THE WORLD'S LEADING PITCH LIST FOR MUSIC PUBLISHERS, SONGWRITERS, A&R, PRODUCERS, ARTISTS AND MANAGERS - ANYONE IN THE BUSINESS OF PITCHING OR SEEKING HIT SONGS. OUR TRACK RECORD SINCE 1993 IS SECOND TO NONE!
LIPA NIGHT AT THE BEDFORD, THURSDAY NOVEMBER 6th, 8.30pm
Question: What's the link between Sandi Thom, The Wombats & The Zutons? Answer: They all went to LIPA - the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts. Come down and find out who's next for the big time at SongLink's fourth annual LIPA NIGHT at London's top showcase venue, The Bedford in Balham, featuring six current LIPA music course students with their bands. The event will be hosted by Tony Moore who says, "It's true to say whenever we've had anyone on the bill that's been to LIPA, the quality of the performance and talent on display is always noticeably extra special."
SongLink is a major supporter of LIPA, with Editor/Publisher David Stark regularly presenting the "SongLink Prizes" on Graduation Day every July to two talented songwriters, with LIPA founder Sir Paul McCartney always in attendance. In 2005 Stark was himself honoured as a "Companion of LIPA' by Sir Paul, and has also hosted various Masterclasses at the Liverpool campus over the past few years, bringing along such notable guest speakers as Guy Chambers, David Arnold, Barry Mason and Cathy Dennis. LIPA Night at The Bedford is always well attended by A&R and publishing executives, while this year's performers include: Ashley Theberge / Kolyda / Nadya Shanab / Natalie McCool / Untouched / We Got Wires.
For the second year running, SongLink is involved with the ROCK 'N' ROLL FANTASY CAMP which heads back to London from November 4-9th, offering aspiring musicians the opportunity to play music, record and learn from major rock icons. Now in its 11th year, RRFC is the brainchild of American promoter David Fishof (Rolling Stones, Ringo Starr All-Star Band etc). Already confirmed as mentors for the London Camp are: Nick Mason (Pink Floyd); Bill Wyman (ex-Rolling Stones); Mark Hudson (writer/producer Aerosmith); Chris Slade (AC/DC, The Firm); Jeffrey Foskett (Brian Wilson band), Mick Ralphs (Bad Company), Kip Winger (Winger) and others.
The camp will be held over 6 days at John Henry's studio complex in north London culminating in recording sessions and a grand finale show at Abbey Road Studios. However on Friday November 7th, the "campers" will have the opportunity to perform live in public at their first proper gig at the Blandford Club off Baker Street, where SongLink's David Stark regularly plays with his own covers band, the Dave Stark Five.
"We're happy to hand over the evening to the Rock Campers," said Stark, "and will also be playing a short set of our own between all the jamming."Ê At the first London RRFC in May last year, Stark was invited to choose the 'Best Song' from those written by all the campers who were split up into different bands, each mentored by different star guests. The winning song, "Love To Rock & Roll" was performed by Blistered Fingers, mentored by Jamie Moses, who is currently on tour with Queen & Paul Rodgers.
Rock & Roll Fantasy Gig at The Blandford Club
71 Blandford Street, off Baker St, London W1U 8AB
ADMISSION FREE. Starts 8.30pm.
More info at SongLink site: http://www.songlink.com/rock_camp_2008.html
"I've had more cuts through SongLink than through any other method."
Los Angeles subscriber Gordon Pogoda has had worldwide success in several mediums and has achieved many of his cuts thanks to leads published in SongLink over the past few years. In film, his credits include two songs featured in the Academy Award winning motion picture "Little Miss Sunshine", the top 5 film "Josie and the Pussycats", a Disney film starring Lindsay Lohan, and several others. In television, Gordon's songs have been featured in over 45 shows including "Sex and the City", "Hannah Montana", "CSI: Miami", "ER", "Will and Grace", "King of the Hill", "Everwood", "Samantha Who", and the Disney shows "Kim Possible" and "Suite Life of Zack & Cody"
HARD ROCK CALLING: 40 YEARS OF ROCK IN HYDE PARK AS WELL AS MARKING THE LAST-EVER UK PERFORMANCE by The Police, who are set to headline the second day of this weekend's "Hard Rock Calling" in Hyde Park, the date of Sunday June 29th also marks another milestone anniversary in rock history: it will be 40 years to the day since Pink Floyd headlined the first-ever free concert in Hyde Park on June 29th 1968, along with Tyrannosaurus Rex (aka Marc Bolan), Roy Harper and the up-and-coming Jethro Tull, who hold the honour of being the first band to take the makeshift stage, of which more below.
