How to become a pop star: now – find the right sound

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Brian Sommerville tells teenage pop wannabes that they need grooming

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From the TVTimes for week commencing 16 January 1965

Generally speaking, I think it’s right for a singer or instrumentalist to have proper training, but it’s not essential.

I think John Lennon had a few guitar lessons but I’m sure the Beatles as a whole do not claim to have had professional training.

If they had it might well have destroyed their natural exuberant, gay spontaneity. I think professional training is more important for the individual artist than for the group.

First of all, you must have talent. Secondly, it is a good idea to bring out your talent by being professionally taught. But there is another danger here — and I think this should be your manager’s decision rather than yours — that your natural talent could be suppressed or misdirected by wrong tuition.

It would be silly to be taught by someone who doesn’t understand or like pop music, or cannot foresee the potential of the artist.

The thing to do is find a teacher who is both good at his job and who understands the business.

Brian Sommerville
Brian Sommerville

It might be a good idea to visit several teachers till you find one who suits your needs, who is interested in you and what you hope to achieve and, above all, who understands popular music.

The days when a new young star almost HAD to be good looking are over. Of course, good looks do help, especially on TV, but don’t despair if you’re not good looking.

Today most big artists arrive via the disc charts. That means via records and SOUND. If you make a good sound and your record sells enough to make the charts, and you can follow that up with another.

then you’re accepted anyway and your looks don’t matter.

One could say that the Pretty Things and the Rolling Stones were not good looking but some girls think they are. There is something about them the girls like. It’s the expression that’s so often important. No-one could call Ringo Starr good looking but millions of girls find him most attractive.

Look at the Beatles. Fourteen months ago people were saying they were an ugly lot of boys. But now there’s nothing but admiration for them. People go out of their way to talk about their good points as far as their features are concerned.

Cliff Richard
Cliff Richard… ‘don’t worry if you’re not as handsome’

As I said, good looks like, say, Cliff Richard’s, must be an advantage when he does TV shows or films, but if you’re not as handsome as Cliff don’t worry. If you establish yourself with the right sound first, your looks take second place.

And who’s going to know if you’ve got talent if you don’t actually get up and sing? Forget your looks, that’s my advice.

The question of clothes requires very careful thought. It’s been proved beyond doubt by groups like the Rolling Stones and the Swinging Blue Jeans that you don’t have to be dressed smartly to be successful.

Both the Rolling Stones’ and the Beatles’ managements thought very carefully about how their groups should dress.

The fact that they both ended up with different answers is beside the point.

The Beatles are well groomed and wear more conventional suits. The Stones are professionally dishevelled and by that 1 don’t mean they’re dirty.

The Stones get an identification with a large section of the teenage public because they take casual dress to the nth degree.

You owe it to the public to be clean, shaved and have groomed finger nails. And your hair, like your clothes, no matter what style you decide upon, should be professionally done.

 

NEXT WEEK: How to avoid the pitfalls of success.

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