“You never exactly know how these things are going to work out, but it could be the modern day equivalent of somebody giving John Peel a copy of ‘Teenage Kicks’.”
The singer of that punk-era classic, Fergal Sharkey, is talking about the newly launched Salute Music Makers competition, which is worth a cool £50,000 to the winners and ten grand apiece to the other finalists.
“It’s a clever way of helping to support, expose and applaud the next generation of young, creative Irish and British talent,” he resumes. “I’ve come on board as an ambassador, if you like, because I want somebody to be given the same opportunity that Terri Hooley gave to a little band from Derry called The Undertones. ‘We think you’re making an interesting noise, here’s some money, go off and do a lot more of it.’ A bunch of industry experts will filter the applications down to around a hundred artists. The general public will get to decide which of those they consider to be of value when they appear on an online TV platform that is already reaching in excess of 28 million young people.”
Fergal, who’s adamant his own performing days are over, has always been a sucker for new technology.
“I have to admit to being a geek who built a Sinclair Z80 computer in my room as a kit back in the mid-1970s,” he laughs. “I’ll listen to something on my phone and then stick a crackly old piece of 12” vinyl on. It’s the music that matters, not the delivery method.”
While the technology may have radically changed, Fergal says that the DIY mentality that drove The Undertones still exists.
“A prime example of that is the grime scene, which came from the streets rather than some record company executive saying, ‘Here’s what we’re going to do next…’” he enthuses. “The idea that you can pick up a laptop with a little programme built into it called Garageband, make a proper record, upload it and potentially have an audience of billions is just mind-boggling. The downside being that tens of thousands of other musicians are doing exactly the same thing. What I think Salute Music Makers will do is act as a sort of filter. ‘Here in our opinion are the best new songs from the most exciting undiscovered artists out there, what do you think?’”
Find out more at salutemusic.uk