Music industry veteran David Stark attended that first concert as a 15-year old schoolboy, just a couple of weeks before he gate-crashed the world premiere of the Beatles' "Yellow Submarine" film in July '68 and ended up sitting directly behind the Fab Four... but that's another story. Jeff Dexter was the DJ and master of ceremonies at most of the concerts in Hyde Park, being a seminal figure on London's underground music scene of the 60's. Together Stark and Dexter have researched the history, line-ups and some of the stories behind every one of the 16 free concerts which took place from 1967 - plus the "one that got away", a spectacular that was to headlined by Crosby, Stills & Nash and the Grateful Dead in 1969 but which was cancelled at the eleventh hour. Click here to continue reading...
LENNON "PEACE" LYRICS AND BEATLES ITEMS DRUMMED UP FOR SALE
16/06/08: SongLink's David Stark is pictured at London's Hard Rock Cafe with Gail Renard, owner of John Lennon's original handwritten lyrics for "Give Peace A Chance", which will be auctioned by Christie's on Thursday July 10th, along with the original hand-painted Sgt. Pepper bass drum and many other iconic rock & pop memorabilia items.
Renard was given the lyrics by Lennon himself after the historic recording of the famous peace anthem at Montreal's Queen Elizabeth Hotel on May 26th, 1969. Gail was a 16-year old student who sneaked into John & Yoko's hotel suite and ended up running errands for them and looking after Yoko's daughter Kyoko, and subsequently stayed in touch with Lennon over the years. Click here to read more about her fascinating story and the upcoming auction at Christie's.
Gail's escapade was very much in the spirit of David's own encounters with the Fab Four - just a year earlier, on July 17th, 1968, he gate-crashed the London premiere of The Beatles' Yellow Submarine film - hard to believe it's 40 years ago.. Click here to read more about this and David's other Beatles connections.
SONGLINK AT LONDON CALLING SongLink is a media partner of London Calling which takes place at Earl's Court from June 19-20th, you can find us on on Stand 915. Come down and meet David Stark and assistant Jen Roberts, and network with other songwriters, publishers and many other industry friends. David is also a panelist on the A&R Debate "Are Publishers the Only Real Talent Scouts Left?" on Friday 20th at 3.00pm. The panel wil be moderated by Emmanuel Legrand of Impact Magazine and also includes Felix Howard (EMI Music), Ben Bodie (Chrysalis Music), Ian Ramage (Sony ATV Music) and Nick Raphael (Epic Records). NOTE: Special discount entry rates available - for more details email david@songlink.com
SONGLINK AT CITY SHOWCASE On Friday June 6th David Stark moderated two successful City Showcase panels at the Gibson Studio on Rathbone Street, which also included a special performance by rock legend Randy Bachman. The morning session was the A&R Panel "Who are they? What do they do? Who is best for you?" with guests Pia Alexander (Brightside/SonyBMG), Steve Burton (BigFishLittleFish Music), Paul Kramer (The Hitsheet) and Emmanuel Legrand (Impact Magazine). The afternoon session was the Demo Panel - "Turning Your Song Into A Good Recording" with Bill Padley (writer/producer, Atomic Kitten, Shayne Ward etc), Paul Tipler (producer), writer/producer SizeUp plus Randy Bachman who played acoustic and told the stories behind his biggest hits like "You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet", "American Woman", and "Taking Care of Business" - a rare opportunity to witness a songwriting masterclass by a true master of the art. Watch this space for audio and video footage, and click here to see more photos.
http://www.cityshowcase.co.uk
SONGLINK AT THE IVORS David Stark - aka the "Zelig of Rock" - proved true to form at this year's Ivor Novello Awards, mingling with the likes of Robert Plant, Diane Warren, Trevor Horn, Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford of Squeeze and Mika among others. Other winners at London's Grosvenor House Hotel on May 222nd included Phil Collins, Amy Winehouse, Gabrielle and David Gilmour. Click here for all the results.
