This is an interesting side project I took on, having an interest in music merchandising, with Lawrence Myers, the manager of Sailor at this time.
Yet again Harvey Goldsmith guides me as I go to the USA to learn how merchandising is organised on the road.
There were 7 of us on the road full time selling the swag. In union halls we just got to count the stock in to the venue for the union people to sell and then count it again after the show and settle the finances. If it wasn't a union venue then we'd all sell the swag along with a variety of local people or several folks who followed the tour around in their own vehicles and worked on a commission only basis, which incidentally worked out just fine for them on this tour!
I really do recommend you watch the video above full screen. It was the MOST amazing beginning to a show I have ever seen.
It is like being there when the spaceship arrived in Close Encounters!!
My mate Brayton, a wild cowboy at any time of the day or night. We did some crazy stuff together brother xx
Andrew Weinrich, the Brockum tour manager and Peter's second in command. What a great guy too xx
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Really all down to this man, Peter Lubin, head of Brockum USA Inc. He owned the company with Harvey Goldsmith and Norman Perry, it's headquarters being in NYC. It was Harvey and Peter that allowed me to gain experience first hand of how to sell merchandise on the road. And the ELO tour was a truly huge seller of merch. We were breaking venue records each night as the audience all wanted a memento of the show.
Lawrence Myers and I were contemplating setting up a merchandising business in Europe. In the end I didn't want to work with Lawrence's people but Peter Lubin asked me to set up Brockum in the UK. I persuaded him to give my brother Anthony the job, and they ended up having a very happy working relationship for many, many years.
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The crew, Andrew Weinrich in the front, Brayton Fogerty to his right with Gus making faces. I'd become good buddies with all these guys and spent a lot of time in the future with them hanging out in many varied places. Thanks for looking after me so well on this tour, all of you.
