DRUM TROUBLE - get into it

The band Scritti Politti from the late 70s and early 80s. Whatever happened to the drummer?

I'm at the supermarket self-checkout and I can't pay. It's not a system error, I haven't had any cash for months and my credit card maxed out today. I'm 69 years old and I'm returning the goods to the shelves under the watchful eye of the security guard.

Once you're famous you're rich forever. This is a temporary glitch right?

Wrong. I'm beyond skint, I'm stoney broke.

If Netflix are making a docudrama called 'Feast or Famine' I'm a shoe-in for the understudy. I won't go for the lead role because drummers don't do that. We sit at the back supporting someone else's song.

Until today.

Having my source of income, my Drum Van, torched by local vandals (I've been running corporate team building sessions for 23 years), debt collectors phoning me daily and tumbleweed blowing through my diary I'm finally admitting this isn't a surface glitch. It's a deep, dark chasm and I'm the one singing the lead vocal from the bottom of it.

In less dramatic terms I'm doing what any entrepreneur does when their bookings dry up, I'm looking around for things to sell. This is what I've found...

1) Pre-ordering of one of three books. Each one is 95% the same content but with different intros and forewords so you get the book title you want.

a) Just A Drummer.

b) Discipline, Surrender and Mischief.

c) Bowie, Scritti, Drumteam City.

Paperback: £25. Hardback: £45. Please state your preference with your donation. We'll sort delivery when they're printed mid-December.

2) A signed reprint of Scritti Politti's "The Sweetest Girl" poster from the original artwork which I have here in my studio. Same size as the original - 50cm x 75cm.

£99 incl postage and packing (flat).

3) A private drum gig or drum party in your own home for up to 100 people. Harmony singing for up to 500 people.

Between £1K and £3K. Please contact me and we'll set up a Zoom call to discuss your needs.

4) Global access to 12 online one hour meetings in 2024 on the first Sunday of every month, held twice in that day to honour different time zones. Content? A mix of online dancing, inspirational chat and opportunities for breakouts.

£99.

5) A ticket to one of two official book launch events, themed around the 'An Audience with Tom Morley' template, with guest musicians in London and Brighton. Dates TBC. Refund if you can't make it when announced.

£25.

6) A ticket to a summer 2024 residential, 'Three Score & Then' event. A gathering of the clan, with the theme of 'Discipline, Surrender and Mischief'. Guest speakers and workshops with a BIG Saturday night gig.

I don't have a concrete cost for this yet. Let's say a deposit of £50 with immediate refund if you can't make it when announced.

7) A simple donation. I may have run a free birthday/wedding/party/seminar event for you in the past 30 years or you might simply have read my essays online and got value from them. Even a pound will help. I'm not kidding, energetically any donation is BIG because we're a DRUM TROUBLE community coming together here.

Why am I calling it DRUM TROUBLE?

Drums, and indeed any musical instrument or artistic practice, will get you into trouble.

Come on! We can all tell many stories to support this statement.

But let's make this GoFundMe campaign a story about DRUMS, and creativity in general, getting us OUT of trouble.

One day in 2024 we will gather in person and online to prove it.

Until that time I thank you from the bottom of my heart for ensuring that my particular beat goes on. I am genuinely overwhelmed, grateful and gleeful about it all.

One Love, Tom x x