Birmingham given its own online musical archive
Jun 22 2009 by Jonny Greatrex, Birmingham Post
A dedicated university lecturer has devoted himself to preserving the city’s musical history by creating an exhaustive online archive.
Now Jez Collins, from Bearwood, is calling on music fans from the past five decades to help in his quest by adding their contributions and memories.
Mr Collins, launched the resource in January after gaining backing from Birmingham City University, where he is a part-time lecturer, as well as the city’s Central Library.
The 40-year-old had the idea when he visited the Central Library but could not find a section on the city’s musical history.
Mr Collins, who was once the lead singer in a band called Nigel the Spoon, said: “I was in there waiting for a friend and thought I would try and find the section on local music.
“I was amazed to see there wasn’t one, especially when you consider how many great bands have come from the area.
“I approached the library and said would they be interested in putting something on and at first I thought it would just be a stand for two weeks but it has got much bigger since then.
“I also got help and support from the university and it has gone from there.
“Other cities like Manchester, Liverpool and Sheffield make a really big thing of their bands and music scene but I don’t think we do the same thing here and I want to change that.”
The website – www.birminghammusicarchive.co.uk – has profiles of dozens of bands.
But it is not limited to famous groups like Duran Duran and UB40 but also includes lesser-known acts like The Applejacks, who had seven hit singles in the 1960s, and 70s ska group The Beat.
There are other areas which cover famous promoters, venues, record labels and managers.
All elements of the site offer people the chance to leave their comments on any aspect of their involvement in Birmingham’s music scene.
Mr Collins added: “It is not just about the bands but anyone who has enjoyed music here.
“We want it to become a living thing where people meet and share stories from nights they had or bands they have seen.
“So far we have only scratched the surface of what is out there.”
Paul Long is part of a team of academics at Birmingham City University which gives money and advice to projects which seek to archive music.
He was more than happy to support the scheme, and said: “We run a partnership which works with people who want to preserve music and archiving is part of what we do. We can bringing our expertise on how it should be set-up and how it can fulfil its brief.
“It is one of the projects we most like and it really is about pride in Birmingham. People should recognise the number of great artists from here, but also anyone that has ever been to a gig and seen a band here.
“Places like Liverpool and London make a really big thing about their music but I feel we really miss out on it here.”
