THERE MAY BE SOME FANS OUT THERE WHO DON’T REALISE THAT YOU RAN THE MUNGO JERRY INTERNATIONAL FAN CLUB FROM THE EARLY 80’S UNTIL I TOOK IT ON AROUND ’93. HOW DID YOU COME TO BE INVOLVED?

It was around 1983 and Ray was working with a guy called KEN JACOB on the Mach One label projects, Ken asked me would I help on promotion and I got talking to Ray about setting up the fan club again as it had seemed to have died a death at that point, his previous manager CYRIL WAYNE had also asked me about getting involved just before that.

YOU ALREADY WORKED IN THE MUSIC BUSINESS DIDN’T YOU?

Yeah, it’s funny really because it was only when Ray and I were chatting at Hollywood 2005 that Ray realised that we had both set off on the same career path as ladies hairdressers upon leaving school. We both agreed that getting out was probably one of the wisest things we did also! At 18 I started in the music business working at the famous NEMS record store in Whitechapel, Liverpool. It was there that BRIAN EPSTEIN had his office when managing THE BEATLES. Shortly after joining NEMS, they sold out to a company RTR, who were buying up Northern stores on behalf of Thorn/EMI, and they turned them all into part of the Rumbelows group. I ended up becoming the Northern Controller for the Rumbelows Record Departments while being based in St Helens. During this time I was head-hunted to do a similar role for HMV who were also part of the Thorn/EMI group. I hated all the traveling and gave it all up to revert to running just one record shop and ended up taking a redundancy package to take on converting a small family business in Wigan into a superstore.

During my time in music I got to meet some really influential people, PAUL McCARTNEY, BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN, PHIL COLLINS & DON ARDEN amongst them, and to be taken at record companies expense on some really good trips and holidays. I was on the receiving end of lots of goodies; in fact all of the things that Ray thought were wrong with the business. A lot of our early conversations with each other when setting up my version of the fan club centered on the ‘music biz’ and what was wrong with it.

WHEN YOU TOOK OVER THE FAN CLUB REINS, THINGS WERE IN A BAD WAY WITH BASICALLY NOTHING HAPPENING?

Somewhere along the line, the database had been lost and I had to start it up from scratch, I advertised in Record Collector as the MUNGO JERRY INFORMATION FAN CLUB, but gave that title up quickly as people started to contact me to give me information about where they thought the fan club was! One of the expenses I had gone to was to have some letterheads printed as 'Mungo Jerry IFC' and so as not to waste them we changed the information into 'international'.

IT WAS REALLY EXCITING WHEN YOU FIRST CONTACTED ME, AND TO KNOW THAT IT WAS GOING TO BE GOOD NEWS FOR ALL MUNGO FANS?

We really hoped it was and I thought we did a good job on the limited budget we were working on. Musically at the time Ray was all over the place, but he was really helpful and enthusiastic about making fan clubs items available.

IT STARTED OFF WITH NEWSLETTERS AND THEN ON TO FANZINES?

When I think back to some of the quality of the output we put out, it does make you cringe a bit. But this was the 80’s and a manual typewriter and a thermal photocopier that churned out two copies a minute was all we had to work with. The most important thing was the information we were giving out and the friends we were making. Some of the cassettes we were issuing were real fun to put together and the highlight will always be 1990 and the 'BEYOND THE SUMMERTIME' book and the limited edition fan club package we put out to celebrate.

WHY DID DECIDE YOU DECIDE TO CALL IT A DAY?

In 1993 I set up my own promotions business and had to give it my full attention, I tried to carry on with the fan club, but soon realised I was starting to let everyone down with a lack of output from the fan club. I discussed it with Ray and we both agreed that the natural successor should be ALAN TAYLOR.

I TOOK OVER FROM YOU, I THINK IN 1992-3 BUT YOU HAVE ALWAYS REMAINED INVOLVED?

MUNGO JERRY is the musical love of my life, Ray gets embarrassed when I put him up there with the gods, but his talent is unquestioned and I can honestly say that the music of MUNGO JERRY has had a major say in my life. I still get a tingle down my spine when I play a Mungo CD that I haven’t heard for a long time and the hairs on the back of my neck still stand out when I hear a new gem for the first time, anyone reading this just play 'MAKE ME HAPPY' or 'NO MORE WOMAN BLUES' and you know what I mean. The one I am currently most excited about is 'HALLELUJAH', that one sounds like it is going to be something special.

TOGETHER, WE HAVEN’T DONE SO BADLY, WE NOW HAVE THE WEBSITE – MUNGOMANIA – WE HAD THE ANNIVERSARY GIGS IN 2000, 2003, AND NOW THE ANNIVERSARY GIGS IN 2005 WHICH MAY BE CONSIDERED HIGHLIGHTS?

