A young teenager in the late 70’s I grew up on one of the large council estates that crowded in on Millwall FC. One of my earliest memories is hearing a loud roar reverberate around the tower blocks and asking my dad ‘what’s that?’ He replied in his thick Dublin accent, ‘That’s Millwall scoring… You don’t hear it much.’ At 16 I left school without any qualifications but somehow managed to blag my way into a job at Barclays Bank making tea and licking envelopes. When they caught up with my lack of qualifications they must have liked my tea because rather than sack me they made me enrol in Night school where I got the requisite four ‘O’ Levels including English Language and English Literature. From there I went on to have a mediocre career of long hours that paid the bills.

Ultimately I’m one of life’s worriers; a catastrophist. So I write; I create an alternative world where worry can’t follow me. Mirrorball is my first novel. I’ve always been drawn to the antihero. The kind of character who stumbles through the shadows yet somehow you root for. My aim is simple: to make readers laugh out loud and shed a tear as Ciarán navigates the darkly comic rites of passage that shape him. Set in the early eighties, Mirrorball moves through the tightknit world of South East London’s Irish community. The story unfolds far from London on a small cabbage farm near Perugia before flashing back three years to a life lived under the glittering scrutiny of a mirrorball, reflecting Ciarán’s every thought, deed and mistake. A life of laughter, family, friendship and love, plus a few shady characters to navigate and a little money laundering. These two worlds collide as exiled Ciarán returns to reclaim his life. I’ve agonised over its genre. It’s difficult to categorise. It’s a rites of passage, part crime but mainly a comedy wrapped around a love story. It’s by no means a romantic comedy; it’s just too gritty for that. Ciarán’s story does not end with Mirrorball, I’m working on the sequel. I see a trilogy, The Chronicles of Deptford.

01. How did you get started in the world of words?

Probably not the direction you expected me to go here but … at the age of ten I was unable to read. So I was placed in a remedial class with all the stigma that comes with being a dunce. My teacher Mrs Bishop was ancient and looked like Margaret Thatcher but sterner. So different from the young Led Zeppelin wannabe teachers that haunted the main school.

She terrified me into reading. She’d stand over me with a ruler as I read aloud from the colourful children’s pirate series, The Griffin Pirate Stories. When she finally returned me to the Led Zeppelin wannabees, she gave me a copy of Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island. ‘Pirates for readers’ she said. It was the first “real” book I ever read.

Mirrorball is dedicated to Mrs Bishop.

02. Has it been a struggle getting your first book published?

Breaking through is brutally difficult. I sent manuscripts to numerous literary agents. They didn’t even send a rejection letter. Agents want proof you already have media attention. Fine if you’ve just been on reality TV or are a celebrity chef but it leaves the rest of us adrift.

Fortunately I was introduced to Paul Hallam at Old Dog Books. We went for a beer and I pitched Mirrorball to him. Paul took the manuscript away with him and fortunately he loved it. Old Dog Books took it from there, producing if I say so myself, a high quality paperback.

03. Where did you see the first piece you had written in print, how did that feel?

Six large boxes arrived on the door step unexpected. Instead of opening them I went to the pub for a livener. It was a defining moment, so I walked away. What if I didn’t like the finished product? Also I’d so enjoyed the creative journey I didn’t want that to end. Finally my wife Sharon bullied me into opening a box. They looked great. It caught me off guard how emotional it made me. There it was a real physical book in my hands. It was like all those years I’ve been hiding in this parallel universe and now I can show people around. Show them what I’ve been doing there. In that moment I realised it’s real. I wrote it. It’s a real book!

04. What was the main reasons that you started to write seriously?

Escapism. I had a job in a bank working impossible hours. I was never very good at maths and daydreaming meant my attention to detail was always just off. So I wrote. Writing gave me a world to escape to. A parallel universe that let me switch off the constant worry of the reality of trying to hold down a stressful job, paying the mortgage and all the routines life throws at you.

05. What’s a typical working day like when you are writing?

I can go weeks without writing a word. I’ve learnt not to force it. On these days, if I do open the laptop it’s usually to torment existing sentences, picking and prodding at already written words.

