George Akins - 'Nottingham's Mr Music'

May 2014

IN the book on a shelf behind George Akins’ desk, the writer refers to him a “Nottingham’s Mr Music”. It’s Jake Bugg’s unofficial biography that is as much about the local music scene as it is about the rise of the kid from Clifton to international star.
“Does it really say that?” he frowns, admitting he’s not yet had time to read it.
He’s not keen on the label but it sits well with the boss of a company that dominates Nottingham’s music map.
DHP Family owns and operates Rock City, Rescue Rooms, The Social and Stealth, where everyone from U2 and Oasis to Simply Red, Nirvana, The Smiths, Iron Maiden and more have played.
It promotes gigs in all of its own venues but also around the country, putting on around 1,200 gigs every year for the likes of Ed Sheeran, James Blunt and Lana Del Ray, winning national awards in the process.
There are other venues in Bristol and London, where it has a second office.
Rock City is also home to concert ticket agency Alt-Tickets.
In more recent years they’ve added artist management to the portfolio, enjoying success with West Bridgford indie band Dog Is Dead and Long Eaton’s Indiana, who last week landed her first Top 20 single.
The 39-year-old father-of-two, the son of Nottingham entrepreneur George Akins (George junior named his son George), recently moved operations from behind Rock City to the Lace Market, taking two storeys in a Victorian building behind wrought iron gates on Plumptre Street.
It’s next to St Mary’s School House where George senior left at the age of 12 in order to start making a bob or two for himself.
It is from here that DHP Family also organises festivals. There are five in all, the most by any promoter.
The indoor variety include Everywhere, Hit The Deck and next weekend’s Dot To Dot across Manchester, Bristol and Nottingham.
“Dot To Dot is our longest-running festival at nine years and it’s all about showcasing the new bands that are the future of music.”
DHP Family has been putting on outdoor festivals, mostly at Wollaton Park, since 1997 with the first City In The Park. More followed with the Corrs, Bryan Adams, Ronan Keating and All Saints, then Green Day for Distortion.
“Although they weren’t unsuccessful, they weren’t particularly successful events,” he admits.
“It is hard to make a one day production work. They were not profitable overall and that was why we stopped doing them.
”It wasn’t until we got into a partnership with Nottingham City Council that we were able to stage the Splendour Festival in Wollaton Park as a sustainable event.
“That has been a success since it started and long may it continue. “
Splendour is now in its sixth year but they’ve added a new festival to the summer diary in early June called No Tomorrow.
“It’s like an end of term party for students,” says George, who never made it to university, thrown out of boarding school in Rugby for smoking and drinking.
“We’ve made overtures to both of the universities for a number of years about getting involved in an end of term party,” he says.
“And we’ve seen the success of Parklife in Manchester and Love Saves The Day in Bristol. They’ve now become proper festivals running over two days and attracting up to 60,000 people.”
Each started out at 10,000, which is his expectation for No Tomorrow on June 7.
“The vision is for it to become a bigger event,” he says of the one-day festival that is targeted at students but is for anyone 18 and over.
“It’s delivering a beginning of summer experience and we’re confident we can do that.”
London Grammar, who met at the University of Nottingham, will headline, with Sam Smith and Clean Bandit joining them on the main stage. All three have number one albums.
Indiana, who is managed by DHP Family, will also appear, following the success of her Top 20 single, Solo Dancing.
Opening the main stage will be a student band, chosen through a competition between both universities.
“It’s a different vibe to Splendour,” says George of the annual festival that returns on July 19.
“That’s more of a day out for family and friends.”
Hence the mix of old and new acts.
“We try to have acts that have had more than one hit. Happy Mondays have had a long and successful career. Boomtown Rats don’t play very often and they had a number of hits back in the day. Scouting For Girls sold 8,000 tickets at the Arena a couple of years ago and they’ve had several top ten hits.
“The same goes for The Beat, who will also be playing the main stage.
“The newer artists are Tom Odell. Although he’s still on his first album there are five hit singles on there. And Foxes are likely to have a Top 5 album this week .”
While No Tomorrow will have two DJ tents, Splendour’s three live music stages will return as normal, the second being the Confetti Stage with Boomtown Rats, Reverend and the Makers and The Rifles.
“It’s a mix of indie and mainstream, old and new,” he says, with expectations that the event will match the 17,000 people that saw Jake Bugg headline last year’s festival.
“The line-up isn’t as Nottingham heavy as it was last year but it couldn’t have been any more Nottingham than that with Jake Bugg, Indiana, Dog Is Dead, Saint Raymond, Georgie Rose and so many others.”
Those have all played the smallest Splendour stage in the Courtyard, which continues to be a showcase of Notts music talent.
“The Nottingham music scene is very vibrant today,” he says.
“There is this excitement because we are producing so many artists that are coming through. We’ve had Dog Is Dead and Jake Bugg, Saint Raymond and Indiana are coming through in the next wave. A lot of industry people are checking out what is going on and the talent coming out of this city.
“Everyone is talking about it. It is a small industry and if there is a enough talk, it builds.”
Nottingham’s Mr Music has never had a go at being in a band himself. He’s not really had the time. At 19, six months in to a jaunt across the Far East and Australia, he was summoned back by his dad to join the family business.
“You just learn quick,” he says of those early years.
“I started doing some of the bookings, probably made a hash of it, learning from my mistakes.”

