Taylor Hawkins tribute gig ‘fitting and humbling’
Organisers of the star-studded Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concert have hailed the event as a “fitting and humbling memorial” to the late Foo Fighters drummer.
The first of two charity concerts celebrating Hawkins’ life took place at a sold-out Wembley Stadium in London on Saturday (3 September).
The near six-hour, 50-song show, staged by SJM Concerts and Metropolis, featured the Texan’s Foo Fighters bandmates alongside a host of special guests including Paul McCartney, Brian May and Roger Taylor, Liam Gallagher, Brian Johnson, Nile Rodgers, Josh Homme, Chrissy Hynde, Stewart Copeland, Them Crooked Vultures, Lars Ulrich and Rush.
The concert’s emotional finale saw Grohl joined by Hawkins’ 16-year-old son Oliver Shane on drums for a rendition of My Hero, before the frontman wrapped up proceedings with a solo version of Everlong.
“It will live long in people’s memories and for all the right reasons”
Chris York, director of Foo Fighters’ longtime UK promoter SJM, tells IQ: “It was an incredible privilege for the whole team at SJM Concerts to be able to deliver this amazing tribute to Taylor Hawkins on behalf of the Hawkins Family and Foo Fighters.
“The vision and effort put in by all parties was there for all to see at what was a fitting and humbling memorial event. Working alongside the Foos team and seeing the level of professionalism they bring to every aspect was an honour as always. It will live long in people’s memories and for all the right reasons.”
Hawkins died aged 50 in March in Bogota, Colombia, where the band had been due to headline Festival Estereo Picnic, sparking an outpouring of tributes.
A second tribute show is set to be held on 27 September at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles, with ticket and merchandise sales from the concerts to benefit charities chosen by the Hawkins family: London-based Music Support and New York-based MusiCares.
“We were deeply honoured to have been the sole UK charity involved in such a prestigious event”
The brainchild of production manager Andy Franks, Music Support was launched in 2016 to provide specialist care for music industry executives, artists, crew and technicians.
“I’ve known the Foo Fighters’ agent and tour manager for a long time and when they were looking for charities to be involved, they fortunately decided that we were interesting because we work with people across the whole music business – not just artists – so I think they felt that was a good fit,” explains Franks.
“We were deeply honoured to have been the sole UK charity involved in such a prestigious event. It’s just incredible that in the six short years since we started, we get that kind of recognition.”
The 80,000-cap Wembley gig was streamed live and on demand around the world, with Franks tuning in from Denver, Colorado in the US.
“I was fortunate enough to have met Taylor a few times and, as Dave Grohl said, it was more a case of who not to invite [to perform] rather than who to invite, because he was such a well-liked guy,” adds Franks. “To do a tribute like that in a stadium is amazing and a heck of a send-off. It was a very, very moving event for everyone – us included.”
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Countdown to the Arthurs 2019: Andy Franks
He might look as if he’s been around the block a few times, but 2019 marks Arthur’s 25th birthday, so to celebrate his landmark silver anniversary, we contacted some past winners of the coveted statuette, awarded annually at the International Live Music Conference (ILMC) in London.
As well as learning what the arrival of Arthur meant to their professional lives (and where he resides in their homes and offices), we asked our alumni to share their hopes and dreams for the future; their most memorable ILMC and Gala Dinner moments; and what new Arthur category they might like to see in our annual awards show.
First up: Andy Franks, tour manager and co-founder of Music Support, the mental health charity for the UK music industry, who won the Gaffer award – then known as Plumber of the Year – in 2006, 2008 and 2012…
Winning Plumber of the Year has certainly increased the number of calls I get to fix blocked drains and cracked water pipes… It was actually very nice to get recognition from members of our community to say “well done”. We all get on with the jobs we are given but to be recognised is a great feeling and very much appreciated.
I had a number of house moves recently, and although Arthur is in my office, he is in three pieces – does anyone know a good production manager who can help fix it?
The Gala Dinner and Arthur Awards is always a great place to meet with all your fellow professionals. It’s usually more full of agents and promoters than production staff but I think there is never a dull moment when Chuggy [Michael Chugg] is there, with or without his wheelchair!
To get so many people from all over the world in a room together to meet and say “hi” and break bread is fantastic. It is a great chance to meet the people you only see once or twice a year, all at once. Great to see Thomas [Johansson] and Tor [Nielsen], Robert Grima, Marek [Lieberberg], Chuggy, of course, and people like Attie van Wyk or Marty Diamond.
“To get so many people from all over the world in a room together to meet and say ‘hi’ and break bread is fantastic”
If there was going to be a new Arthur, I’d suggest the ‘Spare a Euro for a Cuppa’ award for the best charitable initiative, or for setting up a charitable/awareness event.
As we move into the next decade, I think we will see virtual ticketing take over – and blockchain purchasing. Productions will get more extravagant, with visual and holograms playing a big part. I will definitely retire as I am getting too old for all this…
I hope that this wonderful business can get more people to work together in partnership. But mostly to look after the welfare of those around them, to support the charitable aspects of the business and to look after those more vulnerable and less capable than themselves.
