Direct Enterprises - Coventry Music Agency 1974

Direct Enterprises - Coventry Music Agency 1974

SPREADING THE GOSPEL OF BETTER MUSIC

From Coventry Evening Telegraph 'Pop In' column 1974 - Stuart Kinzett

Most young people who listen to Radio One or Top of the Pops tend to think that what they hear is the full range of contemporary music. As a result they miss out on a whole range of better groups who play rock, jazz, folk, blues and music that defies labelling.

Or without really understanding it, they are likely to dismiss it as rubbish. 

The fault lies with the media. most young people only have access to records which get into the hit parade. This is a problem that Mr James Reilly, a partner in Direct Enterprises, Coventry, well appreciates. And with a new music club in Coventry he is trying to overcome this difficulty and spread the enjoyment of better, non-commercial music.

The club is the Cosmic Music Club and at the moment it is based at the Baginton Oak every Wednesday. "The basic idea of the club is to introduce people to all kinds of music so they won't be stuck with one category all the time" said Mr Reilly. "I like all music from Tchaikovsky to Pink Floyd as long as its good music. From what I've seen of the entertainments in Coventry, people seem to be stuck in a rut where music is concerned. There's a different place for every type of music - folk clubs, soul discos for example. Coventry kids like to pick their music although the students seem to have wider tastes: they have open minds and can appreciate things they couldn't before. But Coventry is alive with good music, brilliant musicians, and good agencies and i think kids are prepared to listen to music rather than noise. i want to shake off the concept that what people hear on the radio is all there is to hear."

The Cosmic features a certain type of music on each night, interspersed with other types. They are hoping people will come to all the concerts and not just pick and choose. They have already had Cosmotheka, a folk group, Wave, a jazz rock group and A Band Called George - who play heavy folk. Future plans include folk, country and western and a whole variety of sounds.

" We hope to build it into a bigger place that will attract big names. But we may not stay at the Baginton Oak. We don't seem to get many people out there, I don't really know why."

Wherever the Cosmic Club ends up, it will be doing a fine job by introducing people to specialist music not catered for by the mass media.

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Ad from Hobo Magazine 1974

I met Jim Reilly at Rod Felton / Dave Coburn's Rude Bear Folk club at the Hand in Heart, Far Gosford Street early 1974 while running Hobo magazine. Jim was a larger than life character full of enthusiasm and a mover and shaker. he set up the Cosmic Music venue at the Baginton Oak and the Mercers Arms and the Shanty Folk Club at the Charterhouse, Terry Road.  They also arranged folk concerts at the Belgrade Theatre to tie in with the Festival of Britain.

By autumn 1974, the Cosmic Music Club was closed, pending a re-opening according to Hobo. Jim opened a new and bigger club called The Steam Packet at the Tree Tops club, Foleshill Road on Sunday nights with The Sound of Venus Disco and bands.

Steel Peach commented on the original Hobo Vox thus

"It was great to find this listing of Steel Peach at the Cosmic Club, and although it has us down as a Coventry rock band we actually came from Bath but we were based in Derby and played around the Coventry area a lot. And As I remember The Cosmic Club was always a great place to play."

Comments from Hobo Vox blog




[this is good]
It was great to find this listing of Steel Peach at the Cosmic Club, and although it has us down as a Coventry rock band we actually came from Bath but we were based in Derby and played around the Coventry area a lot. And As I remember The Cosmic Club was always a great place to play.

.............Al
Posted by: Al Jones | 08/15/2007 at 07:28 PM