Join us for an exclusive interview with John Mostyn, a pivotal figure in the two-tone music scene of the West Midlands. In this conversation, Mostyn recounts his journey from a hobbyist promoting local talent to managing iconic bands like The Beat and Fine Young Cannibals. He shares his insights into the cultural impact of two-tone music, discussing its role in bringing together black and white communities and addressing social issues. Mostyn also reflects on his deep connection to Birmingham, a city that became his adopted home and provided a stage for his extraordinary career.
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00:00 Today I have the pleasure of speaking with an extraordinary man who was
00:05 instrumental in launching the two-tone music scene right here in the West
00:09 Midlands. John Mostyn, thank you for joining us. Could you start by sharing
00:14 what initially attracted you to the music industry? It was a hobby. I used to
00:21 put artists on upstairs at the Fighting Cocks in Mosley and we ran a night for
00:28 emerging songwriters in 1972 and a chap saw me there who I didn't know and he
00:37 said would you like to be a roadie and I said yes I would and when do I start he
00:42 said tomorrow. Okay so the next day I found myself on stage with Bill Haley
00:48 and the Comets at a major London venue in a crash course of how to be a roadie.
00:54 Subsequently I went on to be a rep selling records and then I became an
01:00 agent and it was during my time as an agent that I met people like the
01:07 Specials and Selector and The Beat and I ended up managing The Beat and then I
01:11 had a bit of a break and then I managed Fine Young Cannibals and along the way I
01:16 launched Ocean Colour Scene. So you played a pivotal role in launching some of the
01:22 region's most iconic artists with the two-tone scene becoming a significant
01:27 cultural milestone especially concerning racial dynamics and with the societal
01:32 changes that were happening at the time. How do you perceive your legacy in
01:36 shaping the music industry and addressing some of these societal
01:40 changes? My role in that where it was the most exciting time of my life. We shared
01:50 the politics, we shared the love of dancing and I know we brought black and
01:58 white people together, black and white youngsters together in a way that hadn't
02:03 happened before. So you weren't originally from Birmingham, you'd made
02:08 your adopted home and you'd become an integral part of its history. What
02:13 initially brought you to Birmingham and what aspects of the city make it so
02:17 special to you? In the late 60s, very early 70s I was a bit of a hippie, I
02:24 was an ex-beach bum and a lot of my pals were going off on the trail across
02:32 deserts and goodness knows what through Iran and Iraq and I was
02:36 contemplating it but then I got an invitation to come to Birmingham and as
02:41 I spent my first few months in Birmingham I thought I don't need to go
02:45 anywhere, I can meet everyone in the world because they all seem to come here
02:49 eventually and sure enough over the years I've met incredible people from
02:55 all over the world that have come to this fine city for one reason or another.
03:00 You know when you've worked alongside Nelson Mandela and
03:04 Nasrat Fateh Ali Khan then that's the pinnacle for me of my life in
03:11 Birmingham and I'm so grateful to the city for giving me those sort of
03:16 opportunities.