Forgotten live concert recordings uncovered including Elvis Costello
Financial Times, 2003-05-14
- Gautam Malkani

 

Bonanza for SRH after a spring clean

By Gautam Malkani Media Correspondent
Published: May 14 2003 22:22 | Last Updated: May 14 2003 22:22


When Richard Findlay says he has found "songs in the attic", he is referring to a slightly bigger collection than Billy Joel's album of the same name.

The chief executive of Scottish Radio Holdings will on Thursday announce a multi-million pound recording deal with Universal Music after a spring clean turned up more than 600 forgotten recordings from artists such as U2, Rod Stewart and Elvis Costello.

The archive consists of live concert recordings broadcast by Radio Clyde during the 1970s and early 1980s. It is believed to be the UK's largest such collection outside the BBC and will now generate a string of CD releases.

"I was lying in bed and I thought, where the hell are all those recordings we did?" Mr Findlay said. "I called together all our managers and nobody knew. So I got a friend to spend a weekend crawling around our attics and cellars. It's a bit like finding something at the back of the sofa - but it's a big sofa."

The arrangement with Universal will give SRH royalties on CDs sold and provide the £200m ($322m) company with a new income stream.

SRH has spent the months since the discovery in December converting the recordings to a digital format and seeking agreements from the artists and rights owners. It will hold discussions with other record companies who had the artists on their roster at the time the recordings were made. While about 10 per cent of tapes were damaged beyond repair, there are still another 200 recordings to identify.

UK radio stations were once obliged to spend a proportion of their budget transmitting live music, but many taped over their recordings. "It's luck, but it's also good husbandry," Mr Findlay added.

Other artists in the discovery include Thin Lizzy, the Average White Band, Madness and Simple Minds. One discovery that probably won't be released for public consumption is a tape of musings from the Duke of Edinbugh.