Record Company Reps
I`m surprised that no one has brought up the subject of record company reps, a now obsolete life form. Anyone who hung around record shops, especially chart return shops, would eagerly await their arrival.
They were glamourous figures, with cars full of shiny new records, posters, t shirts and other promotional devices. Sometimes they would even bring round an act to plug their wares ( With apologies to Clive Griffin for mistaking him for the new North West area rep)
These people must have a fund of great stories from the coalface of the music business and so should be found and their stories recorded for prosterity.
One of my favourites was related by a rep known as "Reg". At a Polydor conference "Reg" was sat next to Lloyd Cole who was going through his barren solo years. He leaned over and queried why his records wer`nt selling so well. With charming honesty "Reg" replied "Well Lloyd, there not very good"
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How many sweatshirts d'you want then?
The satin bomber jacket manufacturing industry never recovered from the demise of the record rep. There must be many a former Cortina driver out there with a knowledge of long gone, soft-touch chart shop owners. I once worked for a company that managed to get a record in the Top 40 before it had been officially released, to the embarrassment of all concerned. When quizzed by the BBC regarding this, our management said that it had been due to the huge press garnered by the unknown singer-songwriter in question.
(He had actually been knocked over the week before, resulting in one small paragraph in the London Standard's inside pages).
Never mind. We still got paid.