Dot To Dot at Rock City, Rescue Rooms, Stealth, The Bodega, Spanky Van Dykes and other venues, is on Sunday, May 25. Tickets are £20.
No Tomorrow is at Wollaton Park on Saturday, June 7. Tickets from £20.
Splendour is on Saturday, July 19 and tickets are from £10 to £42.50.
Tickets for all events are on sale from Rock City box office, call 0845 413 4444 or go to alt-tickets.co.uk.
For more about DHP Family go to dhpfamily.com.

Oslo, Hackney

DHP Family, which operates four live music venues in the city, has expanded into London with the opening of the £1m Oslo

IT started life as a railway station but the two-storey Victorian building in Hackney is now home to the first Nottingham-owned live music venue in London.

Oslo, which sits next to Hackney Railway Station, is the sixth venue owned and operated by DHP Family, the city centre company that is best known for Rock City.

It also owns Rescue Rooms, The Bodega and Stealth, and a venue in Bristol called Thekla, promotes national tours for the likes of New Order, James Blunt, Nick Cave and Ed Sheeran, runs its own ticket agency, and manages artists.

The focus of the business, started with the opening of Rock City more than 30 years ago, has always been in Nottingham, where they also run the annual Splendour music festival.

Oslo, which opened at the weekend, marks their first venture in the capital.

“We had a storming opening night, the place was packed downstairs in the bar and upstairs,” says DHP Family chairman George Akins.

“We’ve brought something new to this part of London; great music, great food and great drink all in one place – and it’s gone down really well.”

The name is a dedication to George’s mum, who was born in Oslo.

“There’s a bit of family heritage in there, which we like; family has always been important to us.

“And she loves it. It’s the only venue of ours that she wants to come and see. She’s been telling all of our Norweigian family about it.

“Hackney is now twinned with Oslo, which was a complete coincidence.”

They opened an office nearby last year as part of the tour promotion side of the business.

“We book a lot of bands into London already so it made sense for us to have an office there. This is taking the next step and doing what we do in Nottingham so well, in London.”

The 600-capacity Oslo will operate as a live music venue, nightclub, bar and eaterie.

“It’s like the Rescue Rooms... but with food,” he says.

“Hackney is an up and coming area. It’s very cool, it attracts a lot of fashion businesses... and we saw a good opportunity there.”

Bands booked to play in the next few weeks include Dry the River, Chrome Hoof, Long Eaton’s Indiana and an NME show.

“We’re confident we can keep the momentum going and make Oslo one of the hottest venues in London.”

DHP Family is now handling tours for Ed Sheeran, James Blunt and Flaming Lips and recently won Live Promoter of the Year for the second year running.

“We’re putting on more gigs than ever before and they’re bigger shows. We’re putting Jake Bugg, You Me At Six and Frank Turner in to the Capital FM Arena.”

Among the festivals they organise is Splendour. So who do we have headlining this year?

“We’re still working on it but we’ll be announcing a few names for Dot to Dot next week.”

For more about Oslo go to facebook.com/oslohackney, on Twitter @oslohackney and oslohackney.com.

Splendour interviews: Jake Bugg, Dog Is Dead, Indiana, Georgie Rose, Gorgeous Chans

July 20, 2013




JAKE Bugg isn’t known for his happy-go-lucky banter or cheesy grin, preferring to let the music do all the talking on his behalf.

And while he wasn’t exactly channeling Freddie Mercury during his one-hour headline set at Splendour on Saturday, he was smiling and talking more than he has at any show in Nottingham – and probably anywhere else.

And he was much the same backstage an hour before he was due on the main stage in front of 17,000 people in Wollaton Park.

Although he’d flown in to Nottingham from Ireland the night before and landed around midnight, he’d gone back to Clifton to see an old friend.

“I was at my cousin Scott’s,” says the 19-year-old chart-topper, sat in a portacabin, dressed in black like an early Sixties Beatle.

“I thought ‘who’s still going to be up at midnight?’”

They stayed up in to the early hours and now he’s paying the price.

“I’m tired, mate,” he admits.

Jake arrived at the Splendour site around 7pm after spending the afternoon sleeping and working.

“I went through some songs for the second album.”

He’d not seen any other friends or family?