Then someone tells a funny story down the pub, or I hear a song that triggers a memory (not necessarily mine) and a whole stream of consciousness flows. On these days I start early with a cup of tea and an 80’s indie playlist and I just write. I don’t worry about grammar, spelling or facts, you can’t allow them to get in the way of creative genius! I save corrections for non-creative days.

The dog gets to go on numerous walks whether she likes it or not. These walks extract me from the word crunching and allow me space to just let the story develop in my head, hoping I won’t forget by the time we get back home. I might write a thousand words on a good day. And then spend three weeks agonising over them.

06. What were your younger experiences that helped to shape your later mindset?

Growing up on a sprawling, rundown council estate in South East London was an experience in itself. It was all about the banter. Verbal sparring using sharpened wit. Looking back, it was the perfect apprenticeship for a wordsmith; language was currency, timing, rhythm and delivery was everything. You held your own with nothing but words… until you went too far.

It was a harsh time. Violent. Words came in handy, allowing me to talk my way out of a few precarious situations. To be fair a few I didn’t.

We were a poor community, so we made our own entertainment. I grew up surrounded by brilliant, funny storytellers down the youth club, the football dressing room, the social club, the terraces or the pub. People who could turn a trip to the corner shop into an epic saga. They taught me early on that truth is stranger than fiction — and that you should never let the truth get in the way of a good story.

Mirrorball is essentially a tapestry of other people’s funny anecdotes, stitched together into a patchwork of humour and love set against a harsh backdrop.

07. What was it like to be young and involved in Street Cultures, what were your pointers and outlook?

We’re talking late 70’s into the early 80’s in the tower blocks next to Millwall. Back then you either drifted into football hooliganism, drugs or the record shop. I chose the record shop and with a few likeminded souls used our pocketful of red bus rover tickets to criss-cross London chasing gigs and clubs.

From the local haunts — Lewisham Odeon, Deptford Albany, Woolwich Tramshed — all the way to the Clarendon in Hammersmith or The Dublin castle in Camden and every stickyfloored venue in between. I always had a soft spot for the Lyceum on the Strand, but my heart still belongs to The 100 Club.

We got heavily into the Medway garage scene. We were constantly seeing The Milkshakes, who had that raw, BeatlesinHamburg energy. So many great bands around at that time… The Prisoners and The Playn Jayn come to mind… the latter still the best live band I’ve ever seen.

It wasn’t all gigs and clubs. A lot of it was running away from punks, skinheads and psychobillies. It was a violent tribal era, a time of youth tribes and you needed to understand where you stood with each. I went for an indie post punk look, stealing my dad’s old 60’s jackets.

08. What was that period like for you as a young man outside of the Music world?

I was 16 in 1980. What a decade. My mates had bands, but I couldn’t sing and I couldn’t play. I didn’t mind. I was the watercarrier. That said, while never a musician, I never felt ‘outside of the Music world’. Back then, it wasn’t about talent or status — it was about being there. It was a constant rollercoaster of gigs and discovery. I felt very much part of the Music world.

09. How did the Media distort what was going on with youth culture at that time?

I don’t think it was so much distorted, more just missed the point.

The chase for sensational headlines completely drowned out what was really happening. Newspapers and TV leaned into stories of youth violence and moral decline, feeding the outrage of an older ‘paying’ audience. What the media ignored was the cause of that chaos and the creative effect it would have.

The cause being boredom born from economic collapse, disillusionment, mass unemployment, and widening inequality… exclusion. The effect being the most important cultural revolutions of the era; the rise of DIY music and selfmade culture.

What the mainstream media failed to grasp was that the late 70’s and early 80’s weren’t just chaos or danger, they were defined by creativity under pressure. Young people, shut out of economic opportunity, turned frustration into invention. Built their own DIY cultural spaces. They snatched music and arts from the middleclass, Oxford educated types. Anyone could buy a cheap guitar and jump on stage. They built their own DIY platform out of frustration.

It was a period of intense, selfgenerated creativity which the mainstream media missed completely.

