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What do first-class content and pub rock have in common? The story of the “failure” of one project that led to success

Do you know what pub rock is? Ask - “What does business have to do with it?” In response, I’ll tell you one interesting story that can not only inspire you, but also help in the search for your audience. Do not be lazy and read this article from beginning to end, then everything will become clear.



It will be about a musical group with an unusual name “Brinsley Schwarz” . Events associated with it unfolded in the UK in 1970. The business adventure into which the musicians were drawn led to the complete failure of the group. But in the end, the guys again managed to find their way.

Big plans


It all started with the fact that one not very successful filmmaker came up with the completely “creative” idea that was quite usual for that time - to open a hippy resort. Of course, he did not have the means to launch this project. The abandoned military fort at the mouth of the Thames, as the alleged place for the resort, did not save the situation.

However, there was one confident person who promised to help in this matter. As a result, a whole business group was created, which included: a film company, a design studio for one artist, a small magazine and a jewelry store nearby, and, in fact, the hippie resort itself. And for this case, the "organizers" were able to get a decent loan from the bank.

The music company “Famepushers” (translated from English “those who push for glory”), which took up the promotion of the band “Brinsley Schwarz”, was also connected to the project.

The last venture to join the business combination was the international bridge tournament between American and British players. The American team was led by a famous actor and professional player Omar Sharif . But it was from this venture that the first problems began.

Start End Corporation


The first card tournament was held in America. About this event filmed kilometers of videotape. The series about the tournament, according to the organizers, was supposed to bring the main profit for the launch of the hippie resort super-project. That's just the money for editing the film was not found.

To get out of this situation, they decided to quickly untwist the same musical group. By the way, Brinsley Schwarz already had some fame in the UK. True, they were still very far from international fame (or maybe they did not strive for this at all).

The partners decided to act broadly and confidently, and most importantly, quickly. The group was sent to New York for a concert in the famous Fillmore East Hall. And after that, a plane flew in with journalists from leading music (and not only) UK magazines.

But a combination of circumstances ruined the plans of the organizers of the project. The road to New York for the press was long and painful. Delayed flights, an emergency in flight and an emergency landing in Ireland, a long wait for aircraft repairs and traffic jams on the way to the concert hall brought exhausted journalists to an “insane” state.

The musicians also had problems with American visas, so they did not arrive all at once and received minimal time for adaptation. As a result, the group performed poorly and did not make the necessary impression on the weary journalists.

All this led to the fact that upon returning home to the UK, the press organized a complete, unanimous rout for the group. And the event later received the name "Fillmore-hype."By the way, “hype” is now a fashionable word that describes a way to express oneself (is it worth it?).

After this disastrous performance, “Brinsley Schwarz” was on the sidelines of musical life, and with great debts. However, the group managed to return in a completely new format after some time ...
In the early 70s of the last century in London a new trend in musical life - pub rock. His idea is a return to real rock (instead of the “production” that commercial superstars with stadiums and million copies of records put on stream). The places where many rock musicians performed were regular pubs. This version of the concert venues eliminated the need to bow to the big players of show business for permission to perform their music.

Reloaded rock band


Recovering from the scandal, the band "Brinsley Schwarz" went on to perform in pubs and perform less pathetic rock music. Moreover, the musicians became one of the center groups of the pub-rock, propagandizing a new movement and helping young pub-groups.

Brinsley Schwarz, Eggs Over Easy (American country rock band, another iconic team), Bees Make Honey, Help Yourself, Ducks Deluxe, Chilli Willi & The Red Hot Peppers, Dr. Feelgood (representatives of the second wave of pub rock, already close to punk rock,
reminiscent of the early The Rolling Stones ) - breathed new life into pop and rock music and influenced the next generation of musicians, in particular, punk rock, which is already was on the way.

What can small businesses learn from pub rockers?


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  • Offer something for free, most importantly charm them with your “music” (in the sense of information and services);

    In this case, content (information) would be a good option. Therefore, think about its preparation, better in the format of training, and not just direct advertising of your services.
  • Make friends with the owners of the pubs, that is, build business relationships with partners and those who can help your business;
  • And finally, you should not organize massive advertising campaigns, just like PR campaigns without a real basis (perhaps you can do without wide publicity by constantly working for a certain group of loyal customers).

So if you ever find yourself in a pub and hear musicians performing there, remember this story!

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