“No. My phone’s been going off all day but I’ll see them later,” he promises.

During the set, Jake plays three songs from the next album, which he’ll finish recording at the end of August in Malibu with legendary producer Rick Rubin. It’ll be released in November.

He sayd: “I’ve got about 20 songs and I’ll record all of them to see how they come out.”

Before that he has a show to do.

“It’s amazing to be back and to be playing in my hometown and to be headlining but I also have to stay focused; just so I can play as well and not get carried away with familiar faces in the crowd.

“Or when a girl takes her bra off. It happened in Portugal the other day. Some girl lifted her T-shirt up and she didn’t know the camera was on her and it came up on the big screen,” he laughs.

Jake played Splendour on the main stage last year, but fellow Notts success story Dog Is Dead were notching up their fifth appearance.




I first saw them in the Courtyard at the first Splendour in 2008.

“We knew it was going to be a big hometown gig and something special and it happened, it was really cool, “ says frontman Rob Milton, 22, from West Bridgford.

“Something always happens here; when we play the first chord they open the circle pits and start moshing. I have to remind people it’s not a Slayer show.”

He adds: “It’s nice to play an all-age show. It was actually the first show my nan’s been to. The family were super proud, so it’s good.”

There are more festivals for Dog Is Dead to play before they record their follow-up to last year’s All Our Favourite Stories.

Of their status as Splendour veterans, he says: “It’s five times in six years. Next time we get a free cappuccino.”

Less than 18 months ago, Indiana played her first gig in the Old Market Square in the Future Sound of Nottingham, a competition to open the main stage at Splendour.



She didn’t even reach the final but since then she has signed to the Epic label, been played on Radio 1, appeared at Glastonbury and performed for the Queen with The Script.

She is the second artist to be signed to DHP (the Nottingham-based organisers of Splendour, owners of Rock City and much more) after Dog Is Dead.

And she’s pregnant! Baby Etta is due in September.

“She was kicking a lot,” says the 25-year-old from Long Eaton. “When you’re halfway through a song and you’re really into it... it’s really off-putting,” she laughs.

She has one more festival next weekend then will be on maternity leave from the world of pop until October when her debut single is released.

She’s thankful that the scorching weather settled down for Splendour, a largely cloudy, if warm, day.

“It was my first main stage, ever,” she says, adding that it was a better experience than Glastonbury.

“That was the most special performance ever,” she says of her early afternoon slot.

“I could really feel that everyone was like ‘we like you actually Indiana... it made me want to cry. I wasn’t expecting to be so overwhelmed.”

It would have been understandable for The Gorgeous Chans to have felt overwhelmed by opening the main stage as the winners of the Future Sound of Nottingham competition but the indie/ska band of mostly teenagers enjoyed it.

“It was great fun, “ says 19-year-old saxophone player Liam Webber.

“We were a bit worried the samba wouldn’t go down well but it seemed to,” he adds, of their sound, a mix of Paul Simon’s Graceland and Vampire Weekend.

Although the line-up was buoyed up to a ten-piece, two core members were missing.

“Our trumpet and organ player couldn’t make it so we replaced them with a samba band,” he says.

After the set they sped off in all directions and reported back with positive reviews about fellow Notts artists Rob Green, Dog Is Dead and Georgie Rose.

The latter, an 18-year-old from Mansfield, is one of the region’s most-talked-about female singer-songwriters and yet she’s only been performing for just a year. Her set was on the smallest stage in the Courtyard but she is a contender for the main stage next year.



“The security were turning people away,” she says.

“I wasn’t expecting it to be that busy so it kind of blew me away a little bit.”

She adds: “I’ve got a lot of work to do but I aim to get on the main stage.”

Dozens of artists played over the three music stages with an afternoon of chuckles delivered on the comedy stage, plus a market, a funfair and cabaret.