10. What music, films and books helped you to the pathway of all things alternative?

Thursday morning meant the NME. One of only three ways to see who was gigging. The others being word of mouth and the abundance of corrugated iron, that sealed off bomb sites, covered in fly posters. I’d sometimes buy Melody Maker and photocopied Fanzines from record shops that never seemed to make it past issue two.
So many bands and songs. Such a creative era. Following on from the staples like The Sex Pistols, The Jam, The Clash and The Specials, there was a whole second tier of great bands like The Redskins; The Chords; Milkshakes; Playn Jayn; Screaming Blue Messiahs; The Fall; Magazine; Pere Ubu, Wire and early Ultravox (John Foxx). Special mention for Deptford Fun City, the short lived punk/newwave record label which promoted emerging Deptford bands, meaning Squeeze and Alternative TV had a huge impact on me. I still love the light blue LP centre label of Deptford High St.

Favourite songs… PIL’s Death Disco. I Roy’s Don’t Touch I Man Dread. Costello’s Watching The Detectives. Magazine’s Shot By Both Sides and Psychedelic Furs We Love you. Ask me next week and it will be different.

Films never featured heavily for me. I don’t think it was a great era for film. Eraserhead (which still disturbs me), Blue Velvet and The Elephant Man come to mind.

Books would have to be George Orwell especially Animal Farm and Homage to Catalonia. As does Primo Levi’s If Not Now, When? and Jack Kerouac’s On The Road. A bit later came a writer I really relate to; Roddy Doyle and his Barrytown Trilogy. Doyle brought a real workingclass voice – real humour and heart.

11. What other books do you wish you had written?

Treasure Island; published in 1883. With all the modern day distractions it’s still able to capture the imagination. Mario Puzo’s The Godfather, more than a gangster book, It’s about family; it just feels so real. Roddy Doyles’ A Star Called Henry, so funny yet so gritty.

12. How has the internet changed what you do?

The internet hasn’t changed what I do but it has both a positive and negative influence.
Writing with nostalgia is a balancing act. Authentic detail matters; was that song even out then and could you genuinely buy a Wagon Wheel from the sweetshop back then? Is Wagon Wheel one word or two? Important questions that need to be answered. Thankfully, the internet lets you check those things in seconds.
The flip side is the internet tempts you into everything except writing. One moment you’re verifying the release date of the B52’s, Give Me Back My Man (1st August 1980), the next you’ve fallen into a shopping spiral and ordered yet another box of Popper Point pencils. A bored writer’s natural predator is the shopping cart top right of your screen. That’s why I try to leave the research (and browsing) for non-creative days.

13. Do you have any advice for wannabe authors?

Just crack on. Write for yourself and write about what you know but don’t be frightened to stray from your lane; just not too far. Don’t write for commercial success. There are very few JK Rowlings.
I think it’s important to roughly know how your story ends then just let the words have their fun getting there. Let them go off-piste. Yes have a framework, but wonder. Some of my favourite paragraphs I’ve written have just come out of left field.

Asking for feedback is like daring someone to tell you your daughter’s ugly at her christening. So find someone who’s both close enough to care and honest enough to tell you those draft pages you gave them to critique are ugly. Finding this person is not easy but so important.

14. What projects are you planning for the future and please feel free to plug your latest book?

Promoting Mirrorball. We had a very successful Book Launch hosted by Garry Bushell and it’s selling well. Intention is to maybe do a couple more book launches. That, and trying to get the book in front of the right people to review/champion. Getting momentum going is a tough gig but I’m from the DIY generation!

We also need to think about a digital copy. For me It will always be about holding the paperback in my hands but I need to move with the times.

I think it would make a great adaptation to screen and would love for one of the streaming services to show interest.

I’m about 23,000 words into the sequel to Mirrorball. Only another 23,000ish to go. I’m hoping to be done for Christmas. I had my first meeting to discuss the art work for the cover last week which makes it feel all very real and exciting.

I’m also working on a novel called Skie but that’s a story for another day.

15. What has been the reaction so far to your first book?

It’s been great. People have been really supportive and reviews have been very positive. We just need to get it to a bigger audience.

