 |
| George Moore (left) and David Franklin with their original album, The Folk of Ireland and the new CD release. |
by Noel McAdam
Far from fading into the grey of old age, David Franklin and George Moore are working on a state-of-the-art rebirth.
The north Down duo believe exploitation is still alive and well — and indeed rife — in the music industry.
And for all its connotations with water, they say sadly that streaming, the new way that millions choose to access their favourite singers and groups, has seen careers drying up.
But now, along with IT experts and business interests, they have formed a group which has developed a new online mechanism and site which should mean artists can make a good living again.
David insists: “There are so many hands in the pie that there’s nothing left for the artists.
“There are managers, arrangers and producers, all of whom have to have a share of the money before the artist.”
David, a founder member of the Bangor Folk Four who date back to the early 1960s, said artists have had no choice in recent years but to opt for streaming services.
“Where else can they go? Other than live gigs, and we all know what has happened with them during the last couple of years with the pandemic, where can they go?
“Streaming seems to be the only way forward, but the companies have the singers and groups caught by the short and curlies.”
 |
| The Bangor Folk Four 1970. From left at top, David, Kenny and Fred. Crouching with snare drum is George |
David believes the extent of exploitation is as bad as the 1960s when groups and individual stars were signed to contracts which saw them sidelined while managers and publishers made fortunes.
“This represents the way out,” he explains.
It has been a number of years since the idea was first mooted by George, who was drummer with the Folk Four.
They were also, at one stage, the resident band in six Belfast nightclubs.
David recalls: “George, who has done many things, including working as a film extra, said he would love to take some of the old Irish ballads and make a film telling the story of the ballad.
“The music would still be to the fore and the film would just be to accompany it. That’s where it all started.”
Just a few weeks ago, country star Crawford Bell became the first major artist to sign up for the project, having previously worked with the likes of Van Morrison, Nathan Carter and Daniel O’Donnell.
His latest single, Truth Never Changes with the Times, is to be on there along with a complete film.
“They call them micro-movies,” David says.
“You get 25 seconds of music before you have the option of buying.
“If the album is put on there for £9.99 then we can guarantee the artist £4 for every unit sold. It’s like manna from Heaven for them.”
David admits, however, that he and George are beyond the age where they can deal with the complexities of new technology.
“That’s why we have our IT partners — UB Media, of Bangor. They do all that stuff for us,” he adds.
In essence, the project provides three services — merchandising, video services and production.
While the era of the MTV video may be dead, it looks like the new king of musical mini movies is about to be crowned.
With the dawn of Canvas, which allows artists to create and include their own looping visuals, major stars including Beyoncé, Thom Yorke and Kanye West have been breaking down barriers.
“Its an excellent way to share more of who you are with your listeners, hopefully turning them into fans,” the Canvas promo explains.
“Adding a Canvas can help keep your listeners hooked.”
The Bangor boys don’t quite put themselves in that league — their own offering is more than 50 years old.
Their 1970 album, The Folk of Ireland, only had a limited release after a distribution deal fell through.
However, they recently came across it online with a price of £28.
“We had more or less forgotten about it,” says David.
“But we felt it then and we feel it even more now that the songs of yesteryear are going to be forgotten.”
Although it was recorded in London, the original LP cover was shot in one of Belfast’s old clubs, Tito’s.
It now has a new cover featuring the group, completed by Fred Lucas, who sang and played banjo, and Kenny Beattie on accordion, piano and bass.
Three of them first came together in 1959 for a competition at Pickie Pool but only later became four, adding Kenny, and becoming regulars at the Half-Door Supper Club in Bangor’s former Royal Hotel.
Even before the days of Clubsound — David knows George Jones well — they caught the 1960s nightclub wave in Belfast, playing support for the likes of Ruby Murray, Candi Devine and Ronnie Carroll.
At their height, the group was poised to sign a deal which would have seen them shift to the United States for a six-month tour of Irish clubs on Broadway.
They met with a well-known agent, Charles William Barker, in the Big Apple. But the dream of America, following in the footsteps of the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem, fell apart. Yet they have no regrets.
“We were bad enough with the fame and fortune we had here,” says George.
And though they have enough memories to fill a book — including being asked as a support act to go back onstage when the then chart-topping Donovan flopped at the Ulster Hall — they are much more firmly focused on the future.
“I realised the most important thing we had to get was capital,” David says.
Now it is to be launched in the near future. Keep checking online for Visual Album Store.
First published in the Belfast Telegraph, Fri 26 August, 2022
 |
| Note from site administrator Tony Magee: Original member of the Bangor Folk Four and quoted in the above article, David Franklin, is my second cousin. David was first cousin of my late father Stuart. Our family had the pleasure of meeting David and his wife Hilda for the first time, during their trip to Australia in January 2024. Morning tea at the National Library of Australia, Canberra. David in the red shirt. I took the photo. |
No comments:
Post a Comment