Music review of 2012

December 2012


WHEN Jake Bugg’s debut album shot straight to the top of the chart in October, denying Leona Lewis, Mumford and Sons and others the coveted spot, it was the crowning glory on a year that has seen unprecedented success for homegrown musicians.
Even without Jake, there were more record deals, TV appearances, radio plays, award wins and national press than in any other year.
Among the names helping throw a spotlight on the city were Dog Is Dead, Natalie Duncan, Sam Beeton, Indiana, Harleighblu, Shide Boss and RAM1.
And then there was Jake, just 18 years old, scoring the first ever No. 1 album by a Nottingham musician or band.
Added to that, the Clifton boy toured the US and Europe with Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, made the cover of the NME, had relentless plays on Radio 1 and appeared on Later With Jools Holland. And he’ll be joining Emeli Sandé, Adam Ant and Paloma Faith for his annual New Year’s Eve Hootenanny on BBC 1.
He sold out the Rescue Rooms last month and has already sold out his Rock City show in February.
West Bridgford indie band Dog Is Dead released their major label debut album, All Our Favourite Stories, also in October, after which they embarked on a headline tour of the UK and picked up an Artrocker award. During the year they had numerous plays on Radio 1 and appeared at 25 festivals over the summer including T in the Park and Leeds and Reading.
Next year they’ll be venturing into Europe and the US.
Jake Bugg wasn’t the only Notts musician to appear on Later With Jools Holland this year. Natalie Duncan, who was raised in Lady Bay and The Meadows, made such an impressive debut on the show in November, that fellow guests, Muse, invited the 24-year-old jazz and soul singer to open for them at the iTunes Festival in London.
Her debut album, Devil In Me, received widespread acclaim, with the Sunday Times describing it as “one of the greatest debut albums of the year”.
In recent weeks she’s been hanging out with Dionne Warwick at the MOBOs and appearing on Terry Wogan’s Radio 2 show.
The station also aired self-released songs by folk pop musician Sam Beeton earlier in the year, with Graham Norton playing Under The Fence and The Storyteller, after which the 24-year-old from Carlton appeared on BBC 2’s The Review Show.
Natalie Duncan was just a guest at the MOBOs but reggae musician RAM1 was there to potentially pick up an award. 20-year-old Ramone Williams from Top Valley had been nominated in the Best Gospel Act category, although sadly he missed out this time.
But there was an award-win for Notts in October at the Asian Music Awards, where Shide Boss, 24, from Basford took the Best Newcomer gong.
And let’s not forget those locals hitting the charts as part of pop groups, such as Jay McGuiness corr from The Wanted.
The Farndon singer, 22, a graduate of the MADD school in Carlton, was at the Capital FM Arena with the group as part of a sell-out UK tour in February, after which they cracked the US with their single Glad You Came reaching No. 3 in the chart.
Their EP, The Wanted, hit the top ten in the US and Canada.
Joel Peat, the 20-year-old Ravenshead guitarist with pop/rock quartet Lawson, saw their debut album, Chapman Square, hit the Top 5.
And 2013 is looking promising for two of our ladies. In recent weeks Indiana, a 25-year-old from Long Eaton, who was an unknown name until her first gig in April, has signed to Sony, while 20-year-old city-based soul singer Harleighblu, was snapped up by Brighton-based independent label TruThoughts.

Dog Is Dead

October 2012

A SUMMER of major festival appearances behind them, a Radio 1 session just this week, a debut album about to launch... and yet Dog Is Dead haven’t quite got over failing to win the Rushcliffe School 2007 Battle of The Bands.

“We still haven’t let that go,” admits frontman Rob Milton.

“The band that won it were rubbish. I’d say that the judging was inadequate.

“It’s because we were from a rival school, I’m sure of it. Being from West Bridgford School was an obvious disadvantage.”

He adds: “We fell out with battles of the bands after that and decided that music wasn’t a competition.”

The 21-year-old singer, songwriter and bassist is, of course, joking because next week the band release their long-awaited debut album, All Our Favourite Stories, for Atlantic, the label they signed to last year.

Over the past 18 months they’ve been all over national radio, played all the major festivals, toured with Bombay Bicycle Club, appeared at Milan Fashion Week and more recently Vogue’s Fashion Night Out in London, and this week did a session for Huw Stephens on Radio 1. Dog Is Dead also played a show at London’s The Social to mark the fifth anniversary at the DJ’s club night there.

Says Rob: “That was really cool. It was a sweaty little gig, packed with people.”

The gig was part of a busy week of promoting the album which is released on Monday with a launch party at the Boat Club by Trent Bridge.

“We wanted to do something special in Nottingham,” says Rob.

“We were aware that we had done Rock City in December which was amazing but we didn’t want to do the same thing.

“And The Boat Club is just a few minutes from our houses...”

So that was the sole motivation?

“That’s it,” he laughs.

“We can all cycle there.”

He adds: “We used to play gigs there before we were in Dog Is Dead, from the age of 13 to 16. And we had the most amazing time. Teenagers used to come to our shows, probably because there wasn’t much else to do at the time.

“So we wanted to go back to that with the album release show with our mates and families there.”

Tickets sold out within minutes of going on sale.

“We’ll be playing the album in its entirety and in order, so it will be a bit of challenge because there are some songs we haven’t played live before.”

Unless there’s another pre-Christmas show announced at the last minute, it will be the only time Dog Is Dead will play Nottingham until next year. The UK tour starts in Manchester on October 23 and ends in London next month.

Rob, Lawrence ‘Trev’ Cole and Joss Van Wilder met at school and formed Dog Is Dead in their final year. Guitarist Paul Roberts knew Trev from youth theatre, while drummer Daniel Harvey joined just last year, replacing their original drummer who left to study drama at university.