SONGLINK AT GOBUSKER CONTEST David Stark turned Simon Cowell for the night when he was the head judge at the UK's biggest ever online battle of the bands. The contest, hosted by GoBusker.com new music website had its live final at 93 Feet East in London's East End and was won by Streatham resident (and LIPA student) Olivia Leisk who took home a cheque for £10,000 and a three-single record contract. David was joined on the judges panel by Mani from Stone Roses, Leo Ihenacho from The Streets, Will Simpson from up-and-coming band Brigade and new artist Natt Weller, son of Paul Weller.
GoBusker co-founder Lorraine Lucas said: "David was an obvious choice for us to judge the competition with over 30 years experience in the music business. He gave some sound advice and really helped all the artists that played at the Battle of the Bands. It was great for them all to get some inside knowledge from such a respected music expert." GoBusker.com launched a year ago and is the first digital portal which is 100% focused on helping budding musicians as well as veteran musos achieve their goals. It helps with all aspects of the music business, from finding a new bass player to getting that all-illusive recording contract.
HOT PODCAST
HOT PODCAST: Listen to this geat interview with top song plugger Pelle Lidell (Universal Music) about scoring his first US No. 1 with Christina Aguilera (pitched via SongLink) and his other successes.
http://www.pop-creations.com/news.php?news_id=40
SONGLINK SPONSORS "LET'S TALK MUSIC" TV SHOW
HOT NEWS! SongLink is co-sponsoring "Let's Talk Music", an exciting new TV series about the music industry, which is going out live each week from the island of Malta in the Mediterranean.
"Let's Talk Music" is a 13-week discussion programme about all aspects of the music industry, hosted by Tony Moore (of The Bedford and Kashmir Klub fame), broadcast live every Thursday evening on Malta's One TV channel, and also simulcasted live in Second Life on the Internet, which is a world first for any terrestial TV programme..
STOP PRESS: The follow-up City Showcase /ASCAP / SongLink masterclass takes place on Thursday April 17th in the PRS basement bar.
City Showcase, London's leading festival for new music, hosted an extremely successful masterclass on December 4 in association with SongLink, ASCAP and Gibson Guitars. Led by David Stark (SongLink) and Sean Devine (ASCAP), over fifty City Showcase/SongLink performers and writers across all musical genres gathered at the Gibson Studio in London...
Last Monday night (19th), SongLink presented the third annual LIPA NIGHT at The Bedford in Balham, featuring six "astonishing performances" (in the words of host Tony Moore), by current students of the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts. The standard of music on display was truly awe-inspiring, with each of the female-fronted bands showing a maturity of performance, musicianship and songwriting ability that would sit comfortably alongside anything else on the charts.
SongLink's David Stark will be a jury member at next Tuesday's finals of the annual MBF (Musicians Benevolent Fund) contest for students of songwriting and music degree courses, with a Grand Prize of £5,000. Hosted by Tony Moore and featuring a guest appearance by last year's winner Hannah-Rei of LIPA, the jury also comprises Guy Chambers, Cathy Dennis, Nik Kershaw and Tony Moore.
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Admission Free. At The Bedford, 77 Bedford Hill, London SW12 9HD
Doors open 7.30pm. Show at 8.30pm
Nearest tube/BR: Balham http://www.thebedford.co.uk
Watch the live webcast here: http://www.whereitsat.tv.bblive.html
MBF website: http://www.mbf.org.uk
Following last June's enormously successful SongLink and ASCAP panels at City Showcase 2007, a special one-off songwriting masterclass is being held at the Gibson showroom in Rathbone Street, London W1 on December 4th from 2-5pm. Panelists will include David Stark (SongLink) , Sean Devine (ASCAP), lyricist Gary Osborne (Elton John etc), 10cc legend Graham Gouldman, hit pop writer Bill Padley (Atomic Kitten, Shayne Ward) and others tbc. Tickets are free but please note places are limited and MUST be reserved in advance. Contact: Annabel Rigg, City Showcase - annabel@cityshowcase.co.uk - http://www.cityshowcase.co.uk
Q: What's the link between Sandi Thom, The Wombats & The Zutons?
A: They all went to LIPA - the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts
Who's next for the big time?? Come down and find out at SongLink's 3rd annual (and the first all- female fronted) LIPA NIGHT at award-winning London venue The Bedford in Balham, on Monday November 19th 2007, at 8.30pm. Featuring six current LIPA students with their bands and musicians, plus Special Guest JIM DIAMOND ("I Won't Let You Down", "I Should Have Known Better").
