Author Archives: carlosartorial

Labelled With Love

‘Owning a record label’ is right up there alongside ‘professional footballer’ on the list of many peoples’ dream jobs – but it’s recently become reality for United fan, Rob Butler – who last year jacked in his day job to start Be With Records, a vinyl reissue imprint specialising in long-deleted and previously unavailable classic albums. Red News caught up with Rob to get the full lowdown on how he’s managed to leave the 9-5 behind and turn himself into a North London-based Berry Gordy/David Geffen instead.

RN: Hi Rob. Before we start, are you a top red or what?

RB: I’ve been getting to matches since I was 9. Sporadically at first, as I didn’t live near Manchester despite coming from (on my Mum’s side) a United-mad family. I was a member in my teens and got to a couple of games a season, then aged 20 I went to University in Manchester – United and the city’s music scene were both enormous draws for me. Alongside my my two older brothers we shared a couple of season tickets for about 5-6 years before I moved down to London in 2010 – so these days I’m back to going once or twice a season.

RN: You’ve passed, so we’re free to continue. Can you tell us how Be With began?

RB: I started working on the idea for the label towards the end of 2012. I wasn’t happy in my job and felt I needed a career change – ideally to something I was genuinely passionate about. Alongside United, it’s all about music for me – I’ve been a record lover and buyer for over 20 years. For a while I’d thought someone needed to be doing more high quality reissues of in demand vinyl records. There were numerous reissue labels I admired, but I still felt that lots of records were being overlooked.

My wanted list was already huge and full of prohibitively rare and expensive records, so I figured there was room for another label to do the releases I wanted to own. It definitely started out as something personal – I wanted these records so why didn’t I research how to license them and see if I could put them out myself? My thinking was if I want to own these, chances are there’ll be another 500 to 1000 people around the world who’ll want to own them too.

I spent about a year researching every last little thing that I could do in terms of starting a record label. Dealing with rights owners, running a small business and lots of competitive analysis – boring, I know – but I had to be very thorough. I released my first record in May last year – a Leon Ware album from 1982 – and it quickly sold out. A few more followed and then I signed off on another dozen releases towards the end of last year. That was the point where I realised I needed to go full time to do it justice, so I took the plunge and quit my day job.

RN: Did you see Neil Young quoted recently? Apparently the current vinyl revival is merely a “fashion statement.”

RB: Neil Young is one of my musical heroes so I find it hard to disagree with him on anything, but I do here! I think everyone can see where he’s coming from in one respect. Being seen as a ‘vinyl buyer’ or ‘crate digger’ is a fashion statement for a certain type of hipster in the digital age. So, in that regard, he’s probably not entirely wrong.

However, the desire to be seen as a ‘vinyl head’ is not relevant for any of the record buyers I know. For most vinyl lovers, the current resurgence can only be seen as a good thing. Aside the very obvious fact that I want people to buy more records to keep my head afloat; as a vinyl fan first and foremost, more people buying records means more labels will hopefully re-appraise their commitment to the format and start releasing their output on vinyl again. For me personally, and I know this opinion gets lampooned, it’s still the only format to hear music on.

RN: Aren’t you shooting yourself in the foot by not offering CDs and downloads as well?

RB: It just doesn’t interest me. Releasing under-heard music by those means would make more sense from a business perspective, but that’s not why I set the label up. Be With Records is entirely about love for vinyl and needing your favourite music on your favourite format. So yeah, although it’s an absolutely inflexible approach, it’s the right one for my label. I just couldn’t get excited about releasing music on any other format so that’s the end of the matter for me, really.

RN: Fair enough. The releases you’ve done so far have featured a very eclectic mix of artists. What’s the selection process?

RB: I suppose the mix stems from my background. I’ve been – if you like – an ‘anything goes’ DJ for over 15 years. For the best part of my twenties I worked in Piccadilly Records on Oldham Street, a shop which epitomises an ‘all over the place’ approach to music. My tastes are extremely broad so hopefully Be With’s output will reflect that.

RN: What kind of response have you had so far?