The rest of them gave up on the idea of university soon after finishing their A-levels but not because of the band so much a realisation, Rob says, that “we’re not very clever”.

Although Rob is the main man, it’s Trev who is the most identifiable, hence the “Trev Stamp” T-shirt for sale on their website.

“I think he’s turning in to this huge role model for all ages,” laughs Rob, about the lanky sax player with the distinctive curly ginger mop.

They could all be role models: Dog Is Dead are five nice young men from south of the river.

“None of us is Waitrose or Marks and Spencer’s,” he protests.

“Actually we’re thinking of striking up a deal with Asda West Bridgford to see what we can get. It would probably be smarter than Smart Price.”

He adds: “I actually miss Asda when we go on tour. We’re very loyal to Asda.”

All Our Favourite Stories features the new single, Talk Through The Night, which has been playlisted at Radio 1, and Heal It, produced by Trevor Horn. After topping the chart in 1979 with The Buggles’ single Video Killed the Radio Star, Horn went on to become one of the most successful music producers of the 80s, working with Frankie Goes To Hollywood and Pet Shop Boys.

Says Rob: “He came to one of our shows and said: ‘I love your band, I really want to record you.’

“It’s a huge-sounding track. I don’t really let people mess with my songs normally but he got his mitts on it. I listened to what he had to say and he gave it a little tweak. It’s quite different from the rest of the album.”

The distinctive sleeve is his own design.

“I wanted to make something really striking but not too modern. We’re really into the album covers of Pink Floyd and bands like that so I took it to a graphic designer and told them what I wanted.

“I get really excited by CD booklets. From growing up I always liked the lyrics and the artwork.”

Getting to this stage has been five years of hard work.

“We played everywhere in Nottingham and we must have played a million shows in London over the past four years, in front of just ten people to start with.”

He adds: “You don’t sit and wait for it to happen, you just work really hard and do stuff for yourself, like we did with the first three singles.”

He adds: “It’s been a gradual build. This album is a big stepping stone for us but it is another stepping stone. Whether it goes ‘bang!’ straight off and gets to No. 1 or just floats about for a bit and people talk about it... it is another stepping stone towards us having a long career of making music.

“As long as we are progressing and people are enjoying what we do... that is ultimately the point.

“We’re really proud of it. And it’s been really cool seeing how we’ve all reacted to the album.

“We’ve known each other so long now. It sounds really cheesy but it’s like the album has refreshed our friendship.”

All Our Favourite Stories is out on Monday. There’s also a deluxe edition featuring six extra tracks. The Boat Club show on Monday is sold out but the band will be at Fopp in Queen Street on Sunday from 4pm for a short performance and signing session. For more about them go to www.dogisdead.co.uk.

2007: @Runners-up in the Rushcliffe School Battle of the Bands.

2008: @After playing The Bodega, DHP, owners of Rock City, the Rescue Rooms, Stealth and The Bodega, sign them to a management deal. That summer they play the Courtyard Stage at Splendour, while Ocean Colour Scene were on the main stage. The Post reported: “Teen band Dog Is Dead were a revelation, a choppy art-rock inspired four piece who pulled off some tricky harmonies.”

2009: @Appear on the Post’s online music showcase This Is Live performing Clockwork. Dot to Dot follows in May and then Splendour in June, headlined by Madness.

2010: @Self-release singles Glockenspiel Song and Young, pick up airplay on Radio 1, 6Music and XFM, and play Glastonbury.

2011: @River Jordan, the third single in the Your Childhood trilogy is released. More Radio 1 airplay, appeared on Channel 4 teen drama Skins, feature in the NME, sign to Atlantic Records. Major festival appearances at Latitude, Bestival and Leeds/Reading and a UK tour supporting Bombay Bicycle Club. Hands Down, their debut single for Atlantic, is released. Close the year with a main stage show at Rock City, the biggest by a Nottingham band in the venue’s 30-year history.

2012: @Singles Two Devils and the re-recorded Glockenspiel Song are released, more Radio 1 support with airplay, playlists and sessions. 25 festival appearances, a million YouTube hits. Fourth single Talk Through The Night is released. Debut album, All Our Favourite Stories launched with sell-out show at the Boat Club.

Dog Is Dead

June 2012

IT will be their first publicised show in the city since December’s headliner at Rock City but Dog Is Dead have played in the city since, supporting Dry The River at The Bodega in April.

“It was so random,” admits singer, bassist and songwriter Rob Milton.

“They said ‘our support’s dropped out, do you want to do it?’ This was only a couple of days before the gig and we thought ‘yeah, why not?’”

They played under a pseudonym, which contained two words, Zombie was one, the other can’t be printed in a family newspaper.

“Joss, our stupid keyboard player, came up with a stupid  name because he decided he wants to be a hardcore metal drummer,” says Rob.

“You can tell I wasn’t a fan of the name.”

