The label has grown exponentially,
gaining a solid reputation on the scene.
It now boasts over 200 releases.Robert Plant guesting on
Hell’s Hotel was a personal
highlight for Darrela few!” jokes Duffi n. Both versions are well
worth revisiting, but the original reveals an
unmistakable talent. It combines a snappy
remake of Sonny Williamson’s Dealing With
The Devil, with Higham in frightening form
on the guitar, several covers – The Everly
Brothers (Till) I Kissed You, Skeeter Davis’
The End Of The World and Cliff Richard’s No
Turning Back (written by Lionel Bart) and
some promising originals.
“If it hadn’t been for that initial meeting
and the eventual close partnership we
formed, it would’ve made Imelda’s success
much harder,” adds Higham. “By the time
I starting playing in her band permanently,
Clive and I had Embassy Studios up and
running, so we could record and release
whatever we wanted, within reason.”
It was May’s second attempt, however,
that caused the biggest commotion. In fact,
that’s something of an understatement...
Higham explains: “Love Tattoo was
initially released on a label that Clive and
I created, called Ambassador. When Imelda
got the call that she was going to be on LaterWith Jools Holland, I immediately phoned
Clive and told him that we needed to press
10,000 copies! We only had a fortnight’s
notice that we were going to be on the show.
I don’t know how he managed to get it
sorted, but all 10,000 arrived a few days after
the fi rst broadcast. Everything happened so
fast. Imelda was signed to Universal within
a week and Clive and I did a deal with them
to lease Love Tattoo for 15 years. They then
took all our copies and put stickers with
their logo and address over our logos!”
With its two singles aired on the show,
Love Tattoo made No.1 in the Irish albums
chart and went gold in both the UK and
France. Did Duffi n expect such success?
“We’re all going to say yes, but to be
honest it was a big gamble,” he says.
“However, by this time, Imelda was making
waves on the rockin’ scene and was also
performing at lots of festivals for all kinds of
music. Jools being a big fan of hers helped a
great deal, she did a lot of hard work behind
the scenes and her dedication paid off .”
Aside from being credited with playing‘anvil’ on May’s 2014 album Tribal, some of
Duffi n’s fondest moments have involved her
and Higham, including sharing a private box
with his family to see them play at the Royal
Albert Hall. “That was a dream come true,”
Higham remembers. “We had supported
Jools Holland and Jeff Beck there, but to get
a chance to play a proper Imelda May gig in
that amazing venue was a great moment.”
The label has grown exponentially ever
since, gaining a solid reputation on the
scene. It now boasts over 200 releases, many
from new artists. Duffi n endeavours to see
any prospective talent live before he picks
them up, but it’s not always possible. In fact,
a fair few have been signed ‘blind’, amongst
them Rocket 88, The Muskrats, The Tawny
Owls, Atomic Leopards and Sweden’s
The Grapestompers, who inked a deal on
Higham’s recommendation. It was also he
that brought the latest hot tips to the table.
Could there be another Imelda in the ranks?
“Dylan Kirk is an unbelievable young
talent,” states Higham “His album was
recorded live and they hardly made any
mistakes, so the whole thing was recorded
in a day. I’ve worked with many young
bands and sometimes they can spend too
much time worrying about what’s going to
happen after the record comes out because
they think it’ll be instant fame and fortune,
but Dylan just put his head down and got on
with the work and was just great.
“There’s also another young artist, Chris
Berntsen. We recorded an album together
called Life’s Game. He’s exceptional, with a
superb voice and great songwriting ability.
It’s a mix of well-known rockabilly classics
as well as a couple of originals that are not
really what you’d call rockabilly, but we
were able to give them an arrangement that
meant they sat in with the rest of the songs.
Like Dylan, he has the talent to really break
out into a much more commercial market.”Foot Tapping star Imelda May bagged
a deal with major label UniversalLabel Story: Foot Tapping Records