Lot Essay
Graeme Holdaway and Marijke Bergkamp of The Beat Factory were according to Holdaway's notes which accompany this collection, ... the only people who believed in Damon [Albarn] for two and a half years... The Beat Factory, a 24-track studio situated off London's Euston road, was owned and operated by Bergkamp and Holdaway between 1984-1993. Holdaway was the main resident recording engineer and Bergkamp, the studio manager. In The Beat Factory's production company, Holdaway produced artists and Bergkamp managed them. Holdaway and Bergkamp's association with Damon Albarn began in June 1987, when 19 year old Albarn approached them as a client with a view to making some demos. He had just left drama college after a year, having decided that his future lay with music.
According to Holdaway, although the songs produced in the first session were not that great ...what came across was his energy, and the feeling that here was someone who may have a career in the music business... Marijke particularly felt very strongly that with the correct stimulation, Albarn would have a great future. Holdaway admits to having felt daunted by the prospect of the amount of work he would necessarily have to put into Damon's music, however they discussed a production and management deal with Albarn.
After a few weeks of working at The Beat Factory, Albarn met up with another artist recording there called Sam Vamplew. He had a backer and was recording a number of songs at the time, Sam and Damon however decided to set up a musical partnership against Holdaway's and Bergkamp's advice. However, the partnership went ahead under the name 'Two's A Crowd' a number of songs were recorded and a photo shoot arranged. The partnership however was soon to fall apart, it was in Holdaway's opinon ...misconceived artistically...
The next phase of Albarn's early career was as a solo artist. Holdaway felt certain that Damon had learnt something from his experience in Two's A Crowd and his succeeding songs revealed a greater maturity ...Songs such as 'Free The World' and 'China Doll'...show an artist beginning to make the link between what he is feeling and his performance... Damon also acquired his own recording set-up at home and worked with Richard Ashley, the studio's other recording engineer on developing some songs. Holdaway realized however that Albarn needed ..a foil, or sounding board..he is temperamentally not suited to be a solo artist, and that is why he is in a band. At that time, I attempted to be his band...Marijke would listen to the rough ideas and give us feedback about which ones she thought were working...By May we had a number of songs to record in a style that we called 'Jazz Punk'..
Damon realized that in order to work effectively he needed a proper band and ...the second incarnation of 'Circus' was created.. The band's line-up now comprised Albarn, Graham Coxon and Dave Rowntree. Then a bassist called Alex James joined the group ...and the line-up that would become Blur came into being. But they weren't called Blur yet, that was Food Records' Dave Balfe's idea. They were called Seymour..
Holdaway recalls that this was the most stressful time he had working with Albarn....The Seymour recording sessions were very intense and quite emotional. Damon was at his most aggressive about the direction he wanted to go in. I can't honestly say that I produced the sessions...I certainly engineered them... the mixing sessions were apparently particularly traumatic with Holdaway trying to incoporate both Albarn's and Coxon's views which often conflicted with his own. They did however produce five songs that were touted around the record companies. The band also got some press coverage and a lot of gigs lined up. Marijke apparently made contact with Food Records who having sent representatives to see the band live, felt that they had a future.
According to Holdaway, just before Christmas 1989, their managment contract with Albarn came up for renewal. ..We, perhaps naively, assumed that because we had done all this work for Damon he would honour his commitment to us. Unfortunately not. He refused to sign and basically walked out. After Christmas we read in the music press that Food records had a new signing called Blur...
When Holdaway reflects on their association with Albarn he feels that Damon's subsequent career had justified their approach to his musical leanings ...I think our main contribution was to give him the freedom to develop at his own pace, a luxury few artists were afforded at the time. If you listen to the songs [included in this collection] it is somewhat like listening to the later career in miniature, and as such is fascinating....
According to Holdaway, although the songs produced in the first session were not that great ...what came across was his energy, and the feeling that here was someone who may have a career in the music business... Marijke particularly felt very strongly that with the correct stimulation, Albarn would have a great future. Holdaway admits to having felt daunted by the prospect of the amount of work he would necessarily have to put into Damon's music, however they discussed a production and management deal with Albarn.
After a few weeks of working at The Beat Factory, Albarn met up with another artist recording there called Sam Vamplew. He had a backer and was recording a number of songs at the time, Sam and Damon however decided to set up a musical partnership against Holdaway's and Bergkamp's advice. However, the partnership went ahead under the name 'Two's A Crowd' a number of songs were recorded and a photo shoot arranged. The partnership however was soon to fall apart, it was in Holdaway's opinon ...misconceived artistically...
The next phase of Albarn's early career was as a solo artist. Holdaway felt certain that Damon had learnt something from his experience in Two's A Crowd and his succeeding songs revealed a greater maturity ...Songs such as 'Free The World' and 'China Doll'...show an artist beginning to make the link between what he is feeling and his performance... Damon also acquired his own recording set-up at home and worked with Richard Ashley, the studio's other recording engineer on developing some songs. Holdaway realized however that Albarn needed ..a foil, or sounding board..he is temperamentally not suited to be a solo artist, and that is why he is in a band. At that time, I attempted to be his band...Marijke would listen to the rough ideas and give us feedback about which ones she thought were working...By May we had a number of songs to record in a style that we called 'Jazz Punk'..
Damon realized that in order to work effectively he needed a proper band and ...the second incarnation of 'Circus' was created.. The band's line-up now comprised Albarn, Graham Coxon and Dave Rowntree. Then a bassist called Alex James joined the group ...and the line-up that would become Blur came into being. But they weren't called Blur yet, that was Food Records' Dave Balfe's idea. They were called Seymour..
Holdaway recalls that this was the most stressful time he had working with Albarn....The Seymour recording sessions were very intense and quite emotional. Damon was at his most aggressive about the direction he wanted to go in. I can't honestly say that I produced the sessions...I certainly engineered them... the mixing sessions were apparently particularly traumatic with Holdaway trying to incoporate both Albarn's and Coxon's views which often conflicted with his own. They did however produce five songs that were touted around the record companies. The band also got some press coverage and a lot of gigs lined up. Marijke apparently made contact with Food Records who having sent representatives to see the band live, felt that they had a future.
According to Holdaway, just before Christmas 1989, their managment contract with Albarn came up for renewal. ..We, perhaps naively, assumed that because we had done all this work for Damon he would honour his commitment to us. Unfortunately not. He refused to sign and basically walked out. After Christmas we read in the music press that Food records had a new signing called Blur...
When Holdaway reflects on their association with Albarn he feels that Damon's subsequent career had justified their approach to his musical leanings ...I think our main contribution was to give him the freedom to develop at his own pace, a luxury few artists were afforded at the time. If you listen to the songs [included in this collection] it is somewhat like listening to the later career in miniature, and as such is fascinating....