Despite that the gig was satisfying.

“It was quite funny and they have a really different crowd to us in Nottingham so that worked out for us. We were playing to a different audience than we’re used to.”

The gig was a minor distraction from finishing their debut album for Atlantic Records.

“We’ve been back in Nottingham wrapping up our album, finishing the last few tracks. And making it sound like a real album.”

Recording has been going on for a few months at various UK studios but the band decided to finish it at Random Recording Studios near Lady Bay Retail Park.

“It’s where we did all of our first demos,” says Rob.

“We decided to do it back home where we’re most comfortable, doing it with people with we know really well.

“We’ve had so much experience in big studios with some really great producers and learnt so much so we can get on with finishing ourselves back in Nottingham.

“It’s a nice peaceful way to wrap up a crazy four years of songwriting.”

A few of the potential album tracks were recorded with David Kosten (Bat for Lashes and Everything Everything).

“He was great. Then we did a few back in Nottingham with Guy Elderfield. Then a couple of weeks ago we did one with Trevor Horn. After topping the chart in 1979 with The Buggles’ single Video Killed the Radio Star, Horn, a CBE, went on to become one of the most successful music producers of the ‘80s.

Says Rob: “His discography is incredible. He produced all the Frankie Goes To Hollywood records, Pet Shop Boys, Seal...

“He came to one of our shows and apparently he doesn’t stay to the end normally but he did and came up to us afterwards. He said: ‘I love your band, I really want to record you.’

“We said ‘We said we can’t afford you’ but he said not to worry, he’s do it on the cheap.”

Dog Is Dead recorded one track with him.

“It doesn’t sound like the Pet Shop Boys,” he laughs.

“It still sounds like us. It was a phenomenal experience and sounds amazing.”

But whether it will make the final album is still being decided.

“We’re being really brutal about what we want to keep and which tracks represent where we are today. Although it would be wrong to ignore what we have done in the past.”

Prior to signing with Atlantic, they self-released three EPs that included live favourites Glockenspiel Song, Young and River Jordan.

“We still love those early EPs so re-recording them was always an option.”

Why?

“Because we’re much better players now. We can record them in a much more raw state and they sound better than the originals.”

With Atlantic, the quintet have released two singles so far, Hands Down and Two Devils. A third is due out in July.

Those will almost certainly make the final album, which is pencilled for release in the autumn.

“It’s going to be a relief to package up what we’ve been doing for the past four years and get that album out. We feel like it’s a record in demand. It’s not too polished.

“I think the whole beauty of it is how raw it is. It’s kids who grew up together at school teaching each other instruments, learning how to record them and play live.”

So which tracks will be included?

“We’re right in the middle of the decision making process but it’s going to be a fair representation of us. I think people will be happy with it. Although it’s more about us being happy with it.”

Their appearance at Dot to Dot on Sunday will kick off Dog Is Dead’s festival season that includes The Hop Farm Festival, T In The Park, Truck Festival and Summer Sundae Weekender.

After that it’ll the new album and another UK tour to promote it.

Rob is encouraged by the steady progress of the band and also the growing profile of fellow Nottingham musicians such as Jake Bugg, Ronika, Sam Beeton and THePETEBOX.

“I’ve heard a lot of great things about Jake Bugg and what he’s been up to. I think it’s something that Nottingham can be proud of, producing four or five acts that are getting a really decent amount of attention nationally but who are all completely different.

“We don’t have some linear scene which could be quite boring. I think that’s really promising for Nottingham.”

He adds: “We’re certainly not the only artist that has a real chance of making a proper career of it.”

Dog Is Dead play Rock City’s main stage as part of the Dot To Dot festival on Sunday June 3 at 8.30pm. www.dottodotfestival.co.uk

Which Nottingham musicians to follow on Twitter

May 2012

May 29 2012 is Nottingham Trending Day on Twitter. Follow @NottinghamTrend to find out more about the campaign. Meanwhile, here are the Notts musicians with the biggest number of followers...

JayMcGuiness

@JayTheWanted

380,530 followers

Born in Newark, Jay studied at the Midlands Academy of Dance and Drama (MADD) in Carlton then auditioned for, among other things, a new British boy band. The Wanted are now one of Britain’s biggest alongside One Direction and JLS, with No. 1 singles and albums and sell-out tours.

Joel Peat

@LawsonJoel

25,855 followers

He is guitarist with Lawson, a new guitar band who supported The Wanted on their arena tour earlier this year. Joel grew up in Ravenshead and following his A levels moved to Guildford in Surrey to study at The Academy of Contemporary Music (ACM). But he quit after a year to try and make it with Lawson, the band he’d joined while at college. After three years of touring the UK gig circuit, Lawson were picked to open for The Wanted on their theatre tour. At the end of that they signed to Polydor. As well as another tour with The Wanted, Lawson have played shows with Avril Lavigne and recently returned from Los Angeles where they finished recording their debut album. That’s due for release late summer.

