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"Time is too slow for those who wait, too

swift for those who fear, too long for those

who grieve, too short for those who rejoice,

but for those who love, time is eternity." Henry Van Dyke

Menu

 “The Ship That Rocked The World” [and why wasn’t I mentioned?]

Net Neutrality [what does it mean?]

Give new material direct to artists? [The Hollies accept new material direct]

How many tries will it take you to get to 100%  (Caution - Extremely addictive !!!)

Testimonials [an unusual heart wrenching testimonial]

Subscriber's Section [having all back-tracks the same level]

The gags: .....      [ The Irish Millionaire - Excuse the language?  From Willie] 

 

“The Ship That Rocked The World” [and why wasn’t I mentioned?]

 

Oh my Goodness….

 

Such a to-do over the launch of the new film about Radio Caroline … the original Pirate Radio Ship that launched so many careers [including my band’s]

 

The film was launched this week … and I am miffed?  And I was not invited to the red carpet opening night!

 

Why am I miffed?

 

Because I owned 30% of it … and so did my close pal and recording manager Philip Solomon.

 

Oh well …. Such is life .  Most of the DJ’s on board hated my guts because my band’s music was not their cup of tea. But the orders from above were that they had got to play our tracks …. And so, we had so many hits.

 

I well remember the parties at headquarters off Curzon Street in London’s West End… just round the corner from The Curzon Club .. the gambling club where I often had breakfast with Philip, Dorothy and Roger Moore the James Bond man … great times.  The best Steak Chasseur in the world.

 

I see those DJ’s a lot these days and we laugh about the hatred they had for our music …. But they couldn’t deny our chart successes. 

 

And now I have been asked to be consultant and Executive Producer in the West End Musical version of the film?  Hmmmmm!

 

See you at the opening night? 

“How a recession can change your life.

I remember buying a copy of the Big Issue last Spring....

this year I’m selling it!”  [Phil Evans]

 

Net Neutrality [what does it mean?] 

You simply must watch this video and understand the concept of Net Neutrality and the danger posed to the Internet by the huge phone corporations. 

“Don't know if you know about this but it's worth putting in your One Minute... to spread awareness.  Our internet freedom may soon be lost to corporations.  Please watch.  Mick.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JP_3WnJ42kw&feature=channel 

"What we do belongs to what we are; and

what we are is what becomes of us." Henry Van Dyke 

 

Give new material direct to artists? [The Hollies accept new material direct]

 

Interesting Email re. Approaching artists direct with new material.

“Hi Dec

I saw the Hollies last night at Southend, Wow! Great! And their new songs are really good.

One of their new songs was sent to them.

Make sure they are copy righted first, via your own music publishing company.  www.makehits.co.uk/publishing.htm

You can even meet them at the stage door and hand them to them.

Keep up the good work mate

Phil Armand -  South Woodham-Ferrers,”

I must say that I get given music all the time, almost every concert I play …. But, without exception, it is 25 years too late rubbish!  I have once recorded a song sent to me, but only after I had changed it dramatically with lots of reworked lyrics and melody changes … it ended up a different song!  But still it gave me a good start point.

 

"Look around for a place to sow a few

seeds." Henry Van Dyke

 

How many tries will it take you to get to 100%  (Caution - Extremely addictive !!!)  

Bet  you can't get 100% on the first try! 

This  is pretty neat!  See how you do with the colors!  Have  fun! 

It  takes an average of 5 tries to get to 100%.  Follow the  directions! 

It's  harder than it seems, as it should be!  A  brain waker-upper for today!  Click on 'Color Test'  

http://www.humorsphere.com/fun/8787/colortest.swf

 

Testimonials [an unusual heart wrenching testimonial] 

“Mrs Cluskey wanted that one from ‘Grease’ I asked her…it’s not bad eh……it’s going in the Iraqi charts for the military and my version of ‘Daddy’s Home’ is number 3 now there….

 

Giovanni Di Stefanno [Rome, Italy]” 

 

"In the progress of personality, first

comes a declaration of independence,

then a recognition of interdependence." Henry Van Dyke

 

Subscriber's Section [I will have to let you listen to one of my songs sometime]

 

“Hello Dec, 

LOL. Ok I won't get over-excited. I understand and respect protecting your reputation. I will have to let you listen to one of my songs sometime once I get them mastered. 

