Wayne Rooney tweeted “Listened to some great music today from a young band from Liverpool, get following @TheHummingbirds”, and Colleen Rooney tweeted “Cavern tonight, seen a brilliant Liverpool band The Humming Birds!!! They got me dancing, really good x”, and with an appearance on Sports Tonight Live, it is only a matter of time before everyone in the UK knows about this amazing band.

They write all their own songs and play all their own music. What more could you want in this mass produced, X Factor generation?

With hits in the waiting like ‘Back In Liverpool’ and ‘Awaiting Your Call’, this band is a modern day Beatles, with a great folk sound.

On 2 February 2012, The Hummingbirds are playing The Dry Dock, Woodhouse Lane, Leeds. The gig starts at around 9:30pm, free entrance.

Come and see this band before you have to pay over the rate ticket prices to see them in arenas and stadiums!

The Hummingbirds band members

Jay Davies – Lead vocals & guitar

Matty Brougham – Guitar

Mic Kountis – Guitar & backing vocals

Richard Smith – Backing vocals & Cajon & Percussion

Ryan Lewis – Bass

Huge LED screens set up at the venue will stream cutting edge work from the university’s art, design and computing students on March 24 as the Who front-man performs Tommy in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust.

The link with the rock legend came through Middlesex’s Creative Director in Residence Colin Payne.

Payne said: “Last year we worked closely with Rob Lee (editor- thewho.com) developing a new Middlesex University course which is really unique – combining technology and the arts – and out of this work he had an inspired idea to propose a collaboration with the band.

“Daltrey agreed and suggested that our students create new visuals for a gig at the Royal Albert Hall where he planned to revive The Who’s “Tommy” it suddenly became an epic and amazingly real challenge.”

Payne brought together students from across the university, helping them to collaborate using social media, downloading and discussing their ideas on a dedicated Facebook page.

The Who’s lead singer said he was impressed by how the students applied the themes of Tommy to their world.

“The genius of Pete Townshend (The Who’s guitarist who wrote Tommy) is that his work, like that of all great artists, is timeless,” said Daltry.

“The students have been able to get rid of the stereotype images of Tommy that we all know and love and come up with their own fresh interpretation. What’s really exciting is to see these guys use the medium of Tommy to talk about their generation”.

Colin Payne said the students jumped at the chance to work with a music legend:  “They all got fired up about doing something for Teenage Cancer Trust and working with a legendary performer like Roger Daltrey on such an iconic piece as ‘Tommy’.”

Birds on tank, by Ahmed Karrar

Third year Information Technology and Networking student Ahmed Karrar said:  “This project was a real pleasure.  To have a rock icon like Roger Daltrey agree to let us interpret the Tommy album the way we wanted was awesome.

“Collaboration through Facebook was really effective. I am not a heavy Facebook user but the dedicated Tommy page setup let everyone share and access their own and others’ ideas very easily.  The notification system allowed us all to keep abreast of the latest updates and ideas.”

Karrar created more than six minutes of animation for the opening tracks of the rock opera, Overture and It’s a Boy.

He said: “It was based on ideas that came to me after listening to the Tommy album, Tommy’s condition of being a ‘deaf, dumb and blind kid’ I felt relates to all of us today: no matter where you are in the world it seems that no one is listening to each other, seeing what is happening or saying what needs to be said.”

At the MTV awards Gaga arrived in a dress made of meat, and at the Grammys we saw her arrive in a giant egg. Is this the real Lady Gaga or just an attention seeking superstar?

Fans were already aware she was to perform her new single ‘Born this way’, from her new album due out in May. However, when she stepped – or should I say, when she was carried – on to the red carpet inside a transparent egg, she may have just outdone herself.

Scantily-clad attendees carried her on a sedan chair down the red carpet sending the paparazzi into frenzy. One of her entourage explained to Ryan Seacrest:

‘She’s in an embryonic state and won’t be born until the performance.‘

So, why did she really arrive in ‘incubation’? Many people would argue that it’s because it was part of her performance. But never before has somebody hit the headlines for what they were wearing as much as Lady Gaga. Who knew that back in 2009, a ‘Kermit the Frog’ dress would make front pages?

She’s in every magazine without fail every week and this is down to one thing – her wacky costumes and funky hair dos!  Without these crazy outfits, would she be where she is today?

Probably not, there are so many other talented female singers at present: Rihanna, Beyonce and Cheryl Cole all have huge fan bases. But the press attention they receive is nothing compared to that of Lady Gaga. Cheryl Cole received worldwide coverage for her break-up and malaria scare, Rihanna for her arguments with her husband, whilst Beyonce seems to escape our headlines.