Dog Is Dead

@Dog_Is_Dead

6,185 followers

After signing to Atlantic Records last year, the Rushcliffe quintet have supported Bombay Bicycle Club, played major festivals such as Latitude, Bestival and Leeds and Reading, had airplay on and played sessions for Radio 1 and BBC 6Music, and appeared on the Channel 4 soap Skins. They’ve even played at Fashion Week in Milan for Burberry.

So far they’ve released two singles for the label, Hands Down and Two Devils. A third is due next month.

They play Rock City on Sunday as part of the Dot to Dot festival.

Liam Bailey

@liambailey

6,101 followers

The soul singer, who grew up in Beeston, released two singles on Amy Winehouse’s own label before signing to Polydor. He guested on the Chase & Status Top 5 hit Blind Faith and joined the duo on their UK and European tours. Despite finishing his album for Polydor it was never released. They parted company last year. Songs he’d recorded with Amy Winehouse were also lost when his laptop was stolen. Since then his single When Will They Learn? was played on Radio 1, as was Breathe by Delilah, which features Liam’s vocals.

He’ll be joining Natalie Duncan and other Notts musicians at Nottingham Contemporary on July 6.

THePETEBOX

@THePETEBOX

4,617 followers

THE award-winning beatboxer has played shows from as far afield as Mexico and Africa. He’s supported dance troupe Diversity on a sell-out tour and his videos have been seen by millions on YouTube. The Australian-born Sneinton resident recently released his debut album Future Loops.

Jake Bugg

@jakebugg

4.412 followers

He signed to Mercury Records last year and has since released three singles with an album due in October. Although he is a big fan of Donovan and Don McLean, the 18-year-old has been drifting across genres with his singles, from classic Bob Dylan (Trouble Town), tender country (Country Song) and raw garage rock (Lightning Bolt). He’s been playlisted on Radio 1, opened a show for Example at Rock City, toured Europe with Michael Kiwanuka and Country Song is currently being used to soundtrack the TV ad campaign for Greene King IPA. Last week he appeared on Later With Jools Holland alongside Jimmy Cliff and Paloma Faith.

He’ll be at Rock City on Sunday as part of the Dot to Dot festival.

Sam Beeton

@sam_beeton

2.926 followers

The 23-year-old from Carlton is an old hand at this pop music lark having been signed to major label SonyBMG at the age of just 17. He released one single, toured with Sandi Thom, James Morrison, Scouting For Girls and Paolo Nutini and even played a show with Katy Perry.

After a period of stagnation on the label, Sam set up Sweet Luigi Records, through which he has released an EP every month via a subscription service. Two of his songs, Under The Fence and The Storyteller, have been played on Radio 2 and he performed the latter on BBC 2’s The Review Show. He’s also an occasional Burberry model.

Ronika

@ohronikagirl

1057 followers

SHE has been dubbed “the Madonna of the Midlands” for her 80s-influenced dance pop, that has earned Lowdham’s Veronica Sampson attention from the Mirror, The Sunday Times, the NME and the Guardian, who described her as “destined for pop greatness”. Last month Radio 1 played her latest single Automatic. Chic’s Nile Rodgers tweeted that he thought the track was “dope”. She’s due to hit the chart soon guesting on the new single by dance producer Herve.

* follower numbers correct 4pm May 25 2012

Nottingham music 2011

December 2011

DESPITE a consistently rich local music scene, chart success has been, to say the least, disappointing. You have to go back decades to find the last time a homegrown band or singer made any impact on a national or international scale.

And even then it’s hardly credible: Su Pollard, Paper Lace, erm, Alvin Stardust. It’s perhaps only sixties blues rockers Ten Years After who you’d really want to shout about.

There have been others but the connections to the city start to hang by a thin thread. Stereo MCs moved to London before they were Stereo MCs. Ditto Tindersticks. And yes there was that bloke from Air Supply... it’s hardly Madchester.

But this year has seen a real change in the fortunes of our music scene.

Even The Guardian wrote about it with the feature: “Nottingham’s music scene: soon to be heard?”

“The most exciting thing about the successes of 2011 are the implications for 2012,” says Mark Del, a champion of local music who set up Nusic to promote Notts artists.

“With Dog Is Dead, Jack Bugg, Natalie Duncan and Shide Boss all signed to majors I predict at least one top-ten album and maybe even that hallowed number one.”

He adds: “I think girl power will continue. There’s a growing momentum behind Nina Smith and Opie Deino. And I will be dumbfounded if Ronika and Harleighblu don’t make some serious moves in 2012.”