RB: The reaction has been positive from all over the world. Social media has helped me get in front of vinyl lovers in a way that would’ve been impossible 10 years ago. I get messages every day from people desperate for reissues of certain albums and singles. If I like the idea, it goes on ‘the list’ – which I’m determined to eventually work through – although that list is currently in excess of 1100 records!

It’s just me running the label at present, but the nice thing about being the sole decision maker is that I have complete creative control. I want people to suggest records to reissue as I think it’s important to be friendly and approachable – something that I know certain reissue labels don’t practice – but, at the same time, I’ll only ever release something that I’d want to own on vinyl myself.

RN: One of your artists, Ned Doheny is coming over for his first ever European tour next month. What’s the story there?

RB: I officially licensed Ned’s much sought-after, blue-eyed soul gem ‘Hard Candy’ for vinyl reissue in September and it quickly sold out. Demand for Ned’s music is so strong that a repress was ordered and I’ve just announced the reissue of his follow-up; the classic ‘Prone’ will be out in April.

In advance of that initial release, I wanted to contact him. I do this for every artist that I put out – it’s only right to involve the original artist and hopefully receive their blessing on top of the license from the rights owner. Over a series of calls between North London and Southern California I found out that Ned had recently been performing in LA, yet had never even toured this side of the Atlantic. So I had to put that right – especially now a new generation has discovered his music for the first time. Ned was aware of some renewed interest in his work so I don’t think he was that shocked I got in touch – but he does seem a bit amused by it all. He’s remarked a couple of times that he’s not expecting a great response when he arrives in the UK but I think he’ll be surprised – there’s a small but ardent fanbase very eager to see this one-off tour.

Thanks to Rob for his time. More info on past and future releases can found at bewithrecords.com

Ned Doheny’s European tour begins next month. He will appear at Manchester’s Soup Kitchen on Friday 20th March.

www.rednews.co.uk

All Things Must Pass

Leave a reply

A few years ago some ‘scientists’ discovered that the 3rd Monday in January, ‘Blue Monday’ in tabloid-speak, is apparently the most depressing day of the year. It’s all to do with dark nights, credit card bills and the bleak sense of can’t be arsedness that descends once you’re back in work after the Christmas holidays. In truth, it’s a load of made-up nonsense that gets repeated on an annual basis with no actual science behind it whatsoever. It was recently proven that the most depressing day of the year was actually the 2nd Monday in January, the root cause being United losing at home to Southampton the day before.

That game proved we’re still a mile away from becoming the finished article and LVG is fighting a losing battle if he still thinks certain individuals reared on playing in an orthodox back four possess the wit and gumption to adapt to a 3-5-2 philozophee. As the man himself explained, “I have twitched my ass on the bench because we were out of balance.” Me too, pal. The theory that his players should be comfortable in possession and build from the back is fine in principle, but the brutal truth is most of our defenders lack the requisite technical skills to play that system. Evans, Jones and Smalling can’t be viewed as budding liberos whilst they continue to struggle with the basics of passing, heading and tackling with any degree of consistency or authority.

Since Christmas, the last few weeks of football have seen United turn in some utterly turgid performances. The first half at Loftus Road saw us struggling to string 3 passes together, Valencia forgetting how to take a throw in and the depressing spectacle of Phil Jones on corner duty. As someone noted sagely on one of the forums, “I wouldn’t trust him to collect a trolley.” Calls of “4-4-2” and “attack attack attack” from the away end were the first sign of discontent from fans, understandable perhaps given the month-long entertainment drought being witnessed. This led to a 2nd half switch to 4-4-2 and a slightly improved performance, but it was still grim viewing up against relegation fodder like QPR.

Van Gaal is currently facing something of a dilemma. He’s attempting to introduce a new style of play and despite the £150M transfer outlay, he’s still looks short of the personnel to successfully accomplish this. So he’s presented with a choice: persevere with his favoured 3-5-2 with players struggling to adapt or abandon that and revert to the tried and tested 4-4-2 at the expense of his long term vision. It doesn’t take a genius to work out how this one will ultimately pan out. Van Gaal hasn’t been successful in his career due to compromising or abandoning his beliefs when players (or fans) aren’t happy with his methods. Whether people like 3-5-2 or not, the system isn’t going anywhere. If any changes are going to be made, it’ll likely be a further influx of new faces in the summer who he’s identified as an improvement to what we have in place now.