Other previous Plumber of the Year/The Gaffer winners include Chris Marsh, Tony Gittins, Arthur Kemish, Jason Danter, Bill Leabody, Jesse Sandler, Jason Danter, Chris Kansy, Wob Roberts, Mike Scobie, Chrissy Uerlings, Jake Berry, Steve Martin, Henry McGroggan, Steve Levitt, Lee Charteris, Edwin Shirley, Bryan Grant and Sophie Ridley.
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Calls for action on mental health after Linkin Park death
The death of Linkin Park frontman Chester Bennington, who took his own life yesterday aged 41, has once again thrust into the spotlight the issue of mental health in the music industry.
Several industry figures contacted by IQ in the aftermath of Bennington’s passing, which comes just two months after the suicide of his close friend, Chris Cornell, have expressed sadness at the singer’s suicide – but not surprise. Tour manager Andy Franks (Coldplay, The Rolling Stones, Depeche Mode) describes a culture in which vulnerable people are allowed to “fall through the cracks”.
“It’s a terrible, terrible shame, but not a shock,” says Franks, who now runs the charity Music Support, which, among other services, operates a 24/7 phoneline for execs, artists, crew and techs struggling with their mental health and provides ‘Safe Tents’ at music festivals. “Our business is one of highs and lows – gratification followed by extreme isolation and loneliness – and it’s very difficult to look after your mental health during the low periods.”
Another charity offering mental-health support services to the music industry is Help Musicians UK (HMUK), whose chief executive, Richard Robinson, says what’s currently lacking in the industry is a unified, international clinical response to poor mental health.
HMUK’s recent Can Music Make You Sick? survey revealed almost three quarters of respondents – all professional musicians – had experienced episodes of anxiety and depression, with more than half saying they felt underserved by the support available currently.
The charity is constantly “pushing forward to find solutions and services” to change that, says Robinson, who reveals HMUK is working with partners internationally on launching a “global service” to support those in need, wherever they are in the world.
“There’s an element of good that befriending can do,” he explains. “If people can talk to musicians who already have experience of mental-health problems, alcoholism or addiction, that’s a fantastic service – but there has to a clinical response, too. That’s what’s missing.
“Support doesn’t need to cost a huge amount, but it is vital every single company is equipped”
“If an artist of Chester’s high profile had a terrible issue [on tour] in another country, at the moment there’s no global service there to support him.”
While HMUK works on the launch of its international network of music biz-centric mental health provision (“We don’t want to turn it into a celebratory moment,” comments Robinson. “The fact is there have been far too many tragedies that have pushed the industry into this situation”), Robinson notes the service “will never replace” those offering emotional support for those in distress, existing side by side with organisations such as Music Support or, more generally, the Samaritans.
Franks says Music Support’s focus is on preventing tragedies like Bennington’s suicide by acting before it spirals into a crisis.
While charities such as Music Support do what they can with limited resources – “Even if we were 5,000 octopuses, we still wouldn’t have enough hands to do everything,” Franks comments – Franks says he believes mental health is still a “grey area” when it comes to obligations. He explains. “There was one major concert cancelled recently. Most people working there were freelancers – who looks after them when they don’t have any work?
“Management were looking after the artist, promoters were saying, ‘Should we be looking after this situation?’, even if it’s outside their remit… It’s a grey area. No one really wants to take responsibility.”
Away from the charitable sector, professional associations such as the Music Managers Forum (MMF) are also taking the lead in raising awareness of mental illness and providing practical advice and assistance to those working in the industry.
MMF’s Music Managers’ Guide to Mental Health, backed by both Music Support and HMUK, was launched in May at The Great Escape in Brighton. General manager Fiona McGugan tells IQ the music industry “should be a world leader in understanding, providing support and being preventative in this area, and it is our ability to educate ourselves and others that will create the most change.”
“It’s very difficult to look after your mental health during the low periods”
Mental-health support, she adds, “doesn’t need to cost a huge amount, but it is vital every single company is equipped, particularly when it comes to crisis management”.
Robinson says mental health is increasingly “becoming a talking point” in the music business, but that it has “taken some seismic shocks to push the industry into a response”. “It shouldn’t take a horrific circumstance like this to put mental health back on the agenda,” he comments.
While raising awareness of the issue is important, says Franks, removing ‘the stigma’ around mental illness counts for little without concrete measures to back it up.
He suggests a fund, paid into by industry organisations, as a good first step towards rectifying that: “People are falling through the cracks. It’s high time action was taken. We have all these conferences, you hear the great and the good talk about these things, but what actually happens when they leave?
“A fund, with everybody putting into it, would help. Should there be a levy on ticket sales? Could the PRS pay in? Should government contribute? They’re happy enough to take the VAT on ticket money…”
He calls on those working in the business to get in touch if they feel they can be of assistance. “I’m always being told by promoters, managers, agents, ‘We’d really like to help’,” Franks explains. “Well, now’s your chance: Help!”
Equally, says Robinson, HMUK is here to play its part – as it has for almost a century – in what he calls a “challenge for the global music industry”: “What I want the industry to see is that the third sector is really stepping up.”
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