Letters

Rip It Up, Issue 12, 1 June 1978, Page 15

Letters

Rip It Up PO Box 5689, Auckland. Re your last issue review of Wings new album London Town. I feel that the sarcastic remarks in the review were nothing but a personal and biased opinion. The recording industry in general is enthusiastic over the contribution that Rip It Up has made in the business. Should your magazine wish to sustain this respect I suggest that your review page revert back to valid and constructive coverage from your contributors. I will point out that London Town was received with great enthusiasm by Radio Stations and the more professional critics in the Media. John Potter EMI Records

Just like to say that I really enjoy your newspaper but could ya please slacken off on the Elvis Clowno articles and, if you must print so much "new wave" shit, could you pleaze give us some class acts, such as Television, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Patti Smith, etc. New York is where it’s at, in that respect, not England. Also I’d like to say that Bruce Belsham's Saturday Night Fever ’’review" was too long winded, and took 3 paragraphs to say what could have been said in two words Commercial Bullshit! Ben Mitchell Mt Eden

I read with interest Phil Broadhurst’s letter concerning the Easter Jazz Festival. Although it is plain that Mr Broadhurst found little to interest him in the music presented at the Festival, it was quite obvious to the promoters that the capacity audiences which attended each of the concerts held an entirely different view, as did each of the newspaper critics who could scarcely have been more favourable in their comments. Mr Broadhurst is obviously entitled to his opinion, but it is significant that his appears to be a view supported, not by the majority of jazz fans, nor in fact even by a significant minority. It is disappointing that Mr Broadhurst should be so disinterested in what after all is part of the contemporary jazz scene, whatever his personal likes and dislikes may be, and that as a performing jazz musician he should apparently be so disinterested in the public’s views. His consid-

erable ability as a jazz musician is apparently not matched by an awareness of where the jazz listening public's interests lie, nor indeed of the views of the majority of the musicians themselves. So far as the proposed Jazz Rock Festival is concerned, it deserves the fullest of support and the writer and his committee, along with Mr Broadhurst, sincerely hope that readers of Rip It Up and others will turn out in their numbers. Murray Tanner Chairman, TV-One-Air New Zealand International Jazz Festival.