In the meantime then, we need to brace ourselves for more of the same. Although the last month has seen football as dire as anything witnessed over the last 3-4 years, I’d still argue that overall we’re moving in the right direction and progress has been made. It was never going to happen overnight, so people just need to get their heads around that fact and have a little bit of patience. If we finish top four this season then that should be seen as mission accomplished considering the mess we were in when Moyes left… plus an FA Cup win has now become a very realistic possibility following the high-profile casualties witnessed last weekend.

The Southampton result was also compounded by the news that after 26 years of fighting the good fight, Red Issue had published their final edition and were vacating the United fanzine sphere. The sense of loss this leaves their loyal readership is difficult to sum up in a few words, indeed it’s impossible to understate the importance of the mag and the effect they’ve had on United fan culture over the last two and a half decades.

I first picked up a Red Issue back in 1989 having been completely unaware of their existence up until issue 3. From the moment I read my first copy, however, I was instantly smitten. The mag back then was nothing like the professionally produced, articulate beast it developed into a few years later – for the most part I was initially drawn to the mix of cartoons and toilet humour that perfectly suited my then Viz-fuelled teenage brain.

Those early editions were pretty outrageous in tone and they quickly made as many enemies as friends. The late-80’s fanzine boom led to an early incarnation of what is referred to these days by the twitterati as the ‘football family’. To be considered a member you had to have your mag listed in When Saturday Comes, the nationally available, self-styled Grand Master of the ‘zine scene – which always promised a good read but was invariably full of 4000 word pieces droning on about non-league ground hopping and women’s football in Botswana. WSC unsurprisingly took umbrage with Red Issue’s less cerebral content and took the petty step of barring them from their listings, a move which pleased RI immeasurably and was proudly adopted as a badge of honour.

Although the mag never fully shook off the unjust reputation it gained during those early years, it slowly became something much more than cartoons ripping the piss out of players and references to Leeds fans’ penchant for shagging sheep. As the football landscape changed beyond recognition, so did Red Issue. The mag had better writers and started to publish some of best pieces I’ve ever seen written about football, never mind Manchester United. By the mid-90’s it was instrumental in the formation of IMUSA and a couple of years further on SUAM, who months later were successful in fending off the despised Murdoch takeover bid.

Having grown up reading the mag and it having helped shape pretty much all my opinions on football, it feels very much like the end of an era. Personally speaking, Red Issue will always be the ultimate United fanzine and remains the main reason I’m writing here now. It was sad to read their final editorial where reasons for the decision were explained, but it made perfect sense considering everything they’ve warned against over the years has now come to pass. Railing against the world for 25 years takes a lot of effort and energy, so if their heart isn’t in it anymore and they no longer feel their words are having the desired effect, then maximum respect to all concerned for bowing out whilst still at the top of their game. They’ll be missed.

www.rednews.co.uk

The Believers

Leave a reply

‘The busy, festive period’ (sic) done then, and despite a couple of disappointing results, United now look a sure-fire bet for a top four finish and are still hanging onto the coat-tails of the league leaders. Although we’ve started winning games whilst not playing particularly well, we haven’t yet demonstrated an ability to snaffle late goals that tends to be the hallmark of title contenders. In truth, it’s the first month of the season that’ll cost us this season. Whilst making up 9 points on City or Chelsea is still a remote possibility, it remains very unlikely that both will slip up with such a commanding lead.

Still, stranger things have happened. In January 1996 we were 7 points behind Newcastle having played a game more and nobody beyond the toppest of top reds gave us a cat in hell’s chance of getting anywhere near them. Yet, of course, that season United ended up winning the double with a far less developed squad of players than what we possess now. I dunno, maybe I’m totally deluded or simply in denial, but I just sense that this season isn’t quite the foregone conclusion that most people assume it is. If we can get to the stage where we’re within 6 points of the top with 10 games to go, then it’ll still be very much ON.

The next 7 league games are Southampton, QPR, Leicester, West Ham, Burnley, Swansea and Sunderland. If we can get through them with near maximum points then those draws at Spurs and Stoke might start to look like decent away points rather than missed opportunities. I know this is all very unlikely, but I’m firmly of the belief that we’ve made great progress so far and will continue to do so. This season was all about rebuilding and getting back to something like normality after the debacle of Moyes’ tenure. Although it’s still a work-in-progress, it’s happening. Van Gaal is sorting it.

