Shaking It up Festivals Beckon for PJ Harvey
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For the International contemporary Live Music Industry ISSUE 203 DECEMBER 2016 UK £6.25 EUROPE €9.40 ROW $12.25 Shaking it up Festivals beckon for PJ Harvey LiveStyle change for SFX More festivals for Live Nation New management at Mojo These days agents are as important in developing an artiste’s career as managers and record companies Paperclip Agency founder Rob Berends Keeping Launching on a wave of idealism, as most booking agencies did in the 1970s and 1980s, and being the ones to bring Nirvana to Europe, dealing with the following success put pressures on Paperclip that almost tore it apart. But it has long since settled back into a it comfortable routine of applying its early philosophy of music first. together t was 1989, Paperclip Agency founder Rob “They got a Saturday night at the local venue, Berends in the Netherlands’ was at the then Doornroosje [Sleeping Beauty], to play records 400-capacity Gigant venue in Apeldoorn, and book bands and they asked more friends, watching an up-and-coming but still relatively including me, to join the collective,” Berends Iobscure Seattle band on the Sub Pop label at the remembers. start of their first ever European tour. “The so-called punkkommissie [punk com- He was blown away and sensed great things. mittee] was born and was very successful for Here, he thought in his youthful enthusiasm, several years.” was a band that could be the future of rock ‘n’ The punkkommissie posse not only booked roll – a suspicion only strengthened by his love bands through agencies, they would book them of their just-released debut album. directly if they had no official representation. That album was God’s Balls and the band was Berends was “the main man on the phone”, and Tad. And when their set finished, label mates in 1981 Belgian band Siglo XX asked him to be- keeping it together keeping and touring partners Nirvana – also booked by come their Dutch booking agent. Paperclip – came on. “They were not very im- “These days agents are as A hobby was on the way to becoming a career. pressive”, remembers Berends. important in developing an Soon after, his brother Ruud joined the opera- 16 If history shows he would probably have lost tion and they began to build a roster, consisting his money backing one of these two bands to artiste’s career as managers mostly of Belgian and Dutch bands, plus UK acts go on to conquer the world, then the story itself and record companies” the Suns of Arqa from Manchester and London- demonstrates something else – it shows a man based reggae band Creation Rebel. who is honest, loves music and is happy to back Rob Berends In 1982, Berends acknowledged that he had his instincts. almost accidentally formed what could only be The big bang that helped create Paperclip In his home town of Nijmegen, in the west of described as a business, and it needed a name. was the punk explosion of the late 1970s. the country near the German border, there were “Ruud and his former wife planned to start a “It wiped the slate clean for me,” says Berends. not many shows by punk/new wave bands, to clothes shop and he thought it and the agency “There isn’t a god, but if I had one it would be put it mildly, so, in 1979, five friends decided to should have the same name,” Berends says. “I was Johnny Rotten.” do it themselves. allowed to choose the name, but only out of two AUDIENCE • Issue 203 • December 2016 www.audience.uk.com AUD203_16-21_Feature Paperclips.indd 16 22/12/2016 13:21 We were blessed Paperclip was initially a family Nirvana, Mudhoney and TAD at business. Rob established it, but the Astoria [London, UK].” his brother Ruud soon joined Like Rob, he is also proud not him in the fledgling operation, only of the tours Paperclip made and shared his passion for music. possible and the artistes they Working under the radar of helped break, but also that they the big London agencies who helped create a pan-Europe in- The Nomads at Sjock 2016 tended to focus on more com- frastructure that benefited the mercial artistes, Paperclip was entire live sector. Keeping possibilities, Lollypop or Paperclip. Sub Pop and Mudhoney was the able to move freely across the “I certainly think our influence “I’m okay with it, it expresses that first band of theirs that we booked continent, finding like-minded and importance was there, and I we’re sharp and that we’ve got our a European tour for. The legendary promoters. believe we helped create a club stuff and our clients’ stuff sorted.” TAD/Nirvana double bill followed “Nobody was touring the acts circuit for the smaller acts in Berends remembers the Creation in 1989.” we listened to, that our genera- most European countries and Rebel tour as a particularly pointed Asked why Paperclip got the tion loved and that we wanted that brought major change in spike in Paperclip’s early learning jump on the already powerful to see live,” says Ruud. “So we our industry.” curve. “It was a big lesson: organising London-based agencies in booking started to bring After helping to vans, backline, PA and our first steps the vanguard artistes of one of the them over ourselves. introduce grunge to into Germany. Don’t forget, no one late 20th century’s most important In the early days it Europe, the late ‘90s in Holland had ever done what we music movements, Berends says, was Rob and me. were a less happy were starting to do: book European “We plugged into a circuit of ven- Rob Harink followed time for Ruud at it tours for bands. ues all over Europe that was keen soon after.” Paperclip. “There was no one to tell us how to book these bands. Asked to name “In 2000 I got a to do it, no examples. We had no idea “What we did not realise at the some of his favou- burn-out and de- what we were going to run into. But time is that this circuit did not rite tours and shows cided it was time we did it, boldly and collectively.” properly exist before the early ‘80s. from those early for something else,” Ruud Berends In 1986, Paperclip shifted through We just happened to be there at days, he offers a he explains, without at least a couple of gears as it made the right time, and our attitude classic music fan’s sidestep of an too much detail or emotion – al- strong connections with the US and meant we found the opportunities. answer. though he accepts that “it took gained a reputation as an agency “We could deliver well-organised “That’s a difficult one, all of me a while to recover”. prepared to take chances on emerg- tours that were breakeven or close them I guess. But, to name a Now though, he is busy and ing American bands. to breakeven for the artists, while few – Dead Moon, Lemonheads, life is good. His new company “It started when Dutch rock pho- we would still earn enough book- Mudhoney, TAD, L7, Afghan Networking Music has worked together tographer Roy Tee, still a friend, in- ing commission. We were, and are, Whigs, Soul Asylum, Sylvia on Dutch Export activities, troduced me to The Feelies,” Berends a highly efficient outfit with a very Juncosa, Babes in Toyland, for performance royalty soci- explains. “We already loved the band good name and a lot of goodwill Screaming Trees, Wipers … they ety Buma Cultuur, for show- it together keeping and in 1986 they were the first US act across Europe.” were all amazing and I could case festival and conference to tour Europe via Paperclip. Others Part of that attitude, Berends ad- name many others. Eurosonic Noorderslag, on the from the New Jersey/New York scene mits, was a willingness to take risks. “Looking back, we were European Talent Exchange followed, led by Yo La Tengo. “In the ‘80s and early ‘90s that blessed. In terms of individual Programme, Where Is The Music “This is all pre-grunge, via re- was definitely true,” he says. “We shows I would pick out Dead in Norrkoping (Sweden) and cord companies such as SST and did a lot of production work for the Moon & Cosmic Psychos at he is co-founder and co-owner TwinTone, but also from managers artistes, such as making budgets, the first Lowlands festival of the International Festival and agents. hiring backline, hiring vans, book- [Netherlands], Mudhoney and Forum event, held in London “We then also got in touch with ing flights etc. L7 at Reading Festival [UK], in September. Happy Anniversary to Paperclip! Here’s to your independence in every sense of the word From your sisters and brothers in spirit at Charmenko 17 www.charmenko.net www.audience.uk.com AUDIENCE • Issue 203 • December 2016 AUD203_16-21_Feature Paperclips.indd 17 22/12/2016 13:21 “UK agents, especially the bigger, es- booked a lot of dates for a lot of hot bands. And “We had been equals and now we were not, tablished ones based in London, are a then there were all these agencies in London we were his employers, I was his employer, specific breed, but their way of doing busi- who never gave a s**t about this market until it because Ruud wanted nothing to do with that ness is not necessarily seen as an example became important. Then they suddenly wanted side of things,” Berends says.