Music maker knows tunes
MUSIC HAS TAKEN NIGEL PEGRUM TO THE BIGGEST VENUES IN THE WORLD. OVER THE YEARS, HE’S FOUND THAT MAINTAINING A LIVELIHOOD IN MUSIC MEANS CONSTANTLY ADAPTING TO THE TIMES, WRITES ALICIA NALLY
TUCKED away high on a hill overlooking Cairns and the Coral Sea is the latest incarnation of Nigel Pegrum’s Pegasus Studios recording business.
The musician and professional drummer has eked out a career in music, starting in the 1970s in London, when the demand for new pop acts was at an all-time high.
Now, with iPhones, Spotify, Youtube – and let’s not forget the beginning of the end of music’s heyday, Napster – Mr Pegrum is maintaining the quality needed to set bands apart, despite the rise of technology. Born in North Wales but schooled in London where his “Welsh accent and knowledge of the Welsh language was kicked out of me”, the father-of-two was also bullied for playing the ukulele “before it became cool”.
But there was never any denying where the young schoolboy’s passion lay.
Mr Pegrum started experimenting with analog tape recorders, creating and recording music for school plays and local film club movies at nine, and at 11, joined the school rock band and recorded demo tapes using homemade equipment.
Then in 1973, he joined Steeleye Span and until 1989 played “every major music hall in every city in the world”.
“I was editor of the school newspaper and was a cub reporter for the local paper, but music was going bonkers in England at this time so I got into bands and was playing at pubs all over London at 15 – illegally, mind you,” Mr Pegrum recalled.
“We played in America for three months and they had an entirely different approach to life – they had those big cars that were like boats. It was so different to post-war England with its austerity.”
The tour calendar brought the band to Far North Queensland and, in particular, to Dunk Island for a bit of R&R for one night only.
It was there Mr Pegrum met his wife, Carmel, a travel agent for TAA who was showing guests around the tropical paradise.
“I met this cool, young musician and he asked me to go to England for a year,” Mrs Pegrum said.
“We stayed for 10 years and had our daughters there.”
With two ARIAs, three ARIA nominations and a Grammy shortlist spot to crow about, Mr Pegrum has always kept abreast of business trends while living the musician’s dream.
When the family decided to
THE MUSICIAN AND PROFESSIONAL DRUMMER HAS EKED OUT A CAREER IN MUSIC, STARTING IN THE 1970S IN LONDON, WHEN THE DEMAND FOR NEW
POP ACTS WAS AT AN ALL-TIME HIGH
settle back in Cairns in 1991, Pegasus Studios, originally Select Sound, was formed and operated out of the Pegrum’s Whitfield family home, producing six CDs for Torres Strait legend Seaman Dan among thousands of others.
The need to downsize meant that home was sold this year and construction is now under way on Mr Pegrum’s seventh studio.
Two clients are already lined up to use the new studio when it opens in late January.
“What I bring to a recording is old-school skills that were taught to me so many years ago but still apply today,” Mr Pegrum said.
“There’s another style of recording that’s becoming popular and that’s to make it sound like you’ve recorded the music in your mum’s kitchen or on an iPhone in your bedroom … but when you want to go for a gig, the first thing people are going to ask is, ‘what do you sound like?’ and you want to be able to give them something that sounds good.”
He said the diminishing value put on “disposable” music was forcing artists to become more business-minded.
“We’ve had to change a lot in recent years,” he said.
“You’ve got to get used to telling everyone how good you are and combining your arts skills with marketing skills.
“There used to be a recording career path for music makers, and although record companies did take a big slice of the pie, they were always investing in new acts. That’s all gone.”
Whenever he gets the chance, Mr Pegrum will pick up the sticks and play with Cairns-based bands Kamerunga and corporate entertainment band Tectonic.
He is especially grateful for the opportunities Crystalbrook Collection’s new hotels are providing musicians since they started opening this year.
“They’re hiring musicians and a lot of us are getting work on a regular basis, thank goodness,” he said.
WHAT I BRING TO A RECORDING IS OLD-SCHOOL SKILLS THAT WERE TAUGHT TO ME SO MANY YEARS AGO BUT STILL APPLY TODAY NIGEL PEGRUM