As I touched on last issue, the main thing United are crying out for at present is an established defensive leader. Now I’ve always had time for Jonny Evans, back in the days he first came into the side I thought he looked a terrific prospect who possessed all the tools required to become a top class centre half. It’s probably a bit harsh judging him on an afternoon in Stoke up against a force 10 gale and Peter Crouch, but it was during that game the realisation dawned that I’ve lost faith in him ever becoming a genuine top-level player.

Stoke, it must be said, were characteristically horrific all afternoon. This lot absolutely detest United for reasons known only to themselves, so Mark Hughes, once so beloved of this parish yet latterly, the bitterest man on the planet, is absolutely perfect for them. They must be the only club in the country where the locals turn up each week to cheer the wind, which of course enables their unique brand of ‘launch it into the box at every given opportunity’ football whilst half a dozen 6’5″ blokes attempt to rugby-tackle the goalkeeper. Their ‘style’ of play is absolute dog sick, but completely predictable given they’ve been doing exactly the same thing week in, week out since however long it is they gained promotion.

As a defender, it can’t be much fun facing this kind of onslaught, but that is what Stoke do – you simply have to deal with them. Instead, Jonny Evans spent the entire afternoon with the haunted look of a junior police constable dealing with the aftermath of a serious road traffic accident. Maybe I’m being too harsh singling him out, but as United’s longest-serving, senior defender I expected more from him this season – instead he looks off the pace and still prone to regular lapses in concentration. That said, having Phil Jones blundering about the place next to you like an over-enthusiastic Doberman would probably distract Franco Baresi too.

Whilst I’m writing this, the 3rd round of the FA Cup is underway and what a weekend of drama, romance and intrigue it’s proving to be. Brighton are beating Brentford 2-0, Doncaster are drawing 1-1 with Bristol City and Derby have scored a last minute penalty to take the lead against Southport. Geoff, Merse and Thomo aboard the Sky Sports banter bus can barely contain themselves! United, meanwhile, are off to Yeovil tomorrow in an attempt to avoid humiliation and, I suppose, kick off a march to Wembley in a competition which sadly represents our best chance of silverware this season.

You might be one of those people who really fancies a crack at the FA Cup, given the likelihood that we won’t be winning anything else and it’s now 10 years since we last picked it up… but if I’m being totally honest, I’m really not arsed. The FA Cup as it was once known and loved is now dead, it’s as redundant as every tired cliche that’ll be uttered this weekend. Progress in the competition presents little reward unless you’re one of the lucky few ground spotters or never miss a game completists fortunate to have grabbed a ticket for Yeovil (a place we’re unlikely to ever visit again) tomorrow.

Visits to these football outposts no longer present the opportunity for an old-skool red army invasion, you get a couple of thousand tickets at best and in truth, plenty wouldn’t bother anyway given it’s a million miles away and on a Sunday afternoon. If we get through and ultimately reach the semis/final, more visits to Wembley are the prizes. Great. That shiny, overpriced, atmosphere-free cess pit of nu-football greed and corporate hospitality. Despite having many great memories of the place prior to its demolition, I now feel nothing but resentment each time I’m obliged to step foot in the place.

Yep, I know it’s curmudgeon-like but I really couldn’t care less if we progress in the FA Cup or not. Most teams (barring those having their once-in-a-lifetime, big day out) will be resting players, attendances will be down and most managers justifiably have one eye on the next league game as their main priority. Meanwhile, commentators and ex-players nationwide will continue to do their best to try and preserve the status of something that ceased having any genuine relevance years ago… apart from that time Wigan beat City, obviously.

Finally, a quick word on the big news that Steven Gerrard has announced he’ll be leaving Liverpool at the end of the current campaign. A note of caution though, particularly to Tufty & Co at SEF before they embark on a hilarious banner highlighting his chronic lack of league titles in comparison to our current assistant manager. Given that Gerrard has just announced his future career lies in the MLS, presumably this means he’ll be turning out for City next season…