Olly Eyeplug

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He also is a well known Events designer, host and promoter, we spoke to him recently about his John Steed Ball Event.

01. Please tell us how your Year has been so far?

I really enjoyed performing on NYE at Vintage at Southbank. Its my third year there running and the balcony view to the Thames firework display is a fabulous way to see in the New Year. 2016 will be very exciting for Count Indigo!

02. Tell us about your current outlook with Song Creation and Writing?

I wake up with morning sickness these days! I have so many new songs written during 2015 ready to go! Impossible Dream and Bruton Street will certainly make people sit up and take notice in 2016!

03. The John Steed Ball… what’s the big idea here then?

The Avengers duality of conservatism and subversion has been an inspiration to me and millions of others. When Patrick Macnee died last Summer I just felt it would be great to mark his passing with a dinner-discotheque extravaganza that would celebrate his continuing international cultural impact. He’s the most famous British adventurer after James Bond and Sherlock Holmes. And definitely the one who’d be the best company!

04. What Entertainment can we expect to frame this very special evening?

There is a fantastic three course dinner a la carte. They’ll also be performances from yours truly, Catsuit-A-G0-G0! and The Jet Set International.

05. What is the setting and Venue like?

It’s all in the penthouse lounge bar and restaurant of Eight Club Moorgate. It’s the usual venue for my club Mrs Peels with the addition of an international standard restaurant and the usual heated balcony views across the City of London. All in all, pretty spectacular.

06. Do you have any special guests planned?

The highlight will be musical performances and speeches from Avengers co-stars Peter Wyngarde, Aimi Macdonald and Fenella Fielding. They’ll also being doing a lively Q & A session with the dinner guests.

07. What is the John Steed Ball in aid of?

The beneficiaries will be Patrick Macnee’s favoured charity The Actors Fund who look after those in need throughout the entertainment business and Medicinema who organise film screenings for patients in UK hospitals.

08. Would you say this is a good place for Local Businesses to network and hob-nob?

Eight Club is actually a private club for business people so its built for hob-nobbing! 5*Hotel levels of service and comfort in a lounge nightclub setting. Luxurious armchairs combined with a pulsating dancefloor – come along and join us for something special and unique!

09. What is the Soundtrack & Themes for the dancefloor and tell us about the special guest DJs?

The varied musical template is 60s international Jet Set sounds. Music to transport you to a glam dancefloor in St Tropez , Macao or Rio with a vibrant Swinging London beat. All set to a groovy soundtrack from the brilliant DJ Martin Green. A man with over a dozen extraordinary compilations of incredible pop, soundtracks and library music.

10. Where can folks buy their Tickets from?

Early bird tickets from £40 – £140 are now available here: GET TICKETS HERE

11. I hear that you have a rather clever Contest wherein folks can win a nice Prize? Is that ready to enter?

Yes, winners get free entry to the night and runners=up modernist art prints of The Avengers stars. ENTER THE CONTEST HERE

12. What did John Steed, Mrs Peel and The Avengers mean to you and why did it leave such a lasting Impression?

Its the combination of the surreal and the everyday that does it for me. Rodney Marshall who is making the keynote dinner speech describes it simply as the joy of Subversive Champagne. A combination of cool, ironic derring-do and with a gender equality that was incredibly progressive for 50 years ago! The smart dialogue, martial arts, kinkiness and catsuits might help too!

13. Do you think many programmes in Modern Media compare in any way?

There’s a very direct line to say Buffy The Vampire and even David Lynch. Whilst in the U.K. the knowing re-inventions of Doctor Who and Sherlock definitely owe The Avengers a lot.

14. What have you in mind for Count Indigo in 2016?

To release my excellent new music. Take Mrs Peels Club from strength to strength. Perform with Count Indigo Revue.

15. Can you tell us a post-festive Joke please?

What do you call a man who claps at Christmas? Santapplause! I’m opening a Gym for 2016 recreating Victorian techniques for dispatching ruffians with a walking stick. It will turn into Cocktail Yacht Club by the Spring!

