resist the affordable temptation of three supermarket pizzas for three quid.
Whilst in that pub beer garden, one of the blokes their related the story of when his Italian flatmates cooked a "traditional English breakfast" for him. It was gorgeous he said. But they’d used some delicatessen sausage, and a lot of it was grilled. So the next day he resolved to cook it for them properly, with cheap snags, value baked beans and fatty bacon.
There’ll always be an England. But between size zero and XXXL, there may be very little middle ground left. And its people may no longer live as long as their neighbours…
© James McGalliard 2007
Wednesday 31 October 2007
Wednesday 3 October 2007
What Was That About A Free Lunch
London Fields # 44
First published Inpress, Melbourne on 3 October 2007
NB: Each column has a name, but these do not appear in print; printed versions may differ slightly to those displayed here
A visit to London’s record stores is often an integral part of a music lover’s trip to the English capitol. Berwick Street, immortalised on the cover of Oasis’s (What’s The Story) Morning Glory?, was once the centre for this. There were indie specialists Selectadisc and Sister Ray, mainstream stockist (but cheaper than the major stores) Mister CD, and pre-loved delights on CD and vinyl at two branches of Reckless Records. But it’s been a tough period for music retailing in the UK, and only Sister Ray continues to trade.
Nationwide chains are experiencing troubles too. Despite the fact that the UK still purchases a large amount of music on physical formats, HMV saw a massive drop in sales. Meanwhile, Richard Branson decided that Virgin will withdraw from retail altogether; he has sold the Virgin stores to Zavvi, and their digital download service will cease later this month. Of the larger operators, the saddest loss was the collapse of Fopp, which had started as a small independent retailer in Scotland, but had grown (perhaps too quickly) into a national chain. Fopp’s flagship store on Tottenham Court Road had a licensed café that doubled as a live venue, which meant you could enjoy an instore with a pint rather than being cramped against CD racks. It was well-stocked, offered near internet prices, music-loving staff, and changed the way that other stores priced and sold their music. The only bright light has been the opening of the Rough Trade superstore on Brick Lane in East London.
So in the age of downloads and online sales, should the loss of so many outlets be a concern? In smaller communities, the local independent record store was where people with similar interests met, ideas and music was exchanged, bands were formed and so new scenes grew. In modern Britain the music press is unchallenged by rivalry, and unchallenging in its narrow field of vision. Sometimes record retailers would be bringing new bands to a scene’s attention, in a way MySpace can never replace.
But there’s another major shift taking place as this column goes to press. Over the past few months there’s been a lot of talk here about issues surrounding giving away music. Mike Oldfield was reportedly pretty miffed when Tubular Bells was offered free an incentive to purchase a particular Sunday newspaper. Then there was a big hoo-hah when Prince offered his new studio album free with The Mail On Sunday. Most recently, Travis effectively gave a greatest hits package away with one of the Sundays. But all these pale into insignificance compared to the plans unveiled by Radiohead and The Charlatans.
Radiohead are currently without a label, and have decided to release their next LP, In Rainbows, via their own website. For £40, you get the deluxe package, with vinyl and CD versions of the album, as well as a bonus CD of other material. With the download, you set your own price, meaning you can grab the album legally for a song. Now this strategy may render the record ineligible for the charts, as it’s not going through a recognised retail outlet. Incidentally, a physical CD via a conventional record company is expected to follow next year. I suppose this isn’t really a first. Newcastle act Greenspace released their debut album on vinyl only, but if you sent the band a photo of yourself holding a copy of the vinyl album, they’d send you a free CD of it.
More radical still is the alliance that Alan McGee has set up between commercial alternative station XFM and The Charlatans. The band next two singles and subsequent album will be offered as a free download via the station’s website. McGee has said that they decided to do this after seeing the deal offered by Sanctuary. I suppose it has nothing to do with the closure last month of the recording arm of Sanctuary Records UK?
So why give away music? A friend who was involved in the early careers of some now famous acts thinks he knows the reason. Gigs are extremely popular now, and getting more expensive all the time. So instead of touring up and down the country, playing small venues, you can build up a following so that you skip that stage and go straight to larger venues. Or ultimately give up touring altogether and play week long residencies in enormodomes where people have to travel to from around the country if they wish to see you. Not forgetting the associated merchandise sales.
