As Saiichi’s manager, I am greatly looking forward to his band appearing at the Great British Rock & Blues Festival at Skegness on 19th January at 4pm. If you’re there, soaking up the music, make sure you see Saiichi and his band.
If you are going, I hope that, as the famous old advert went, you find Skegness ‘bracing’.
Certainly there is a lot of often thrilling live music on offer, over four days with the ability to stay at the resort and to go from stage to stage. When I last went, as a music writer, I did a lot of going from stage to stage. I remember my highlights musically as being Robbie McIntosh’s band and The Blues Band, whose dressing room sign I picked up (with Butlin’s agreement) as a souvenir…. I also remember on another occasion regrettably missing Mud Morganfield’s slot, as he had a very late start and I had a choice of either driving home (to Kent) the next day dangerously tired or getting a good nights sleep. In a betrayal of the Rock ‘n’ Roll tradition, I chose sleep. I have seen Mud, Muddy Waters eldest son, since and he is indeed a chip off the old block and very talented in his own right.
London & North Eastern Railway (LNER) poster promoting rail travel to Skegness in Lincolnshire. Shows the famous jolly fisherman skipping along the beach. 1926. Artwork by John Hassall.
Away from the music, the Festival also gave me a memorable 3.45am bedtime, after an extended drinking session with the daughter of the owner of a music publication, when I wasn’t driving the next day. This isn’t something I almost ever do, but I mention it in a bid to restore my Rock ‘n’ Roll credentials. Being resident in a resort offers more than the usual freedom to do such things. So, as a musical event, and as an occasion to let your hair down, I recommend it. Not that I need to. This festival is definitely a musical mecca, with people crossing the UK to attend the festival. Saiichi will have a widely-drawn audience to be enjoyed by.
Happy New Year.
DW
Saiichi Sugiyama Management
January 2018