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I was actually asked if I wanted to run a club night by the Mean Fiddler organisation. I had been filming bands with a mate and had put out a video fanzine featuring bands like The Buzzcocks, These Animal Men and other acts from the NWONW scene (the one just before Brit Pop). I suppose we were being seen at loads of happening events and a vacancy for a night at The Powerhaus in Islington had arisen. A friend who was working at One Little Indian put our name forward and that’s where it all started. We just called a few mates up who were in bands, booked them and tried to get the bands we liked watching to come to us. Our first night featured The Flying Medallions supported by Sexton Ming & his Diamond Gussets. It was mental! A video was filmed at the event which was shown on MTV. Check it out here!

02 What are you main Musical and Cultural influences?

I was force fed Jazz as a kid and still struggle to come to terms with it to this day. The only artists that my parents used to listen to that I could tolerate were Simon & Garfunkel and Johnny Cash.

I remember asking my Dad to buy me a Johnny Cash album from a shop in Southend when I was about 5 and I played it to death on an old turntable that he gave me for my bedroom. Other singles I remember owning as a kid were ‘Popcorn’ by Hot Butter and ‘Tiger feet’ by Mud.

Punk though, got me hooked on music. I borrowed ‘Never Mind The Bollocks’ when it came out from a mate whose older brother had it. I just thought the swearing was funny and didn’t really get into it at the time (I was 11 in 1977), but I suppose by 1979 I was seriously getting into music and buying the occasional record with money earned from a paper round. The first gigs I went to were Stiff Little Fingers at The Rainbow and The Damned at The Lyceum. If I went without school dinners for a week I could buy a gig ticket with the money I saved. Travel cards were only 40p then and most Saturdays I would visit the Rainbow, Hammersmith Odeon & the Palais or the Lyceum to buy tickets for up and coming gigs and then head down to Portabello Road to buy bootlegs and records from a stall outside Honest Johns. I still get a buzz every time I discover a great band wether it be at a gig or on record.

Cultural influences have to be pop artists. I have a few Jamie Reid prints on the wall indoors. Whenever a big name like Warhol or Lichtenstein is being exhibited I try and go.

03 What types of Events have you put on in the past?

Mainly bands and comedians but also theatre, burlesque, cabaret, magic. Most of these in pubs & clubs but have done a few boat gigs on The Thames which have been great fun. I hardly ever put on an act I don’t like myself and have had the pleasure to promote some of my favourite live acts such as Earl Brutus and The Damned. I once booked a mini tour of pub circuit venues for Harry Hill & The Caterers which were great nights combining music and comedy. Harry Hill is a one off and would love him to come and play a Showplug event. I will keep asking! Enjoy a clip from one of my past shows here.

04 What types of Venues have you been involved with over the years?

I have been lucky enough to be involved with prestige shows at the Royal Albert Hall, Birmingham Symphony Hall and other major nationwide venues, have DJ’d at Brixton Academy on a number of occasions, and have worked at venues such as the Borderline, 100 Club, Astoria and LA2 and loads of other London Clubs. I also promoted music and comedy at a pub venue in Tooting before retiring form the game for a few years for health reasons.

05 You have been involved with some well known Comedy Events too?

I picked up some work as the regular weekend DJ at the Cosmic Comedy Club in Fulham which is where I started to get to know a few acts. When that club closed in 2000, I went to a pub in Tooting that had a barely used function room and asked if they were interested in letting me use it at weekend to promote music and comedy. I continued to work with the booker of the Cosmic who between us managed to secure me shows by little known at the time Mickey Flanagan, Dara O’Briain, Russell Howard, Andy Parsons, Rhodes Gilbert to name a few. We even worked together booking the shows for Swanage my adopted home Town, so I’m sure we will be seeing some major names of the future appearing at our local venue for Showplug via Comedy Plug. I am working alongside some of you folks at Eyeplug as you have worked out by now :)

I also did the occasional gigs as Tour manager with Avalon and got to work with some fantastic acts such as Al Murray, Harry Hill, Richard Herring and Dave Gorman who were all fantastic to work with and I learnt a lot about putting on a show from all of them.