The website is a major happening, it has changed totally the way information is passed on, it means the people behind the scenes, ROB KAMPHUES, you and me can get on with compiling products to make them available and keep fans updated regularly at little expense apart from time. With your help I am about to post out a pack to every fan with all the news and new products in printed form. This pack is to update every non-web fan, but really as we have said so many times in the past how long can we keep doing this for, the postal and printing bill will run into hundreds of £££’s. And we could have used that budget to make a new CD available. I am pleading really with all Mungo fans that don’t use the web just visit - www.mungomania.com - and you will be hooked, it really will change your life or at least the MJ part of it.

TO TAKE THEM ONE BY ONE, STARTING WITH THE ANNIVERSARY GIGS IN 2000, IT WAS INCREDIBLE JUST HOW MANY FANS TURNED UP AND HOW WELL IT ALL WENT?

I remember when I started to put together Hollywood 2000, you amongst others being sceptical about how many people would attend. I knew from my promotions business that if you put the product in the right places, the attendances would take care of themselves. That’s why I chose the Village Tavern for the afternoon skiffle gig; with 50 punters it would look full. With the near 100 we put in it, would be what it turned out to be, amazing! This is one of the major reasons why so many Mungo fans traveled from all over Europe, a Mungo skiffle gig with JOE RUSH playing in the style of the early GOOD EARTH shows. The evening gig at the Oxford Arms, I knew would be a success, it is a good gigging venue and the landlord MARK FALLON was willing to set ticket prices at a level that would attract regulars, and could pay the band at the same time. He was happy with a full pub of 200 punters and just to make the beer profits.

During this time both Ray and I had got involved with GARRY MARSH and his Coppice Special Needs School and what we did there on that 2000 weekend will stay with us for the rest of our lives. RAY DORSET should be given extra credit for all these celebration weekends taking place, without him giving up all his time and travel commitments and playing the gigs for no profit whatsoever, they would not take place. 2003 started with Garry wanting us to do more for the school, we had been back several times after 2000 to both the school and the Oxford Arms and all in their own way, were all successful. For '03, he had hit on the idea of Mungo playing in the Newcastle Town Square Carnival, I got involved with the local council and decided to play an afternoon open-air gig followed by an evening gig at the Rigger pub. We decided not to use the Oxford Arms so as not to make it too samey; MARK FALLON was in agreement which was important. When I visited the Rigger in advance, I knew it was right. I know a lot of fans were dubious about setting foot inside the place; in fact you could include the band in that! But with Ray, I also visited it after the Carnival show, and he was so up for it, it took him back. In that situation RAY DORSET is one of the greatest showmen around, he just turns things around. And lets be honest every Mungo fan I have spoken to since loved that gig.

THE 2005 GIGS HELD IN JUNE WERE JUST AS GOOD, WITH MIKE COLE GUESTING FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 30+ YEARS, NOT QUITE AS MANY FANS THERE AS BEFORE BUT JUST AS GOOD?

The latest sets of gigs were great for their own reasons; MIKE COLE's attendance and the skiffle shows he did with Ray were fantastic. GARRY MARSH had taken more control over the selection of venues, I was never convinced that the Forum Theatre was the right setting and ticket sales were out of our hands, something I am never happy with as a promoter. Anyone who was at the Theatre will remember the thunderstorm at exactly the same time as people would be coming along and over 50 people who had bought tickets didn’t show which didn’t help. But for Mungo fans it was a great success. I am working on an idea for a new celebration show, maybe in a different location for 2006. For all non-web fans check out the website for updates!!!!

AND THE WEBSITE, IT SEEMS TO BE WORKING WELL?

Yes, but it can and will get better. I would like more input from our friends STUART TURNER and JOHN VAN DER KISTE, they had so much to say and add in their own way. I hope they use this as a little gee-up to become more involved.

WE NOW HAVE THE FAN CLUB SHOP AND IT HAS GONE FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH WITH THE QUALITY OF PRODUCT MUCH IMPROVED ON WHAT HAS GONE BEFORE?