‘Everyone wants to look like her. She’ll walk around in London in her underwear and everyone will catch on.’ Akon

Akon is right in saying this. In the last two years, new hairstyles have emerged, girls wearing extreme make-up has become the norm and couture clothing is now standard evening wear. People want to be Lady Gaga.

Lady Gaydar

The gay community have also welcomed her with open arms. Her new single ‘Born this way’ is the first ever number one single to use the word ‘transgendered’. The song is getting the message across to the audience that you should stop being critical of yourself, because God made you that way.

Gaga has therefore normalised homosexuality, appealing to younger audiences with her work and embracing different sexualities.

‘No matter gay, straight or bi…lesbian, transgendered life, I’m on the right track baby I was born this way.’

So is Lady Gaga using PR in her songs to ‘buy’ the gay audience? She sings about it being ok to be gay or lesbian in a very explicit way – which no other modern singer has done.

This will appeal to a GLBT audience as there is still a lot of prejudice in the world today. Gaga is telling them she’s on their side and almost befriending them.

The lyrics are very personal to each individual who listens to it. She has a gay fan base bigger than that of any other current star.

Gaga also picks up publicity for her ‘wacky’ outfits when being photographed by fans, and these pictures being instantly uploaded onto blogs.

One blog, Gaga Stigmata, started in March 2010 has thousands of followers and is updated on a regular basis. So why is blogging so important to this star’s success?

A picture can be uploaded onto the internet for everyone to see within a matter of minutes. Therefore, if Gaga is spotted somewhere wearing a see through dress or just her underwear, someone could take a picture of this and it could be seen by thousands within the hour. By contrast, magazines are printed weekly or even monthly so it would take a lot longer for this picture to be circulated, and let’s be honest – if Gaga is spotted wearing something outrageous we all know about it before we see a picture.

PR queen

Gaga is the PR queen, a brand made even more popular through third party exposure. Wherever she lays her one-of-a-kind Christian Louboutins, the paparazzi migrate.

She sends a positive message to her fans; that they should be individual, should love themselves for who they are and not care what people think about them. Everyone will have their own individual opinion on Gaga.

As far as I’m concerned, I think she’s groundbreaking, fresh and very important in today’s music industry.

Rising Digital (website, Facebook page) is looking for a reliable team member to care for their artists and represent their brand to the highest standard.

The internship

• Acting Junior Account Executive responsible for artist’s live/tour diaries and cross marketing with promoters
• Social media management and creative input
• Weekly blogging on industry-related topics
• Strong use of social networks across personal platforms
• Negotiable: typical hours of work 10:30am to 5pm (1 hour lunch is encouraged) at the RoundFoundry Media Centre

Rising Digital founder Seb Mysko said:

“If this goes well it has the potential to turn into a part-time paid role and maybe even a full-time job after graduation. Either way, three years’ experience before leaving uni should be priceless. We don’t want any CVs – simply send a short paragraph outlining why you feel you’d fit in and what days you could work during the week. Please email me seb@risingdigital.co.uk asap, deadline is 1st of December.”

The role, which starts in January will provide experience not only in music festival and general event management but also in charity work and fundraising.

Activities include researching and booking artists, securing sponsorship and media partners, implementing a marketing plan and generating press coverage.

The internship is 3-5 days a week, travel expenses (up to zone 6) and lunch will be paid for.

For information, and details on how to apply, visit the vacancy page here.

Would you want to sleep in a muddy field, share portaloos with strangers, and not wash for six days? Well me and 170,000 other people did at this year’s Glastonbury festival.

So dominant in the UK festival market for the past 40 years, how did Michael Eavis recover from last year’s ‘disastrous’ event to produce a sell out festival this time round?

Could it have been the surprise success of Jay-Z, the unlikely headline act of 2008, the impressive and varied headliners they recruited for 2009 or ground-0breaking public relations?

As a Glastonbury virgin and a PR graduate I would love to say it was the latter, but I don’t think it was. There were no huge stunts, few cleverly targeted stories, but that is the beauty of Glastonbury. They don’t need to promote it too hard, it really does speak for itself.

I don’t think there’s a PR stunt impressive enough to make me want to spend six days in a tent without a shower, but you can’t argue with good old fashioned word of mouth.

Personally I know lots of people who have been before but I don’t know anyone who didn’t enjoy it. The aspect of Glastonbury that makes people go back year after year and recommend it to their friends is great event management.

In terms of the more classic idea of public relations on the run up to the event there are countless stories in the media from what the weather will be like in the newspapers, the bands that will be performing in the music magazines and what people will be wearing in the fashion magazines.

As much as this promotes the festival it doesn’t drive people to buy the tickets, as in this year’s case they had already sold out by the time of the media publicity.

What I personally believe to be the main driving force encouraging festival goers to Glastonbury is the holy grail of all PR campaigns – impartial BBC coverage.