06 What have been the highs and lows of your Promotional Career?

I suppose when I was asked to DJ for Roxy Music’s end of World Tour was a bit of a highlight. When I turned up with loads of glam rock to play with Bryan Ferry wanting to hear loads of Sister Sledge and disco was a low light! I remember being asked to put the same record on again because Bryan had liked it, which to everyone in the room no doubt sounded terrible but I guess he was paying!

I suppose putting on the first Darkness gig where Justin donned a catsuit was memorable? MTV had come down to film that night but the pub landlord made them erase the tape as they had not asked permission beforehand! That footage would have gone global a few months later when they were massive! Also DJ’d alongside Bazden from Pip! Pip! at our early Darkness shows. They use to amaze the audience with their mad rock operatics in such tiny venues! Priceless! You can also see my Harry Hill unseen video on this page which is well worth a look!

When you only try and book bands that you really like, you don’t have too many lows. I have been lucky in that respect.

07 You have been developing a new venture called Showplug, can you tell us about it?

Showplug is a new venture between myself and some of you folks at Eyeplug. We used to work together about 10 years ago, went our separate ways but recently started talking again and believe that between us we can start putting on diverse, quality events at affordable prices, eventually nationwide. We invite bands that can pull a decent crowd to get in touch and are pretty open minded, although we seldom put on shows with folks that we do not dig!

08 Where can folks catch your current Shows?

We are based at The Legion in Swanage. The venue is great and is retro chic! Barry Asworth of the Dub Pistols walked in and said ‘Fuck me this is old school! We are going to have a right laugh tonight!’ The acts that perform here appreciate the uniqueness of the venue and all seem to want a return booking. It reminds me of the Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club but by the Seaside! It is a real community venue that serves all ages and needs.

09 What Events have you got planned for 2014?

A full and varied program! Regular Film Plug and DJ nights. Live Plug for bands and Comedy Plug for (believe it or not) comedy. Sometimes even Comedy bands. We have spoken word shows, a thing called PID (Purbeck Island Discs), we have Sports and TV personalities, Book launches, film screenings, and much more. check the website and join the mailing list here to be kept up to date on all Showplug stuff and to simply get in touch if you think you deserve a Show.

10 If Bands, Acts and Entertainers are looking in, how can they get in contact to maybe get a Booking?

I generally only book acts that I have seen live and believe that others would also be prepared to pay money to see. Saying that though, I do have certain friends whose opinion I trust and would book an act on their referral. If you are a comedian, unless we have an open mic night it is all booked via the Cosmic Agency so mayeb contact them instead.

Should you have a band/show etc please email me via the Showplug website . I will try and come to one of your shows and if I like what I see, then we take it from there. Please send as many details as possible if you are really keen, where you have played, who with, youtube clips etc. I am not interested in booking any tribute acts though so even if you are the best Elton John tribute act in the World I am not interested! Original acts only please!

11 How do you view the current Entertainment Industry around the nation?

It’s changing. People do not have a lot of money these days, so need to get value when they go out for a night. Saying that though, the live scene is quite healthy. people seem to download or stream free music but then pay out to see a live band when they are in town. Comedy clubs seem to be closing though with big names like Jongleurs going out of business and allegedly getting a reputation for not paying acts. A few years ago, comedy was supposedly the new rock‘n’roll, but TV companies have put so much on the idiot box that people stay in instead of going out to live events. We have to make our shows the best we possibly can for the budgets available in the hope that customers have a fantastic night and then keep returning. Comedy in Swanage now has a great reputation on the circuit for being well run and an enjoyable place to come and visit too. If we continue along the same path, I’m sure we will have a club that continues for many years? We  will also develop into other venues, we aim to expand at just the correct pace, region by region – so please get in touch if you want to work with us mutually on a Showplug project.

12 Can you tell us a decent Joke?

Not at all. Come to our Comedy Plug night on the 29th March and hear the professionals tell them. Trust me, it will be a lot better!

* Dave Showplug Taylor joins Eyeplug as an author, with a special exclusive series of interviews with all of his up and coming Artists. Welcome aboard Dave!

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