Reading Festival articles

You are in: Berkshire > Entertainment > Reading Festival 2007 > Reading Festival articles > Colin Murray on unsigned bands

BBC Radio One's Colin Murray

Colin Murray on unsigned bands

BBC Berkshire caught up with Radio One's Colin Murray at the Reading Festival launch party and ended up chatting to him about unsigned bands. Read or listen to the interview and then have your say below the article.

When Linda Serck and Susanne Courtney chatted to Radio One's Colin Murray at the Reading Festival launch party, little did they know they'd end up talking extensively about the unsigned band scene in Reading and beyond. Have your say below if you'd like to comment on the interview.

Read excerpts from the interview below or listen to the full interview by clicking on the audiolink:

LISTEN: Colin Murray on unsigned bands >

Audio and Video links on this page require Realplayer

"...the fact is that 95 per cent of people at the very very least do not want to listen to unsigned music."
Colin Murray on unsigned bands

About Myspace:

"I don't think that Myspace means that unsigned bands are more popular, I completely disagree, I mean it's easier to listen to them but the fact is that 95 per cent of people at the very very least do not want to listen to unsigned music."

But in Reading there's been a massive explosion of unsigned bands in Reading, sometimes more people come to see an unsigned band than they do a signed band.

"A lot of that depends on how many people are in the band and how many people they know, but live scenes in towns they tend to go in cycles...who are the unsigned bands then from your area?"

Rebus (c) Will Gibson

Well there's one band who have just signed to V2 records called My Luminaries, they've been doing the Reading scene for a couple of years, there is The Race as well...Pure Reason Revolution...Rebus...Six Nation State.

"Rebus are named after the detective and Ian Rankin novels, did you ever read those they're very good...What's good about those bands is that only one of those starts with 'the' - I've started to rule out any band that starts with 'the' these days cos they're always rubbish..."

"I think unsigned music is unsigned music. It's funny cos when bands say to me about...building a local following - I don't think A&R people look for that, they sign people who play in bars to two people. Playing live locally is only good if the guy that runs the bar give you at least two monitors so you can hear yourself and that you've got the songs to play live. It doesn't matter if 400 of your mates scream about how brilliant you are if you're not good - I think it's a balance of writing songs and bettering yourself.

"I used to work for an independent label in Belfast, we did reindeer-section records which was the Snow Patrol, Arab Strap, Mogwai thing...and there was bands we would work with with loads of talent but as soon as you make them apply themselves and write songs they just get really scared of the idea of actually being signed..."

But everyone has to start somewhere and we've interviewed signed bands to ask them 'what's your advice' and they say 'lots of gigging, no matter where it is just to get the experience and to get your performance up to scratch' so I think an unsigned band scene is important and it's important for a town to support that.

"Thing is, what's good at the moment is that guitar music selling records so you're more likely to get a beer or a clothing label to throw in money...

"If you send your demos out and it's good then it will get played...it will. There's no such thing as an unsigned band who are brilliant - the brilliant ones get signed."

Read excerpts from the Colin Murray interview or listen to the full interview here:

LISTEN: Colin Murray on the Reading Festival 2006 >

Audio and Video links on this page require Realplayer

last updated: 29/08/07

Have Your Say

Do you agree with what Colin Murray says? Have your say here:

The Rhys.
"If you send your demos out and it's good then it will get played"...over and over on Radio 1.They haven't got any music up yet but look out for these...www.myspace.com/lightsoutbynineuk

Tom Law
I don't believe 'there's no such thing as an amazing unsigned band'; There are bands which are huge, and stay clear of labels. Also, some music is so new no ones heard it yet......how can you say that they're not good - They MIGHT be, ? haha oh well. www.myspace.com/tomlawmusic

REDEYE
We did enter the competition, and played Leeds 07 Unsigned with much stronger set, so it works!!!

kieth
yeah i listened to unsigned band crisis-island, they're amazing. myspace.com/crisisisland x

jack
i want my band a gig in reading can you help?my bands called a vintage expressioncheck us out?www.myspace.com/avxmusic

Andy
Colin Murray is a ****in' gob***** with about as much knowledge of the music industry as Edith Bowman. He's not a bad footie presenter though.

Secret Weapon
Bring back grunge.Check out www.nosecretweapon.com grunge is alive and kicking.