It seems my friend was on the ball, because a few days later McGee issued a statement saying the future of music was in gigs, merchandising and advertising. If my friend is right, be a little wary or maybe the days of the intimate gig will soon be gone…
© James McGalliard 2007
First published Inpress, Melbourne on 3 October 2007
NB: Each column has a name, but these do not appear in print; printed versions may differ slightly to those displayed here
A visit to London’s record stores is often an integral part of a music lover’s trip to the English capitol. Berwick Street, immortalised on the cover of Oasis’s (What’s The Story) Morning Glory?, was once the centre for this. There were indie specialists Selectadisc and Sister Ray, mainstream stockist (but cheaper than the major stores) Mister CD, and pre-loved delights on CD and vinyl at two branches of Reckless Records. But it’s been a tough period for music retailing in the UK, and only Sister Ray continues to trade.
Nationwide chains are experiencing troubles too. Despite the fact that the UK still purchases a large amount of music on physical formats, HMV saw a massive drop in sales. Meanwhile, Richard Branson decided that Virgin will withdraw from retail altogether; he has sold the Virgin stores to Zavvi, and their digital download service will cease later this month. Of the larger operators, the saddest loss was the collapse of Fopp, which had started as a small independent retailer in Scotland, but had grown (perhaps too quickly) into a national chain. Fopp’s flagship store on Tottenham Court Road had a licensed café that doubled as a live venue, which meant you could enjoy an instore with a pint rather than being cramped against CD racks. It was well-stocked, offered near internet prices, music-loving staff, and changed the way that other stores priced and sold their music. The only bright light has been the opening of the Rough Trade superstore on Brick Lane in East London.
So in the age of downloads and online sales, should the loss of so many outlets be a concern? In smaller communities, the local independent record store was where people with similar interests met, ideas and music was exchanged, bands were formed and so new scenes grew. In modern Britain the music press is unchallenged by rivalry, and unchallenging in its narrow field of vision. Sometimes record retailers would be bringing new bands to a scene’s attention, in a way MySpace can never replace.
But there’s another major shift taking place as this column goes to press. Over the past few months there’s been a lot of talk here about issues surrounding giving away music. Mike Oldfield was reportedly pretty miffed when Tubular Bells was offered free an incentive to purchase a particular Sunday newspaper. Then there was a big hoo-hah when Prince offered his new studio album free with The Mail On Sunday. Most recently, Travis effectively gave a greatest hits package away with one of the Sundays. But all these pale into insignificance compared to the plans unveiled by Radiohead and The Charlatans.
Radiohead are currently without a label, and have decided to release their next LP, In Rainbows, via their own website. For £40, you get the deluxe package, with vinyl and CD versions of the album, as well as a bonus CD of other material. With the download, you set your own price, meaning you can grab the album legally for a song. Now this strategy may render the record ineligible for the charts, as it’s not going through a recognised retail outlet. Incidentally, a physical CD via a conventional record company is expected to follow next year. I suppose this isn’t really a first. Newcastle act Greenspace released their debut album on vinyl only, but if you sent the band a photo of yourself holding a copy of the vinyl album, they’d send you a free CD of it.
More radical still is the alliance that Alan McGee has set up between commercial alternative station XFM and The Charlatans. The band next two singles and subsequent album will be offered as a free download via the station’s website. McGee has said that they decided to do this after seeing the deal offered by Sanctuary. I suppose it has nothing to do with the closure last month of the recording arm of Sanctuary Records UK?
So why give away music? A friend who was involved in the early careers of some now famous acts thinks he knows the reason. Gigs are extremely popular now, and getting more expensive all the time. So instead of touring up and down the country, playing small venues, you can build up a following so that you skip that stage and go straight to larger venues. Or ultimately give up touring altogether and play week long residencies in enormodomes where people have to travel to from around the country if they wish to see you. Not forgetting the associated merchandise sales.
It seems my friend was on the ball, because a few days later McGee issued a statement saying the future of music was in gigs, merchandising and advertising. If my friend is right, be a little wary or maybe the days of the intimate gig will soon be gone…
© James McGalliard 2007
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