UK Cabaret design news
This month we dedicate some space to say a great big thank you to our outgoing Design Manager John Stokes. UK Cabaret managing editor Mark Ritchie explains John’s massive contribution to the birth of this publication and his work during the first two years of this titles existence.
John Stokes is a busy, busy man. His long suffering wife Karen has also been of massive assistance in terms of getting this publication off the ground.
I have known John and Karen, as personal friends for more years than possibly any of us would care to mention. Back in June 2014, along with my wife Beverley, we met and chatted in a Wakefield city centre bar, about the possibility of launching something brand new, in terms of publishing, for the entertainment industry.
Two years on, it is hard work, but I love it. Sometimes, it’s a case of one step forward and two steps back, as we try to attract advertisers. As is the case for other publications these days, due to the wonders of the internet, extracting money, even as little as £30 for a whole year, from many people is tantamount to pulling teeth.
Since day one, John and Karen have been there for me. Back then I had just been relieved of my position at The Stage newspaper, with that title indicating their opinion that less and less people want to read about our end of the business. What their publisher Hugh Comerford omitted to mention was that, by the time The Stage had conducted the readership survey, which indicated their readers perceived lack of interest in light entertainment, most of the readers from this end of the business had long since stopped buying, subscribing to or even glancing at a publication, which used to cater for the entire entertainment industry. They will go on their, in my view, London-Centric, theatre loving way and we will fill the gap they so thoughtlessly left for us. I have saved the e-mail that Mr Comerford wrote to me. He wrote;’ I can see no discernible market existing for a publication like yours’. Hugh Comerford than added disdainfully;’ I’m not frightened of competition Mark, I just can’t see it coming from you’. All water off a ducks back of course. However back then it was tough going, as I was also embroiled in huge personal problems and a frankly bizarre tussle, which I subsequently lost hands down, with a certain Yorkshire holiday centre company.
‘It sounds crazy, but it might just work’. That is one of these lines we see added to implausible and cheesy film scripts. John and Karen have helped me make it work. John has dedicated so much of his time and expertise and helped me turn a shoestring enterprise into a going concern. Now it is time for John and Karen to return to their normal lives in music and live entertainment. I will never forget the time and trouble they went to on my behalf, in return for a modest remuneration.
Now we welcome our new design manager Adam Press. Adam, like John, is a working entertainer. He is keen as mustard and very talented in front of a computer design screen. Adam just fits the profile that we need and thankfully we fit in nicely with the rest of his working life.
I look forward to what I hope will be a long and happy association. Now, back to attracting more subscribers, web-users and advertisers.
