The partners is 1917 are Mark Hobrough and Martin Tibbetts. They first met backstage at an Ian McNabb gig in New Cross, where they bonded over a love of original punk and Echo and the Bunnymen. Being one of Ian's legendary and lengthy solo shows they had plenty of time to do it! They have worked together on and off since then and are both vastly experienced in many facets of the music industry.
MARK HOBROUGH
Mark has worked in the UK Music Industry since 1988, initially as a radio plugger before starting his own company - Revolution Promotions. Revolution rapidly became one of the UK's premier promotions companies working with all UK Major and Independent labels. Clients included the likes of Muse, Oasis, Moloko, The Wannadies, Feeder, Fat Boy Slim amongst many others. Mark also ran seminal indie label Lemon Records spawning a string of top 5 indie chart placings with acts such as The Power of Dreams and Kinky Machine. He later ran a development label for London Records and was an A&R consultant for MCA Records. Management was also a part of this, looking after Sara Jay from Massive Attack during the 'Mezzanine' album. Along with Martin, Mark set up the first UK independent street team (now standard for most bands) and formed many International links with counterparts in the USA and Europe culminating in Revolution being voted the most influential UK promotions company by Virtually Alternative Magazine in Los Angeles. More recently, Mark acted as a consultant for companies such as Shazam, has worked as UK liaison for two American record labels, signed an act to a US Publisher and taught Music Business Studies to Degree students at a music college in Brighton, leaving to set up 1917 as he missed the real music industry!
Mark's Favourite albums of all time this week are
1) Wave by Patti Smith
2) The Photos by The Photos
3) Strays by Jane's Addiction
4) Black Holes and Revelations by Muse
5) Hunky Dory by David Bowie
MARTIN TIBBETTS
Martin started his career as Ents manager at Loughborough Students Union in 1986. In 1988 he moved to Solo Agency, where he represented the live affairs of a plethora of artists including Kirsty MacColl, Ian McNabb, That Petrol Emotion and Anne Clark. Here he also worked closely with John Giddings on a number of very large touring acts, and learnt first hand the intricate machinations of the live industry. He also put together all of Bill Hicks' UK tours, working alongside Bob Gold. In 1995 Martin left Solo for a brief stint with live music marketing company The Circuit, where he forged links across the UK and Europe with both promoters and record labels. In 1996 Martin joined Mark Hobrough's ever burgeoning Revolution Promotions, initially as Director of Way To Go, the UK's first independent street team. His role within Revolution developed and at the time of its closure in 2000 he was Head of Regional Promotions. In 2000 Martin made the decision to leave music behind for a while, and became Director of Sublime Communications, a below the line marketing agency specialising in films. There he developed strong relationships with film distributors, further developed links with colleges and started to work more with brands. At Sublime Martin learned an awful lot about ways to reach target audiences and is now happily applying some of those skills to record marketing with 1917.
Martin' Favourite albums of all time this week are:
1) London Calling by The Clash
2) The Boatman's Call by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
3) You Can't Hide Your Love Forever by Orange Juice
4) Even Serpents Shine by The Only Ones
5) Remain In Light by Talking Heads
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