Following all the names familiar to local music fans are the new kids, such as Kappa Gamma and Kagoule, who won the chance to support Dog Is Dead at Rock City last weekend, plus Great British Weather, Frankie Rudolf, Rob Green, The Bystanders, Saint Raymond and Boots Booklovers.

Says Mark: “There is a lot of talent in the colleges and cul de sacs of suburban Notts.”

He concludes: “2012 will quite simply be the most incredible year of all time for the Nottingham music scene. Sorry about sitting on the fence there.”

Here are the ones to watch...

DOG IS DEAD
AT the weekend the South Notts indie quintet played a headline show at Rock City at the end of a year that has seen them sign to Atlantic Records (the home of Bruno Mars, Plan B and Ed Sheeran), support Bombay Bicycle Club on their UK tour, play major festivals such as Latitude, Bestival and Leeds/Reading, get airplay on Radio 1 and despite the free Burberry clobber look scruffy at Milan Fashion Week. A follow-up to their debut single for Atlantic, Hands Down, is expected within weeks, with the album due in the spring, following a headline UK tour.

JAKE BUGG

THE 17-year-old from Clifton was another major label signing for Nottingham this year, snapped up by Mercury Records, who flew him to Nashville last month to record his first single for the label. His single Someone Told Me was playlisted on Radio 1, he was at Glastonbury for BBC Introducing and last week he opened for Example at his sold-out Rock City show. Jake, whose influences include Donovan, Don McLean, Jimi Hendrix and The Beatles. continues his residency at the Glee Club from January 13.

SAM BEETON

HIS song Under The Fence was played on Radio 2’s Graham Norton Show – twice! And yet he’s as yet unsigned to a major label. Instead the 23-year-old from Carlton has been self-releasing his music through his own Record Club, which has over 2,000 paying subscribers around the world. And he’s continued to model for Burberry, hanging out with the likes of Paul Weller and Kanye West. He will release Under The Fence as a single on January 9 – and a Radio 2 playlisting is imminent.

RONIKA

SHE has been dubbed “the Madonna of the Midlands” with three EPs this year of 80s-influenced dance pop that has earned her attention from the Mirror, the NME and the Guardian who described her as “destined for pop greatness in 2012”. This year Ronika, who lives in Carrington, has played Madrid and New York. Her next local gig is at the Bodega on March 23.

SPOTLIGHT KID

ANOTHER band self-releasing material – their second album Disaster Tourist came out in the autumn – and yet they earned a slot at Glastonbury, were playlisted on Radio 1 and had the Guardian writing about them this year. And they’re one of only a few bands in the UK making music rooted in the “shoegaze” movement of the early 90s.

LIAM BAILEY

STARTED the year at the head of the pack contributing vocals to the Chase & Status Top 5 hit Blind Faith, while already signed to Polydor Records. Prior to that the Beeston soul man had released singles on Amy Winehouse’s Lioness Records label, 2am Rough Tracks and So Down, Cold. But after just two singles, You Better Leave Me and It’s Not The Same, he and Polydor parted company. The album, Out Of The Shadows, which he’d recorded with Salaam Remi (producer for Lauren Hill, Nas, Amy Winehouse), was never released.

But Liam’s not finished just yet.

His single When Will They Learn? was played on Radio 1 just last week. He’ll be at the Bodega on Wednesday for Soundhism’s Christmas party, 9pm-3am.

NINA SMITH

THE 25-year-old released her debut EP this year, Lonely Heart Club, a collection of acoustic soul/pop tunes. Lead track I Won’t Forget You was played by Tom Robinson on BBC 6Music and on Absolute Radio. A dance remix of Lonely Heart Club by Kumarachi had a few airings on BBC 1Xtra. Nina has also supported Finley Quaye and Alesha Dixon this year.

She says: “It’s been a great year for us. We’ve seen so many acts get signed, perform on the festival circuit and get, well deserved, national recognition. For me supporting established acts, getting national radio play and receiving great press for my first EP has made it a wonderful year. Bring on 2012!”

Nina joins Liam Bailey, Royal Gala, 1st Blood and others at Soundhism at the Bodega on Wednesday.

NATALIE DUNCAN

LIKE Bailey, moved to London before being signed to Verve Records, the home of Jamie Cullum, DJ Shadow and Diana Krall. She was featured on the BBC 2 three-part series Goldie’s Band: By Royal Appointment, in which the drum’n’bass star put together a band of unsigned musicians to perform for Prince Harry. This week she started work on her debut album.

SHIDE BOSS

AFTER winning Channel 4’s Hollyoaks Unsigned Music Show, a spin-off of the teen soap aimed at finding Britain’s best new talent, the 22-year-old was signed to Karman, part of the Sony group.

“We entered the show on the last day with no real aim but to get our song It’s Alright out there,” he says.

His debut EP, Ni Sohniye, a mix of pop, R&B and Asian beats, is out now on iTunes.