All posts by Steve

BLOCKHEAD Announcement!

Good morning, good afternoon, good evening, wherever you are!

Following the devastation left by the global pandemic, especially to music, The Blockheads like many other bands surviving on live revenue have had to re-think, restructure and re-plan their entire operation.

In order to keep the one staff member we have assisting the running of everything, which has enabled us to stay on the road and make a living, we have had to look at the realities of being deprived of live work. We have scaled down dramatically on what was already a scaled down operation and, to keep up with the pace of modern communication, have been advised to get someone working on our social media, an area which has not been utilised efficiently and effectively by us in recent years.

This means that there is still a significant cost to just surviving.

As it has been pointed out, the Honorary Blockhead scheme was a fore runner and early version of what is now Patreon. To facilitate the survival of projects.

We intend to now move this prestigious membership to our digital platform to become an enhanced version of the scheme on Patreon.  There you will find all the original benefits, plus some new amazing content and goodies for you. The Patreon page is HERE.

As you know, The Blockheads have been active for many years, with some of us performing and recording since the sixties and, until such time as we are allowed back into live work with a semblance of sustainability, feel we should find a way to continue our relationship with our fans in the absence of public appearances.

Beyond the Call of Dury

Since The Blockheads have not been able to go out and play live, we’ve had to pool resources and look at all the projects we’ve been working on, evaluating each for their potential to sustain the band for the future.  Our documentary ‘Beyond the Call of Dury’ has become even more significant now, and we feel that we need to fulfil the potential of the project by getting more involved.  The lockdowns, have presented a chance to look at all the material that has been collected, including rough edits, animation sketches, and audio interviews.  It is agreed that there is a wonderful film and a missing piece of music history here.

We want to help Free Seed Films who have had some issues behind the scenes from the beginning that have proved challenging, and Free Seed would like to apologise for that.  Both companies, The Blockheads and Free Seed Films are not huge corporations. They are, in fact, two small limited companies trying to work along with industry giants to fulfil a project that is proving to be a contractual nightmare, due to the chaotic nature of the business side of the bands careers.

Some issues, such as: the legalities surrounding copyrights all the way back to the sixties, involving multiple corporations, and independent entities claiming fictitious ownership have also made things difficult.  Among other things, this makes clearing essential music needed for the film problematic.  There have also been problems gaining access to some of the subjects that needed to be interviewed, and some key people have only recently been filmed.  We all want to make this the best film possible and would hate to have a future audience wonder why certain people hadn’t been included.

Free Seed Films and The Blockheads would like to reassure all crowdfunding backers that all the rewards will be realised, including all digital, physical components and benefits. The problem has been that most of the remaining rewards are reliant on the completion of the project, and due to the problems mentioned above, which are now being remedied, we have been unable to deliver the finished film. However, backers will also see a short snippet, with animation, of what the film will look like very shortly, to show the progress that is being made. The film is in post and with animators now.

We hope that all of these necessary changes to the inner workings of The Blockheads make sense to the fans, as without your support we would not still be here at all.

Thank you, with love!

Stay Safe – The Blockheads

An Interview with Mick Gallagher!

Mick was recently interviewed by Michael Limnios, for the website blues.gr!

They spoke about influences, experiences, and playing in both the Blockheads and the Animals!

Limnios is a writer for blues.gr, bluemondaymonthly.com, JazzBluesNews.com, culturablues.com, Blues & Co, as well as an Ambassador to the Blues Hall of Fame…

You can read the article HERE!