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Violinist Nigel Kennedy has pulled out of a concert at the Royal Albert Hall with only days to go after accusing the radio station Classic FM of preventing him from performing a Jimi Hendrix tribute.
Kennedy said the “culturally prejudiced” decision amounted to “musical segregation”, with the station he now calls “Jurassic FM” preferring him to play Vivaldi’s Four Seasons in Wednesday’s show.
He intended to play some Hendrix with Chineke!, an orchestra of young black and ethnically diverse musicians, until he was told the rock star was “not suitable” for the station’s desired audience. Classic FM, which was hosting the event, preferred for him to play Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.
He said that he felt he had no option to withdraw after being informed of the station’s decision.
“This is musical segregation,” he said. “If it was applied to people, it would be illegal. If that type of mentality is rampant in the arts, then we still haven’t fixed the problem of prejudice. This is much more serious than my feathers being a bit ruffled. Prejudice in music is completely dreadful. They’re effectively saying that Hendrix is all right in the Marquee Club, but not in the Albert Hall.”
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09-20-2021 08:52 AM
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I think calling it "segregation" is a bit of a cheap shot. It's a very loaded word given the context. I'm sure they would have done the same if he wanted play Elvis.
Nevertheless it's just very narrowminded to say that their audience wouldn't have appreciated it. But what's more disturbing is how they are micro managing an artist's choice of their repertoire. I think he should have been granted more freedom if he was hired for the gig. You got to trust his vision and musical sensibilities if you chose to hire him.Last edited by Tal_175; 09-20-2021 at 12:22 PM.
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Didn't Led Zeppelin play the Royal Albert Hall at one point?
So did the Experience:
In February 1969, The Jimi Hendrix Experience delivered two concerts at London's legendary Royal Albert Hall. The February 24 appearance would end up being The Jimi Hendrix Experience's last at the storied venue.
Jurassic FM doesn't even know the history of the venue, and might possibly be presuming too little of their target audience &/or the presentation of the artist they chose.
Maybe he was planning on something like this:
As opposed to this:
Although i personally would prefer the latter (not that Kronos is bad by any stretch).Last edited by dogletnoir; 09-20-2021 at 03:53 PM.
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Originally Posted by dogletnoir
Anyway, how about this rendition:
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Originally Posted by Tal_175
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Maybe Classic FM knows its audience.
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Originally Posted by Litterick
Maybe it doesn't.
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Good for him. Calling Nigel and then balking at him playing Hendrix proves how out of touch "Classic FM" is.
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Hendrix is Hendrix and Vivaldi is Vivaldi........
I understand it
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Why can't the client decide the music?
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Originally Posted by P4guitar
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Did the shows producer(s) really messed this up? They should have agreed on the general program, contractually, prior to booking this event. If the shows producer(s) contract leaves the programming up to the performer than they legally should stand by that (and just not book this performer in the future if they are disappointed).
If the contract provided the producer(s), with a programming veto, than the performer is in breech and should have to compensate the venue.
So to me this is strictly a contractually issue and one shouldn't assume who the "bad guy" is unless they know the terms of said contract.
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Originally Posted by P4guitar
and ideally the relationship should be a mutually beneficial one.
But shouldn't the the piper also be free to walk away from the gig (and the paycheck)?
Of course, as jameslovestal states, before we decide who is really at fault here,
we'd really have to know the terms of the signed contract.
Offhand, it sounds to me like assumptions might have been made (and quite possibly on both sides)
rather than requirements specified.
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Originally Posted by kris
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Originally Posted by dogletnoir
Either way, when assumptions are made by either party negative events tend to happened.
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Originally Posted by dogletnoir
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I am not into neither Nigel neither Classic FM. It is time to recognize that many actor, entity are showin the PC card in a cheap selfish way, which btw hurts PC and also hurts ethic. No doubt calling this segregation is a cheapo.
Regarding the particular topic, please realize, we practically can say nothing without seeing their *contract*. The sponsor pays, and in every particular case there is a signed contract with particular terms. The contract of course may or may not unfair. However Nigel probably not in the situation to be forced to sign unfair contracts. But again without seeing the contracts we can not judge either.
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Nige, speaking from his home in the Polish mountains:
Kennedy says his participation actually halted three weeks ago, but this wasn’t announced until much later – presumably amid behind-the-scenes panic. “So it looks like the spoilt artist walking out. But I’m standing up for the noise-makers,” he says. “If we down tools then what are the people behind the desks going to be dealing in? Fish fingers?” He emits one of the mighty cackles that pepper our 75-minute conversation. “Not that I’d mind. I love fish fingers.”
To understand all this, it helps to be British.
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10-13-2021, 04:08 PM #19joelf GuestOriginally Posted by dogletnoir
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Last I saw Nigel play (and it was a long time ago) he played Voodoo as an encore. The headline being he was bringing his orchestra to Australia to performs the Vivaldi & 4 seasons tour. No one in the Audience objected. Nor when he booted a Man-United soccer ball into the Sydney opera house great hall Audience. Everyone accepted when you go to see Nigel, Expect to see some Nigel. Punk outfit and all.
if the BBC billed a concert to see Nigel Kennedy, they should accept that- warts n all.
if the BBC billed a concert to see Nigel Kennedy play Vivaldi and Nigel wanted to play Hendrix instead, well he is shifting the contract commitments.
if though Nigel wanted to play an encore after a night a Vivaldi, the BBC should be grateful for whatever Nigel brings. Is it not the Artists prerogative what he plays for free?
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It was not the BBC. It was Classic FM, a commercial radio station that plays mainstream classical music. It has thrived for nearly thirty years, in competition with the state-owned and advertising-free BBC Radio 3. I respectfully suggest Classic FM knows its audience better than Nigel Kennedy or anyone here. That Hendrix once played the Royal Albert Hall is interesting but of no significance.
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My bad- why I noted BBC is beyond me.
Classic FM or BBC or whoever-
either way. If classic fm has been in the business for 30 years it would know what it is getting with Nigel Kennedy. He has been performing for at least 30 years if not longer having being pick up as a child prodigy.
Without knowing the details of their contract with Nigel we are all speculating.
Maybe they know their audience, but that Audience I bet knows Nigel and what his repertoire consists of.
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Originally Posted by EastwoodMike
Elias Prinz -- young talent from Munich
Yesterday, 10:24 PM in The Players