The BBC’s live coverage and highlights is a powerful promotional tool. Even those who weren’t lucky enough were able to experience the acts live could watch the performers on TV. But it’s not the same as being there.

Being able to get a taster session of the event is a great publicity trick, showing people what they are missing. I watched last year’s coverage with pure jealousy; all my friends were there and I wasn’t so the BBC coverage convinced me to go this year.

However once at Glastonbury it is a public relations and promotional minefield. From the Orange Chill and Charge tent to the Greenpeace Police patrolling the camp sites, it is awash of organisations communicating with a huge cross section of the population. From the hippies who have been to every festival since 1970 to families with their babies in oversized headphones to wannabe rock stars or just your average music lover, organisations can have their pick of these captive audiences.

PR or no PR I honestly think Glastonbury will continue to be successful, now it has become an institution. Journalists will always write about the festival, whether or not a press office issues a release for the simple fact that people are interested in it.

Photos by the author

In 2009, Apple’s iTunes online store alone has sold 5 billion downloaded songs and is adding 5 million more download sales every day, alongside 50,000 daily film rentals.  Other sites and online music distributors count for a further 30-50% of the market, according to market studies.

Music downloads and file sharing are now an everyday activity. But 15 years ago, I worked with colleagues at a London high-tech PR agency to launch the very first online music site as part of a campaign for longstanding client Silicon Graphics, alongside the UK music distributor Southern Studios.  Things were very different back then.

After three weeks of the site being live, all parties were delighted with 1,000 people a day visiting the site and 20 or so of those downloading content via dial-up phone lines. Each three minute audio file took around one hour to download.

Music videos were available too but, as journalists present at the packed launch in our Trafalgar Square offices watching Bon Jovi reminded us, a three minute video clip would take over 13 hours to download and cost around £30 in call charges.

Internet Underground Music Archive

The Internet Underground Music Archive was founded in 1993 by three US students – Rob Lord, Jeff Patterson and Jon Luini – and was run from the University of California at Santa Cruz. It provided indie bands with an outlet to distribute music samples to an online audience and, by 1994, its early success had led to deals with mainstream labels such as Warner Brothers and Geffen Records.

In December 1994,  a European version of the site was launched, hosted by  John Loder’s Southern Studios, which had already gained ‘legendary’  status (according to the Guardian obituary, after John died in 2005).

At the centre of the philosophy of the site was the promotion of lesser know bands and ability to distribute their music on the same terms as established artists with record deals.

John Loder summed up the aims at the time:

“Indie bands will get the same exposure as, say, Madonna, and be available on a more even basis.”

Lessons learnt

The launch is an interesting case study for two reasons. Firstly, the subsequent rate of adoption on online media in general, and music in particular, reinforces the extraordinary rate of change in communications technology. Secondly, the reaction of the media, as analysed by the resulting press coverage, suggests that journalists are not always open to the possibilities of new technologies.

The London Evening Standard adopted a mocking tone – and called the future developments entirely wrongly and also called my client, UK marketing director Steve Webb, to account:

“Something called the Internet Underground Music Archive arrived in London this week – from California, of course.

Hold it right there, Mr Steve Webb of Silicon Graphics. I think you have inadvertently nailed the problem with all this net stuff. It is a hobbyist’s paradise rapidly disappearing up its own SCSI socket.

“Remember the hi-fi buffs of yesteryear? Then came along the music centre, out sent the wiring and in came a lifestyle that did not need any DIY. That’s what we’re all waiting for on the Net. ” London Evening Standard, 30 December 1994

Another distinguished technology writer used his report to explain “why the Internet’s global village of sound and pictures is further away than our wallets can even dream about.” He went on to write:

“Time to put my neck on the line. My guess is it will take just six months before Internet fever peaks and the media tires of gee whizz stories about how millions of people around the world are hooking up to the world wide web of electronic information, sounds and pictures.” Hi-Fi Choice, March 1995

Not all the coverage was negative and one positive piece of coverage included the IUMA story alongside a discussion on internet radio:

“The first radio station in cyberspace is using the same sort of technology was another broadcasting initiative, the Internet Underground Music Archive (IUMA). Both use a combination of multicasting and traditional file retrieval methods.” The Guardian, 9 March 1995

IUMA was bought by a US business EMusic in 1998 at the height of the mergers and acquisitions activity in California that formed the “dot com boom.”  The site was closed to new submissions and finally shut down in 2006 after pioneering the compression and streaming of media content using different formats such as MP2 and MP3, and clearing the way for a branded distributor in the form of Apple’s iTunes, to own around 80% of the market.

Gareth Thompson is a public relations consultant and senior lecturer in public relations at London Metropolitan Business School. He can be contacted at: g.thompson@londonmet.ac.uk