Only Impossible Till the Day You Do It

Challenging the impossible

"No big music acts will play the Villa Marina in Isle of Man. It's impossible to attract them."

That was the mantra of the team I inherited, running a large venue on the Isle of Man in late 2004. As a leader I've always enjoyed the challenge that comes from this mindset and thinking, because if you can solve it you fix the main problem and the mindset one.

Finding the right people

I'd heard Andy Kershaw had a cottage in Peel at the time. I sought him out. He was "on it" immediately.

Thanks to his direct help we were able to put Robert Plant on at the Villa Marina for TT 2005, and he then opened up contacts that let us bring so many great acts to play over the next three years. This pretty much kept going, because we'd changed attitudes and mindsets.

Shared memories

Loved chatting to Andy over coffee. We were two of a kind and loved all sorts of music. He was super clever, great observations and hilarious with it.

The greatest live concert I ever saw was Bob Marley and the Wailers at Deeside in 1980. When I said this to Andy one day he said "did he wear the jacket for the encore?" I said "he did."

Andy is the only other person I've ever met who saw that tour. The jacket was a silk bomber in red, yellow and green hoops, and Bob sang a song, just guitar and spotlight, we'd never heard before: "Redemption Song." Lovely to share a treasured memory with Andy, both of us in equal awe at the retelling of the last time we saw Bob.

As punk and new wave fans we shared stories often. He taunted me with stories of his days as a roadie for The Jam with Billy Bragg. He subsequently brought Billy to play the venue and we spent hours afterwards chatting, ruminating and laughing over beer and sarnies.

A leadership lesson in disguise

I've long been grateful to Andy for helping me in this way. Sad to hear the news of his passing.

The first concert I ever promoted was Robert Plant.

"Only impossible till the day you do it."

Thank you Andy Kershaw for helping me do something incredibly difficult, that was amazing and one of the great memories of my career.

The leadership lesson? Sometimes the biggest barrier isn't resources or logistics. It's the belief system of the people around you. Change the belief, and the rest follows.