ASCAP honoured the top writer and publisher members of the PRS at London's Grosvenor House Hotel on October 10th, while BMI saluted Europe's songwriters and publishers at its 2007 London Awards on October 16th at London's Dorchester Hotel
SONGLINK SUPPORTS VARIETY CLUB EVENT - 'BARRY MASON & FRIENDS'
SongLink is proud to support famous childrens' charity the Variety Club's fundraiser at London's Dover Street Bar on Tuesday, 11th September 2007 where many famous songwriters including Barry Mason, Tony Hatch, Roger Greenaway and others, plus special star guests, will be performing some of their classic hits.
SONGLINK EXCLUSIVE: ELVIS PRESLEY'S UK SONGWRITERS
ELVIS PRESLEY'S INCREDIBLE LIFE ended tragically in the bathroom of his Graceland mansion home in Memphis on 16 August 1977, aged just 42. The man known as The King of Rock & Roll who changed the face of popular music has been gone for an unbelievable 30 years, yet still wields a huge influence in the world of music and contemporary culture. As has been well documented, his estate earns more now than he did when he was alive, and despite the often tacky merchandising and commercialisation of his image and legend, there is still one thing that shines above all else: that unique voice and the songs he made famous.
NEW FEATURE: The first SongLink Podcast, recorded June 8th 2007 at the Gibson Showroom in London during the Songwriting Masterclass hosted by David Stark as part of City Showcase 2007. The event was described by many as the best panel of the week, and features a stellar line-up of notable British songwriters talking about their work and playing examples, including Graham Gouldman (pictured), Charlie Dore, John Peppard, Rob Davis and Peter Wright.
Following two highly successful 'LIPA Nights' at The Bedford over the past two years (which attracted continuing interest from major label A&R executives), SongLink was delighted to present a special industry showcase at London's Regal Room on May 9th, featuring five of LIPA's most promising young artists and performers, ranging from new country to jazz/crossover to new singer/songwriters (see biogs below), hosted by Tony Moore. The show was totally immaculate, with each of the five young LIPA students demonstrating an amazing talent and huge future potential in the music business.
A special Halloween night of songs and music by current and former students of LIPA, the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts (Lead Patron: Sir Paul McCartney), which recently celebrated its 10th Anniversary, and also a UK No. 1 single and album by former student Sandi Thom.
SongLink editor/publisher David Stark has maintained a close relationship with LIPA over the last few years, not only awarding the SongLink Prizes to two outstanding students at Graduation Day, but also giving Master Classes and arranging for some of the UK's best-known songwriters and composers to do likewise - most notably Guy Chambers, and next month Cathy Dennis and Pam Sheyne.
NEWSFLASH: SIR PAUL McCARTNEY PAYS TRIBUTE TO SONGLINK EDITOR
Sir Paul McCartney with singer Susan Black, David's brother Nigel, and David Stark.
SongLink founder, editor and publisher David Stark was honored by Paul McCartney with the title of LIPA Companion as the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA) celebrated its Graduation Day on Friday 28th July.
David collected the Companionship for his dedication to furthering the careers of the talented musicians who study at LIPA. The award is the equivalent of an honorary degree, and was presented to him by Sir Paul, LIPA's founding patron, whom David shared the stage with for two hours, along with the other new Companions.
SONGLINK SUCCESS WITH GERMAN POP IDOL WINNER February 2006: SongLink is delighted to report that the debut single by Tobias Regner, the winner of 'Superstars', the German version of 'Pop Idol' was the song 'I Still Burn', the demo of which was included on the SongLink CD for Popkomm 2005.
The song was co-written by the UK's Peter Wright (Nettwerk Songs Publishing), and US writer Jess Cates (Rive Droite/Right Bank Music). Jess previously co-wrote 'Incomplete' for the Backstreet Boys amongst other hits.
The SongLink CDs are issued twice a year to coincide with Midem and Popkomm, and feature 24 new songs available to cover or license in all commercial styles - pop, dance, R&B, ballads, etc. Peter also has a track on the latest SongLink CD: 'Say Pretty Please', co-written with Rob Davis (Universal Music), who co-wrote Kylie's smash 'Can't Get You Out Of My Head.'
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