Eastern promise

Ben Taylor (right) and Curtis Taylor, front-man in Oldham band Feed the Kid

FROM Oldham to two three-month tour stints in China - event organiser, promoter and manager Ben Taylor certainly appears to have plenty on his plate at present.

Taylor, whose first successful live music promotion took place at Manchester's iconic Night and Day Cafe venue in 2001, now co-owns management outfit B33 from the thriving city, and on his roster are Oldham-raised hopefuls Feed the Kid.

The five-strong are one of the most talked-about in Manchester currently, with a new single launch night at the city's Live Room venue on October 14 set to be close to a sell-out.

However, beyond that, in early 2017, Taylor, Feed the Kid and B33 will head off for an exciting 'Manchester invasion' of China along with Saytr Play, Chris Wise and the Hidden Revolution, Stillia and Hotspur Press.

Taylor explained: "We started talking to the Chinese government in around March about this.

"We initially sent them some links of Feed the Kid, Chris Wise and Liam McClair - who we were looking after at the time - and they loved them.

"They thought it was refreshing, it was something they simply didn't see happening over their way.

"From then to now it's jumped to five of our acts going over there for three-month tours, covering 10 major cities, and that's happening from the start of January.

"We're going to come back at the end of March, have a month here, then we're looking at going back for another three months.

"We'll come back and then it'll be in time for the summer festivals in the UK, so it's going to be great.

"The doors to China do appear to have opened again these last five years.

"Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Coldplay and people like that will always go, but the more kind of grass roots band you might not see.

"There is a live music void over there between January and July, and basically they just want to fill it. I just think, 'why not try it?'"

Exciting times beckon in China then, but equally so, Manchester's live music scene is thriving almost beyond belief, as all music afficianados will acknowledge.

Taylor added: "There's a real buzz around the city again now.

"Everyone seems to be mucking in together and turning up at one another's shows, it's just great.

"You can feel it in the air, 100-per-cent you can.

"There's shows every night of the week, you just can't get away from it.

"It was in the press recently about clubs closing down in London, but that's not really happening in Manchester.

"I think there's more all-day events and festivals in Manchester than there is in any other city."

That's not to say Oldham, and the like, are towns to be dismissed in any way, however, as Taylor was also keen to point out.

"All of our bands will hit the towns like Oldham, Chorley, Preston," stated Taylor emphatically.

"They are fundamental on the scene and I always loved playing at those kinds of places.

"The lads we've got now are the same, they love playing these places.

"They are kind of breeding grounds. How many Oldham bands do you see playing in Manchester?

"Look at the Dot-to-Dot Festival recently (Oldhamers Feed the Kid, Goda Tungl, Brahma Loka and Louie Louie all played)."