Thursday 3 May 2012

Press Launch






Had a great day in London last week, at a Press Launch with Kristyna Myles. I didn't really have any idea what a press launch involved, so I wasn't too sure what to expect. We arrived at about 10 in the morning to meet up with everyone : the guys from Centrepoint, a singer called Tres B, and Kristyna's management and press team. Basically, the press launch involved running around all day having photos taken in cool places while the press team pieced together a story to put on 'the wire'. The wire, as far as i could tell, is a sort of private internet stream that all the newspapers subscribe to so they can see which stories are breaking. 


The rain poured down all day, during what was apparently the wettest drought since records began. Luckily we had some nice big Centrepoint umbrellas to keep us dry. 


The first couple of locations for photos were a cool looking alley and Tottenham Court Road, a road with a rich musical heritage as Pink Floyd used to gig there and The Kinks mention it in a song. There were also many guitar shops but no time to look in them. Torture. We did a spot of busking while the pictures were taken. When Kristyna and I finished Uni we busked for a couple of years to make a living. Now we're busking again, around the country to raise money for the charity Centrepoint which helps support the homeless. You can make a donation here


The next location was the famous Abbey Road zebra crossing. I was particularly excited about this, being a bit of a Beatles fanatic, and having had a big poster of the famous album cover on my wall when I was growing up. On the way to Abbey Road, Kristyna's manager Perry Hughes jumped out of the black cab, ran into Habitat, and came out 5 minutes later with a bright pink table to use as a prop for the shoot. That's thinking on your feet.


Click jump to read on



The shoot at Abbey Road was great fun. We walked over the zebra crossing many times over the course of forty minutes or so. Each time we lined up at the side of the road with various props- guitars, umbrellas, Centrepoint logos. The shout came to cross, and photographer Harriet Armstrong ran into the middle of the road to climb her ladder. Apparently the Beatles album cover is taken from this perspective. We walked across the zebra crossing as slowly as we could without antagonising the traffic too much. My favourite shot was when a brown Rolls Royce pulled up behind us as we were busking. It may look staged but it was a complete coincidence. What are the chances? There is also a great video from this shoot using the footage from Abbey Roads webcam. 



The song playing is 'Move On' which we wrote together as a band. It will be on Kristynas debut album 'Pinch Me Quick' due for release in September.


We had a fantastic lunch at London's Malmaison hotel and discussed our upcoming press tour, when we're playing all over the country at different Malmaison hotels, and also playing regional radio stations in each area. You can find the dates here. Can't wait to get stuck into some more Malmaison food. I wonder how fat I'll be by the end of the tour.


After a few more photos, and a 45 minute car journey to travel 400 yards, we finished the day with an acoustic performance to the residents of a Centrepoint home. Most of the people there were really into it, and it gave Kristyna and I a buzz performing for them. After the gig we had a tour of the house. Centrepoint provide rooms which range from night shelters for emergencies, to hostels for short stays, to supported flats and foyers with facilities for learning on site.


The press launch was a success, with articles in The Daily Mail Online, The Metro, The Sun and various other papers. Really looking forward to getting out and doing lots of gigs and busking this summer to promote the album, and the single 'I'm Not Going Back' which is out June 18th. 



3 comments:

  1. Really happy for you guys that you're doing so well. And I miss the crazy Coronation street craic. And looking at the photos, you don't seem to be ageing! Unlike me, I'm super hans from Peep show. It's wonderful that you're doing so much for the homeless. Good on ya :D davy

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    1. Cheers Davy. I'm getting a few grey hairs. You do look like Super-Hans, haha that's funny.

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    2. What a strange reply. It was written in invisible ink! Had to figure out that I had to highlight the empty space to read it. What a cryptic young man

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