PRELUDE
OK, which one does the lights?...
A further reminder of how fragile we are came with the news of Mick Kluczynski’s
untimely death in early February, just 12 days before he was due to head the technical
production of what he’d insisted would be his last BRIT Awards before he retired. It
was a testament to his planning skills and influence that the 2009 show was one of
the best-ever, according to Brit Row MD, Bryan Grant.
Chris Saunders, who project managed XL Video’s involvement, spoke for the
whole team when he said: “The BRITs was a great tribute to Mick’s amazing technical,
practical and communication skills, and his ability to see ‘the big picture’. He’d have
been the first person to have wanted ‘the show to go on’, but it’s definitely not the
same without him.”
We hope to bring you a report on last month’s
BRIT Awards in our April issue. Meanwhile, an “An original
extensive tribute to Mick appears on pages 6-8.
I was thrilled and delighted with the turnout
Rolling Stone and
at our own little awards event, the TPi Awards
2009 on February 9. We all appreciate that in
the founder of the
times of recession, this may well have been an
Montreux Jazz
expensive night for a lot of people, but it remains
important for this industry’s spirit to remain
Festival were on
buoyant and congregate for what amounts to a
well-deserved universal pat on the back.
stage. What more do
There were naturally mixed reactions to
my chosen style of presentation of this year’s you want?...”
Editor’s Award to Live Nation’s John Probyn. If
you weren’t there and you’ve heard disturbing
rumours about me performing a rap, I vehemently dismiss them as utter rubbish.
To be technically accurate — and correct Chris Mounsor’s perception — what I
actually did was shout in rhyme to a beat, with a tongue deeply buried in my cheek.
However, for those of you deprived of a sense of humour, I promise it will never, ever
happen again!
It was particularly wonderful to have Bill Wyman, Claude Nobs and Judie Tzuke
accept my invitation to be guests at my table. Bill’s presentation of the Lifetime
Contribution Award to Claude was one of the finest moments I’ve ever witnessed
at the TPi Awards, and when ‘Funky Claude’ whipped out his harmonica, it added a
little extra magic.
Unfortunately, there was once again an element of disrespectful ambient chatter
in the room when, in fact, an air of reverence would have been more appropriate.
I mean, come on... an original Rolling Stone and the founder of the Montreux Jazz
Festival were up there on the stage. What more do you want?
I must now book my flight to glorious Frankfurt where a paradise filled with
endless escalators, press conferences, beer and
sausage will await. It all starts on April Fools’ Day.

Mark Cunningham
The Editor
TPi MARCH 09 • 03
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