Great night out with Nick where we took in a number of bands at In The City.

On Sunday night we accidently stumbled across one bar where some sweet sounds of trumpet were making their way out on to the street.

Inside we found The Rosie Taylor Collective, providing an enjoyable evening for all there. Have a listen yourselves here and enjoy the photos of them below.

Word had obviously got out that The Rosie Taylor Project was one to watch, as the camera was on this band. rightly so, as they have a great sound.

When they finished, the cameraman packed up and went on his way to film another act on his hitlist. Did he make a big big mistake though, as next up was a highlight of the week-end.

At In The City, the DIY Music panel that Nick and I ran centred around young artists trying to break through, rather than the established artists that the press write about all the time. As a focus for the panel, we invited the talented young musician Rob McCulloch (apologies for the red eye look Rob, but it was that time of night!). The Bolton musician put his CD up on his site and asked his fans to pay what they want for it (pre-dating Radiohead by some way). An average of £11 per album was the result. He has constructed an interesting team around him and his manager, including a company who advises them on marketing and promotion. He is passionately independent, having turned down the advances of the majors in 2005 at SXSW. He controls everything but he is also aware that as things grow for him, the pressures on him will increase, so the topic of the panel interested him more than anyone. Going DIY is not for everyone. Some artists need the comfort of a label. Some believe a more traditional route is best for them. Some have no choice. Some have been rejected by the labels, or have agreed to part company with a label after some time. Ultimately, whilst one could say it is easier than ever to get music out there, it is more difficult to get heard and noticed. So any musician, be they established or new talent, who goes the DIY route is a brave one.

After enjoying The Rosie Taylor Project at In The City, Nick and I stayed behind to see this unassuming guy take the stage with a guitar and a box of tricks.

He was billed at The Chemical Brothers meets Nick Drake

We citizens at citizensound had to see this, as no-one can deliver on this, could they?

Up came this quiet young guy called James Yuill who said hi and suggested we stick around to hear the next artist as ‘he is really good’!

Then came the aural onslaught of…well…Chemical Brothers meets Nick Drake really. If live music is about surprises, then this epitomises live music. Fabulous. When James dug into his box of 80s/90s box of digital tricks, the sounds he created were perfectly described by Nick as ‘dirty digital’. Bang on.

James absolutely had the audience with him. Huge reaction, and rightly so. He was one of the highlights for many. When he wrapped up, the cameraman came back to film the next act. If only he knew what he missed.

Take time out to go and see him. I have been listening to his CD a lot, but you must try and catch him live too. Find out more about him here

Last week one of the last greats of the music industry, and a very good friend, sadly left us. The man who gave us Factory Records, Joy Division/New Order, A Certain Ratio, The Happy Mondays, Durutti Column, The Hacienda club, the In The City music industry conference, and so so much more died from a heart attack at the age of 57 on Friday 10th August…

I've been lucky enough to know Tony for some 20 years. I first met him while working for the NME in the mid-80s. You're always told don't meet your idols, they'll only disappoint. Not Tony. He was full of brilliant contradictions, yet an awesome and inquiring mind. Tony wasn't always right, he was sometimes very very wrong. But he always gave you such an eloquent argument, that you'd often question your own judgement.  In 1990 I was lucky enough to be in the audience for  his legendary panel session at the New Music Seminar in New York, where straight faced he told the US record industry "Wake Up America, You're Dead". I'll let you read the full story, but needless to say it was one of the best bit's of music industry theatre I've ever seen. The following year, Tony called me up and announced that this year he was taking me out for lunch in New York, and that he wanted me to meet a woman. The woman turned out to be his partner, Yvette Livesey, while lunch was at Robert De Niro's restaurant the Tribeca Grill. What did he want? Over lunch Tony and Yvette told me about their idea for a new music industry conference in the UK, which would be in Manchester, not London. But Tony needed NME's support to get it started. At that point a 16 year relationship with Tony, Yvette and In The City started. I've talked on panels, moderated panels, organised the In The City digital spin-off, Interactive City, for two years; as well as all the interactive sessions at In The City in 2004 and 2005. Citizensound were asked to join the ITC team and shape the whole event for 2007, a very proud moment for us all. We last met up with Tony only a few months back. He'd lost a lot of weight, was walking with a stick, and rather uncharacteristically had grown a pretty impressive beard. He was obviously unwell, but he was still asking all the right questions. He was still Tony.

He has left me with some incredibly fond memories and I'm proud to have shared some great times with him.  I'll miss his enthusiasm not just for the music and the business, but also for life. Tony was a doer, he made things happen. Great things. Thank you Tony. You were an inspiration. I will miss you loads. RIP