The Shop is one of the major successes of 'MUNGO JERRY-LAND’; I just wish we could have done it years earlier. RAY DORSET's involvement with the products is a major feature in this; he is so behind it all. Ray has always made material available for fans, but he is so enthusiastic it gives us all behind the scenes a buzz. I took it over from the official web-site as it was felt it wasn’t working properly with its product, quality and distribution. I felt that if someone was going to order from the shop they needed to do it with confidence, the average spend is between £20 and £50, and therefore to get those people coming back for more, you needed to not only supply the goods quickly, but also inform people of any hold-ups and point them in the direction of other things they might like. I feel we have also got the pricing structure right, and also the discount offers to fans when a line has merely been repackaged is important. When 'TOGETHER AGAIN' for instance is relaunched in September, it will be for at least the third time on CD alone; fans should not be expected to pay the full price over and over again. So when the shop re-promotes it, look out for the special price tag. A big thank you must go to ROB KAMPHUES for his work on the TOGETHER AGAIN sleeve and the Polydor product, he has re-mastered the discs direct from the original vinyl and the sound it gives is so full and clear. Ray reckons it sounds better this way as well. One of things we do get asked for a lot is bonus tracks, but with the Polydor stuff for example we looked at what would blend with a more long-term outlook on it than just those four issues. So the three albums remained virtually as issued on LP and the bonus tracks were sensible to each release. 'VIG-LIVE IN BULGARIA', was added as the concert took place during the period of the studio albums. In the future, a CD of Polydor outtakes will appear and this will move us into the post Polydor product and what would have become the 'AFTER HOURS' LP. Included in this series will be 'SIX-A-SIDE' which will be part of the outtakes maybe as a double or triple pack.

WHAT NEW PRODUCT CAN FANS EXPECT IN THE FUTURE?

So many things are in the pipeline and will be issued on a regular basis, which is one thing I am really keen on, no large gaps between releases. In no particular order, we have the 'LEGENDS TOUR', 'LIVE IN OSLO' (with BOB DAISLEY), 'THE INTERVIEW TAPES', 'SIX-A-SIDE' project, 'HORIZON' songs, and some PETER GREEN - KATMANDU outtakes, plus all the compilations and new product Ray is working on. The Sanctuary 2CD set could be very exciting with all the tracks we have suggested, but sometimes these things are out of your control and the company concerned then changes things or its mind at the last minute. It can be frustrating but the alternative would be to have fewer products available and at least with the shop we can always put together another package to fill the gaps.

THE OFFICIAL MUNGO JERRY WEBSITE – MUNGOJERRY.COM - HAS BEEN DORMANT FOR QUITE SOME TIME, WHAT CHANGES IF ANY, WILL TAKE PLACE WITH IT, AND HOW ARE PLANS TO BE ABLE TO DOWNLOAD MUNGO JERRY/RAY DORSET RECORDINGS FROM THE INTERNET COMING ON, WILL IT BE PART OF THE OFFICIAL SITE?

This is where a lot of the behind the scenes work is going on at the moment and a lot of cost is also involved. Ray has been for several months downloading every track he owns or has in demo form into mp3 files, he then had to do the entire thing over again to put the same thing into 30-second samples. Once he has completed this task and he had to start over and over for various computer-based reasons he can then hand them over to NIGEL BARBER. Nigel is re-building the official web site for us and when complete, the site will hold every MUNGO JERRY track available, and believe me there will be lots to be added to collections. Fans can then listen to a sample of a track, decide to buy it, download it on its own or as a full album, or make their own compilations, also design a cover if required, place it on a blank disc and pay for it all in one go. This official site will hold the more business type functions as well leaving 'Mungomania' to concentrate on the more fan-based items. The shop will be available on both sites and products will still be made available in the more currently conventional way. Ray has always been interested in new technology and he has grasped the internet with open arms, we should be so grateful that he views things this way, because I do get contacted from time to time from other fan clubs who are so jealous of what we are achieving.

YOU DO HAVE PLANS TO PRODUCE A MEGA CD-ROM THAT WILL FEATURE JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING – SONGS, VIDEO FOOTAGE, INTERVIEWS, PICTURES, CUTTINGS, ETC. IT SOUNDS LIKE QUITE AN UNDERTAKING?

This is the big one; it is every fans dream in one package. Where do I start? Rob is putting together a disc of the worldwide discography, every song, and every single, every album, compilation etc, etc. By placing the CD into your computer you will be able to view every track listing, every tracks lyrics, click on to play a sample of every song, view every cover front and back, every booklet and picture. That alone is a major undertaking. Further CDs, CD-ROMs and DVDs will appear that will contain virtually everything that we possess. CD's of songs, concerts, interviews and more will join it. There will be DVD's of all the video footage we have, lots of which is rare or unseen before including Ray going around and taking footage of all his old haunts and adding dialog in a documentary style. Added to this will be pictures and news cuttings in the form of a CD-rom book, which looks great and is very visual and will contain an updated version of 'BEYOND THE SUMMERTIME' and all the expanded interviews Ray has given or is in the process of adding to. The current web-site RAY DORSET interview is just a sample of the larger and expanded version we are putting together. I have been saying for a long time that one day RAY DORSET/MUNGO JERRY are due some further success or recognition for his contribution to the music scene, and if and when this happens we should be in a position to maximise its potential. MUNGO JERRY have put out some startling product over the years and it deserves a wider audience and I can see a few fans with smug looks on their faces when telling family and friends, “I told you so”, if this proves to be correct. In the meantime, enjoy what we are putting together and contact me with any ideas you may have to improve things - to e-mail Derek.