WORLD snooker champion Steve Davis is breaking into the music business – as a promoter. Davis has set up his own company - aptly called Interesting Promotions - and has struck a deal with his favourite band, French jazz-rock outfit Magma who first came to prominence in the Seventies but have been little heard of since in this country.
Davis brings Magma back to England for three gigs at the London Bloomsbury Théâtre on January 14, 15 and 16. Davis said this week that his primary reason for the new venture was his own wish to see Magma live
"The only stipulation I made was that the dates had to take place
on nights when I was free to see them myself" He added "I first saw Magma at
Chalk Farm in 1974 when I went along to see the support band, Isotope. From then
on I was a Magma fan and a collector. I wanted to get everything of theirs that
was available so I put an advert in Record Collector and got back a letter from
Duncan Lane who's the biggest Magma fan in England. He informed me of all the
Magma stuff I didn't have."
"I found out that they were still playing and going strong, but that they had no plans for coming to London. Nobody was prepared to take the risk of putting them on in London because there are 12 or 13 in the band. It's not like bringing an American artist over and hiring a backing band in England. Also, they're not in vogue."
"I thought I'd take the risk and hopefully get people to come along out of interest, as well as the people who used to see them in the Seventies. Hopefully they'll get a few fans.
"The thing about Magma was that they had no real idea of who I was. I thought that was great, quite funny."
Davis intends to bring Magma back to Britain in the summer. He's also considering the possibility of promoting "a couple of the more obscure soul singers that don't have the chance to perform outside their local area". He said "I'm not really after making money out of this. I'd much prefer that the quality and acoustics and artists were right, and that they were happy with their surroundings. I'm interested in intimate concerts, not promoting anything with mass hysteria appeal."