About Us
A warm welcome to this support website which, since September 2019 has been an ongoing 'brainstorming platform', a place of communicating and co-ordination, where not just clubs/societies/venues etc. but also our professional players can express their concerns and/or contribute suggestions and possible solutions to the problems so many of us are facing to some degree or other. We are trying to unite our UK keyboard and organ enthusiasts to work together to to help raise public awareness of themselves and to sustain the future of our kind of music in the 21st century.
We would very much like to hear from you, even if only to reiterate what has already been said by others on here. If you would like your comments to be added to the website we will respect your privacy so they will remain anonymous unless you tell us otherwise.
Please email us, Pam and Stewart: clubsunited19@gmail.com
Update 7th October 2021
Well, it’s been a long time coming but at last we’re seeing clubs open again up and down the country and the future is actually looking cautiously positive in some quarters, but still rather uncertain. We must find our way to succeed in these ‘new normal’ times, be it a few wobbly steps remembering what was working in the past, a big re-opening bash, a fresh approach to try something different – or even maybe a combination of all 3.
In the meantime the Clubs United website is still a source of useful tips to help, all of which were contributed back in 2019/early 2020 by committees and members of many different clubs, plus some of our professional players - thank you. Let's not waste those combined efforts, so please browse through our pages of useful suggestions to see if there are any ideas you could try that would perhaps help your club get back on its feet again. We can add any further suggestions if you have any, they're always welcome.
Getting right up to date we would now like to include some ‘present day experiences’ from clubs which have recently opened and if you are happy to share your situation for the benefit of others that would be great. Things like: have your audience returned in full or part, are you restricted in numbers by the venue where you hold your concerts, have you got new faces coming along (perhaps benefitting from the online concerts during the pandemic), are people still happy to be on the committee or just help out at concerts? Are you struggling with financial decisions, do you think you can carry on as before or need to look at the situation differently? Any other salient points you feel would be useful and helpful to other clubs will be welcome.
Alternatively, has your club had to wind down for whatever reason? It’s very sad to hear of those clubs that have been forced to close but who knows, perhaps in the future we may see them reviving again if somebody can take them on, or create a new one in its place. If this has happened to your club but you are still here reading this would you share those experiences on here? Especially if it looked like the club would have to close but somebody has stepped in to save the day. It's also a well known fact that in the past players themselves have stepped in to save clubs where they can and many are still willing to do so now, so one way or another the fight is well and truly on to save our live music!!
We would like to gather your thoughts and comments together to help us all in our common cause to keep supporting live music. We’ve updated the website with a new, dedicated page for your comments - which can be kept anonymous if you wish, with further pages added if required. We hope we can all help each other in these difficult times - after all, we are CLUBS UNITED!
www.clubsunited.org/recent-comments-2021.html
Following on from the regular on-line concerts that were being broadcast live during the lockdowns and restrictions I think it’s true to say that these have produced some fresh interest and new faces at concerts in some cases and it would seem a good idea to carry that on in an even more ‘live’ situation. Recently Joanne Powell has been broadcasting parts of Chris’ recent concerts live on facebook. Love or hate this social media site, it is an excellent, powerful advertising platform and hopefully a way of getting the attention of a new (relatively) younger generation into our world. All too often we hear comments from the public saying ‘I didn’t know there is an organ club in my area’ or the often-misconceived idea that ‘it will be too high-brow and boring for me, it’s classical and church organ isn’t it?’ – a myth we all need to help dispel - so what an excellent way for a peep inside what really goes on when we all gather together at our concerts.
Is a live broadcast something you could arrange to happen at your club?
We look forward to hearing from you.
Best wishes
Stewart Langton (New Forest Organ Society)
Pam Barnard (Norwich Electronic Organ and Keyboard Club)
email: clubsunited19@gmail.com
We would very much like to hear from you, even if only to reiterate what has already been said by others on here. If you would like your comments to be added to the website we will respect your privacy so they will remain anonymous unless you tell us otherwise.
Please email us, Pam and Stewart: clubsunited19@gmail.com
Update 7th October 2021
Well, it’s been a long time coming but at last we’re seeing clubs open again up and down the country and the future is actually looking cautiously positive in some quarters, but still rather uncertain. We must find our way to succeed in these ‘new normal’ times, be it a few wobbly steps remembering what was working in the past, a big re-opening bash, a fresh approach to try something different – or even maybe a combination of all 3.
In the meantime the Clubs United website is still a source of useful tips to help, all of which were contributed back in 2019/early 2020 by committees and members of many different clubs, plus some of our professional players - thank you. Let's not waste those combined efforts, so please browse through our pages of useful suggestions to see if there are any ideas you could try that would perhaps help your club get back on its feet again. We can add any further suggestions if you have any, they're always welcome.
Getting right up to date we would now like to include some ‘present day experiences’ from clubs which have recently opened and if you are happy to share your situation for the benefit of others that would be great. Things like: have your audience returned in full or part, are you restricted in numbers by the venue where you hold your concerts, have you got new faces coming along (perhaps benefitting from the online concerts during the pandemic), are people still happy to be on the committee or just help out at concerts? Are you struggling with financial decisions, do you think you can carry on as before or need to look at the situation differently? Any other salient points you feel would be useful and helpful to other clubs will be welcome.
Alternatively, has your club had to wind down for whatever reason? It’s very sad to hear of those clubs that have been forced to close but who knows, perhaps in the future we may see them reviving again if somebody can take them on, or create a new one in its place. If this has happened to your club but you are still here reading this would you share those experiences on here? Especially if it looked like the club would have to close but somebody has stepped in to save the day. It's also a well known fact that in the past players themselves have stepped in to save clubs where they can and many are still willing to do so now, so one way or another the fight is well and truly on to save our live music!!
We would like to gather your thoughts and comments together to help us all in our common cause to keep supporting live music. We’ve updated the website with a new, dedicated page for your comments - which can be kept anonymous if you wish, with further pages added if required. We hope we can all help each other in these difficult times - after all, we are CLUBS UNITED!
www.clubsunited.org/recent-comments-2021.html
Following on from the regular on-line concerts that were being broadcast live during the lockdowns and restrictions I think it’s true to say that these have produced some fresh interest and new faces at concerts in some cases and it would seem a good idea to carry that on in an even more ‘live’ situation. Recently Joanne Powell has been broadcasting parts of Chris’ recent concerts live on facebook. Love or hate this social media site, it is an excellent, powerful advertising platform and hopefully a way of getting the attention of a new (relatively) younger generation into our world. All too often we hear comments from the public saying ‘I didn’t know there is an organ club in my area’ or the often-misconceived idea that ‘it will be too high-brow and boring for me, it’s classical and church organ isn’t it?’ – a myth we all need to help dispel - so what an excellent way for a peep inside what really goes on when we all gather together at our concerts.
Is a live broadcast something you could arrange to happen at your club?
We look forward to hearing from you.
Best wishes
Stewart Langton (New Forest Organ Society)
Pam Barnard (Norwich Electronic Organ and Keyboard Club)
email: clubsunited19@gmail.com
