A Question of balance
Watching Clive Sarstedt at Titos - will gigs like this be a thing of the past?
I find, as I dig deeper into the furore that has sprung up in Mojacar and surrounding areas regarding Noise control, that the problem is not as clear-cut as it first appeared. Sure, we have a percentage of the same bunch of middle/old-aged miserable buggers that used to moan about music in the UK, who’ve moved to Spain to moan about it here. But it’s really not that simple.
Firstly, I would advise anybody with half a brain to consider the possibility of NOT buying or renting a villa or apartment on Mojacar playa if you don’t want to hear music. It’s not rocket science. But then, moaning is the life-blood of some people. They need it to justify their existence.
The real mistake here though, is that the authorities are using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. Of course, we don’t want to turn Mojacar into a San Antonio, a Benidorm, or God forbid, an Ayia Napa. But a blanket restriction will not only put paid to the admittedly noisy hen and stag nights and hard dance club scene, but also decimate the ‘real’ entertainment, the music that gives Mojacar it’s heart and soul – the live bands that appear along the Playa, mainly in the beach bars, the jam sessions, the FUN.
A real concern is the ruling that all bars (at huge expense) will have to be internet ready, so a modem can relay the sound levels to the local Police station. My God. Can you imagine the endless possibilities for abuse here? And don’t tell me it won’t happen. Who is to stop the Police wandering down to a bar and saying, oh, you reached 98 db on the 10th, 97db on the 16th, you owe us a couple of hundred Euros. I really don’t like this development. It is Big Brother in its worst form. How can you let rip on guitar, and try to entertain people, with all this garbage going on in the back of your mind, knowing some Policeman is monitoring you remotely? It’s unacceptable. perhaps I could suggest catching criminals might be a better, more productive use of their time.
We must be careful to preserve our musical heritage here. Make no mistake, it is a musical heritage. It is precious. It’s been here for decades, and I don’t want it to disappear into oblivion because ‘Fred and Olive’ want a nice , quiet, retirement retreat. The rest of us have a voice too.
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Kev Moore
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(Born: 20th May,1958, Chesterfield, England) is a Bass Player and Lead Vocalist. Formerly with Tubeless Hearts, he played with English Pop band Christie from 1990 to 2003, and featured in Graham Oliver’s Saxon on two European tours, before other commitments resulted in John Ward taking over vocal duties for the resulting Oliver/Dawson Saxon CD releases. Nevertheless, he appeared on Graham Oliver’s solo album End of an Era returning the favour after Oliver had appeared on Tubeless Hearts Three CD. READ MORE….
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I totally agree ! It is unbelivable… I hope that authorities will change their decision and allow you and mates living your passion !
Comment by Joël | August 10, 2011
Just seen this article in the.u.k. Guardian a friend forwarded to me.Good news for the u.k. music scene and the complete otherside of the coin to Mojacar council.How is the music scene there now Kev,as I will get down there for a day out in the next few weeks to see and hopefully hear music at a decent level.
”Pubs and clubs wanting to offer live music would no longer be forced to apply to the local council for an entertainment licence under a planned deregulation aimed at supporting grassroots music.
The proposal is part of a government consultation to be unveiled by John Penrose, the tourism and heritage minister, amid warnings that small venues have been abandoning live music because of the bureaucracy introduced by the 2003 Licensing Act.
While there has been an explosion in music festivals over the last decade – mirrored in sell-out audiences at large, modern venues such as the O2 in east London – research conducted in 2007 suggested there had been a 5% decrease in the amount of music played in pubs, clubs and other so-called “secondary music” venues, venues whose core business is not staging live music.
Feargal Sharkey, chief executive of UK Music, which represents the UK’s commercial music industry, said: “We’re optimistic that this will be positive news for the industry, and especially for emerging talent.”
He added: “I’d wager that all of yesterday’s Mercury music prize nominees started their careers playing in pubs or clubs. In the meantime, we’ll have to wait for the actual detail of the consultation, and under what specific circumstances the requirement for a music licence would be removed.”
Schools are also likely to benefit from the rules, as the requirement for an entertainment licence covers any public performance where tickets are sold. Ministers hope that “school PTA fundraisers” will also benefit from the changes.
Parliamentarians have been calling for several years for the restriction to be removed. Prior to the 2003 Act, a “two-in-a-bar” exemption existed, allowing venues of any size to put on a performance of acoustic music by one or two musicians without the need for a licence.
In 2009, MPs on the culture, media and sport select committee recommended that “the government should exempt venues with a capacity of 200 persons or fewer from the need to obtain a licence for the performance of live music” and called for the reintroduction of the old “two-in-a-bar” exemption.
However, the ministerial proposals are understood to go further than that. Large venues with a capacity of more than 5,000 would continue to be subject to premises licensing as before, but small venues would save on average £1,600 a year and be freed of the requirement to register with the council.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport declined to comment ahead of the announcement of the consultation. Ministers are expected to legislate for the changes at the earliest opportunity, but it is unclear when the deregulation would come into effect.”
Comment by Tony Fowler | September 8, 2011
Hi Tony,
I just spotted this in another forum – it is indeed great news, in direct contrast to the mess over here. I hope it stimulates the scene at this all-important level. Not every band can play festivals – and they have to start somewhere. Removing some of the hoops the pubs have to jump through in order to feature live music is a very welcome step indeed.
Comment by kevmoore | September 8, 2011