R******”

 

My Reply:    

Our rules are "one short reply to ONE question on music FOR NON-MEMBERS, Members of 'The Serious Writers Guild' have unlimited personal access to Dec by direct telephone, Fax and Email, apply at https://secure.mistral.co.uk/makehits/swgappsecure.htm ".     

[Any advice given here shall not be deemed as financial or legal advice under any existing or future laws of any country] 

R****** 

The advice I give in 'how to Make A $Million' is very valid ... "stop writing and recording immediately"  

Reason is that if you have had little success so far doing it your own way then you must be making a few, if not a lot of mistakes. 

Therefore, it makes a lot of sense to not keep making those mistakes ... polishing a t*rd ... is the phrase often used. 

The best way to approach writing and recording [once you learn from 'How To Make A $Million'] is to make sure that the guts of the song ... in other words, the 'stripped down' demo is hit potential material and worth pursuing further .... 

The logic here is that no amount of production is going to turn a poor song into a hit.  So there is no point in taking a poor song any further and wasting money on it. 

Mastering will only improve the recording quality ... it will do nothing for the melody and lyrics. 

I designed the Demo Consultation Service [ http://www.makehits.co.uk/demo.htm ]to assist Members in choosing their best songs to progress to recording stage.  It is far better to spend a little dosh to find out if you 'have one' ... rather than spend a lot of money on musicians, studio, recording, mastering and still end up with a song that should not have been worked on in the first place. 

Book authors use precisely the same method.  Jeffrey Archer is a pal of mine and absolutely confirms this to me.  They sketch out the book, they use bullet points to show the flow of the book and the salient points ... then they write a sample paragraph .... present it to the publishers .... the publishers have teams of readers who analyse 'proposals' and then the advance money is agreed or not.  Sometimes they will have good pointers on improvements that can be made.  Or they may refuse the book altogether. 

Only then will writers, like Jeffrey, sit down and 'put the flesh on the bones'.  Otherwise, he could spend two years writing a book that simply would not sell.  He actually showed me the bullet points etc. for his last book.  And gave them to me to keep. 

Music is precisely the same .... I never record an album unless I know that I can sell it.  Likewise, I never write a book unless I know I have the market tested and ready. 

Regards  

Dec [Cluskey]  dec@makehits.com <mailto:dec@makehits.com>  

2 Gold discs in 2008!  Decca have relaunched their ‘World Of’ series on the back of those hits.  Readers Digest are now promoting a triple album set …. Do you think I can help your music career succeed?  

Check out 'How to Make A £Million From your Music' at http://www.makehits.co.uk.  Secure purchase at https://secure.mistral.co.uk/makehits/swgappsecure.htm or fast cred*it card line: +44 1323.728005 or UK 01323.728005 

Please consider the environment, do you really need to print this email?  

 

“3 Minutes on the Radio with Dec” …. Available immediately at http://www.myspace.com/makehits 

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The gags: .....      [ The Irish Millionaire - Excuse the language?  From Willie]  

Mick, from Dublin, appeared on 'Who Wants To Be A Millionaire' and towards the end of the program had already won £500,000. 

'You've done very well so far,' said, Chris Tarrant, the show's presenter, 'but for a million pounds you've only got one life-line left -  phone a friend.  Everything is riding on this question...... will you go for it?'  

'Sure', said Mick, 'I'll have a go!'  

Which of the following birds does not build its own nest?  

a) Sparrow, b) Thrush, c) Magpie, d) Cuckoo?'

'I haven't got a clue,' said Mick,'' so I'll use me last lifeline and phone me friend Paddy back home in Dublin.'   

Mick called up his mate, and told him the circumstances and repeated the question to him.  

'Crikey, Mick!' cried Paddy. 'Dat's simple.......it's a cuckoo.'  

'Are you sure?'  

'I'm fookin sure.'   

Mick hung up the phone and told Chris, 'I'll go wit Cuckoo as me answer.'  

'Is that your final answer?' asked Chris 

'Dat it is, Sir.'  

There was a long - long pause, and then the presenter screamed,  

'Cuckoo is the correct answer!  Mick, you've won 1 million pounds!'  

The next night, Mick invited Paddy to their local pub to buy him a drink. 'Tell me, Paddy? How in Heaven's name did you know it was da Cuckoo that doesn't build its own nest?'  

'Because he lives in a Fookin clock!'

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