MelonFarmer
Some of it I agree with, some I don't....Tis sadly true, 95% of people do not want to listen to unsigned bands, because most of them are dreadful and will only ever play to their friends and family. Some of them are even worse live than on a recording... However, there are good unsigned acts out there, but being talented alone is not enough to get you signed...at the end of the day record companies are a business and need to make money, so are looking for stuff that can sell, which also involves song writing ability, charisma and image too... The music business is hard work and they want people who will live and breathe it 24/7, not when they feel like it... They also want people to want it bad enough that they will be determined to get themselves heard.... Ask yourself what you want....is it the same thing a record company wants? Jase, drummer, MelonFarmer www.myspace.com/melonfarmerband

PayCheck
We are unsigned. Check us out. :) www.myspace.com/ukpaycheck ;) xxxxxxxxx

Squiffy
Oh yeah, i've heard of the response, arent they from derby? They are well good i saw them at birmingham in the summer. Get behind them! xxxxxx squif

sherbit
for rock i agree but hip hop NO. check out www.myspace.com/theelitecartel and www.myspace.com/theelitecartel

Conor McDonagh
Help my band get signed...Dirty Dellaway!!! we will send u a demo if u can give me ur address.its a dam gud demo.

Lynn
Your comment that there are no unsigned brilliant bands is untrue. There are a lot of brilliant bands out there still waiting for their break. They work hard for nothing in the hope that they will be in the right place at the right time.

New Music
John Peel was right about "crimes against music", Colin!

david
ive just heard this great unsigned band called The Response i think there site is. www.myspace.com/the_response

katie
Superfreak zzzz. All about the electronic production. Pity it's not their own! Tennents was a bit of a let down.

Peter
Idiot -Colins exactly right about bands starting with 'the'. Hes says these days, I dont call the prodigy, verve, beatles or Jam 'these days' they dont exactly release much 'these days' do they? Colins right about unsigned music, its generally pants but necessary or we'll all end up listening to the pubs jukebox all the time.

Mike Halliwell
Surely a signed band was an unsigned band last.. and there must be unsigned bands who will be signed next.. and they must be better than signed bands because they're new and not been played to death by morons on self-congratulating arrogant Radio 1 DJ slots..

gary- Northampton
I know a band who's name dont begin with "The"! (whats that all about anyway ?" www.myspace.com/drytilfriday -THEY ROCK- have a listen..

amy
I didn't realise how much of a moron Colin Murray is.

Lottie
Oh whatever. All i ever listen to is unsigned bands. Enter shikari arn't signed and they're amazing.

barb
have you listened to audio runway o seen them live

barb
no the brilliant ones have to be in the right place at the right time how hard do you have to work

barb
what about if you are an unsigned band and want to be signed and work really hard at writing songs and music and dont get anywhere

Dave Tottman.
Yes he`s correct unsigned bands in general dont want to put in the comitment and are quite happy to entertain their local following

Phil
Ive heard superfreakz stuff and it is indeed quality!!

superfreakz
talking of unsigned bands, the superfreakz from northern ireland will blow snow patrol out of the water, www.myspace.com/superfreakz listen and tell me im wrong

Ben
Some good points, BUT Anders prove that unsigned bands can be brilliant www.myspace.com/andersrock

Hannah
I think there is a lo of undiscovered talent out there. I saw Daddy Long Legs play last week and they were great.

Daz
"My wee brother's in a band called Red Eye and he's like: 'any way you can help me' cos they go every year and he's like:'well we could play at ten in the morning just to say we played Leeds and Reading', and I was like: 'there's no way I'm doing any favours for you, get people to check www.myspace.com/thelockup " sounds like a plug to me!!!! hahahahaha!

Johnny
Well I have literally just found this amazing UNSIGNED band called crisis-island. If they dont get signed then its all wrong! I suggest you lot go to the myspace: www.myspace.com/crisisisland xxx

Joe
I think Colin's making a lot of sweeping statements and some of them are half true - but at the end of the day isn't it a complete paradox if the only good bands are signed ones - how do they get signed then?... the truth is that most people do not value unsigned bands because they have not been branded as being "good" and its only when they think they have some kind of significance that they are worth it. True there are a lot of boring unsigned bands but I think its sad that 95% of the population are told what is good by music journalists who probably have appalling taste anyway!

Rob
At last someone speaks the truth.

Amynee
what's he on about? surely there's loads of great unsigned stuff out there. you cant say that just the good stuff get signed. look at all the contracts that were wasted on poor groups artists. (e.g. cheeky girls, the ketchup girls or what ever.) they were just one hit wonders. half of the unsighned stuff out there could produce amazing much loved albums. PSHHHHHHHHHHH.

ted
hear hear! if you are in a Reading band and look around your audience and see your friends, other bands, and a couple of disinterested 17 year olds, please give up

Steve
In complete agreement, local scenes are nothing with the possible exception of london, but music needs and wants to be heard.. Filter out the rubbish and get us what we know is out there. Good music unsigned but potentially unheard drowns in the mass of crap. Why do so many rubbish bands actually think people want to hear them? To all unsigned bands ever and some more specifically in and around reading.... Listen to your music, listen hard and clear. If you don't find yourself enjoying it without picking holes in it and thinking about other songs, then turn your mics off, cut your hair and go and get a job. Then hopefully the bands that are GOOD can get around and heard more!

Ken, not Kenneth, Ken
I'm trying to read between the lines on this. Is Colin saying he doesn't like Rebus, or what ?

Matt
I think Colin is a plonker. A band getting signed is just a record company buying into what they are doing. It's rubbish to say that all the good bands are signed because there are a hell of a lot of decent unsigned acts. Most of them are just waiting to get picked up by a label rather than actually getting out there and making it what they want it to be. I do agree that local scenes prove nothing and get you nowhere. I think bands in Reading should stop trying to impress local wannabe "muso" socialites and get out more! Also, what is worse than people putting a "the" at the beginning of their name is bands that have now taken it off because they think it's more fashionable without! I mean, really!

harry hayward
only one word comes to mind, BUFFOON!

Richard
Not keen on the statement about the brilliant bands getting signed and the rest not being. A lot of bands only get the recognition after years of working away. The record labels seem reluctant to take on music not because they don't think its good or will sell, but because it may not sell NOW. Understandable, they want a return oninvestment, but i think that some bands out there that might be brilliant don't make it because they face these odds. The bands that make it nowadays aren't necessarily the best or brightest acts but can often be the most stubborn, arrogant or able to keep plugging the longest. My honest opinion is that the myspace music boom has come about because people do want to hear unsigned music, as it can be as good as or better than signed music. Some unsigned bands may never make it to a level that the recording industry thinks will take them on, so may never have the production quality and distribution available to make them available to the casual listener. It is not that people don't want to listen to unsigned music but that there have been barriers that have prevented its availability. With the advent of the online music communities, the record industry will lose its grip on the music people can hear and the job that certain radio DJs(eg.John Peel) did so well of bringing new, interesting and unheard of music to the masses will become redundant. Colin should know this and know that as the ability to sample and experience new music becomes ever easier for the general public, the role of radio shows must shift to enhance this discovery of new music for people or lose its role as music entertainment and focus more on other aspects of what the mediumm can provide.

eightiesdisco
He is not saying anything that everyone knows in their heart of hearts. What he fails to say is that there a lot of signed bands that are not even good let alone brilliant.

Cassandra
At last someone speaks the truth! Why is that I can't walk into a pub in Reading these days without being subjected to a line-up of 'new' music (usually the same bands who have been on the unsigned treadmill for the last three or four years), cheered to the rafters by a combination of their sychophant friends, equally unsigned other bands, and 15-year old binge drinking poppets?

The The.
"...I've started to rule out any band that starts with 'the' these days cos they're always rubbish..." What kind of statement is that? Ok, i'm not gonna bother listening to radio shows where the presenters first name is Colin cos he's rubbish. Colin must not know about the Beatles, The Verve, The Prodigy, The Zutons, The Jam etc etc etc..the list is longer than his CV. Anyhoo, the next "The band" will be The Yearning from Reading or The Race from Reading... God bless 'em.

	BBC Homepage England
Berkshire News Sport Weather Travel News Entertainment Places People Faith Nature History BBC Introducing In Pictures Credit Crunch School Report Thames Tales BBC Local Radio Site Contents

	Contact Us Like this page? Send it to a friend!

Reading Festival articles

Colin Murray on unsigned bands

About Myspace:

But in Reading there's been a massive explosion of unsigned bands in Reading, sometimes more people come to see an unsigned band than they do a signed band.

Well there's one band who have just signed to V2 records called My Luminaries, they've been doing the Reading scene for a couple of years, there is The Race as well...Pure Reason Revolution...Rebus...Six Nation State.

Have Your Say

SEE ALSO

See Also

On bbc.co.uk

Jamcams