Vince powers on with a new venture
Vince Power left his native Waterford for London and worked as a
shop assistant, furniture dealer and demolition man before making his
fortune by founding and turning the Mean Fiddler promotions group into
a major force in British music. Then he sold up — but now he’s
back as Neil Davey discovered.
 The
words music promoter bring to mind a certain image, where words like loud,
obnoxious and garishly dressed spring to mind. However, none of those
can be applied to Vince Power, the man who founded the Mean Fiddler Group.
Softly-spoken and contemplative, as well as casually dressed in jeans,
Vince is as far from music industry cliché as it is possible to
get. Indeed, as he settles into the sofa at the Soho Hotel it’s
only the glass of champagne that suggests he might not be a passing tourist.
He certainly doesn’t fit the image his career might suggest. He
also looks surprisingly relaxed for a man whose latest venture is only
a few weeks from completion.
“It’s at the stage all new projects have where you expect
it to be further along than it is. It’s going to be tight to the
wire but it looks great, you can see what it’s going to be.”
The it in question is The Pigalle Club, Vince’s new restaurant/music
venue, which is about to open in Piccadilly. As Vince explains, this partnership
between restaurant and cabaret looks likely to fill a large gap in London’s
social scene.
With its 1940s jazz club stylings, Vince intends The Pigalle to be: “The
sort of place you can make an occasion of, a bit like Talk of the Town
used to be.”
Clearly enthused by the project — words like plush and glamorous
pepper his conversation — Vince explains his vision in more depth.
He says: “It’s as much as you want it to be really. Not everyone
will want food so you can come in and have a cocktail and watch the band;
we’ve got a full band playing every night and we’ll have guest
appearances. But it’ll be laid out like a restaurant, so from 7pm
until midnight — or 1am if the demand is there — you can have
food. Or if you want to have a dance, you can have a dance.
“Music-wise sometimes you’ll get a brilliant unknown, sometimes
you’ll get a well-known face but it’s not going to be hung
on the name acts.
“For example, it won’t be advertised that Georgie Fame is
playing three nights. Or if Shirley Bassey turns up, it’ll be a
surprise. You’ll never know who’s going to turn up.
“What I want to do is create a vibe where The Pigalle Club becomes
known for quality.”
It sounds like a fine idea and a typically eclectic addition to the Power
CV. It’s also a good compromise between Vince’s current bar/restaurant
interests – in addition to Pigalle, he owns Spiga on Wardour Street
and Ten West in Notting Hill.
He says: “My main business was live music, of course, but when I
sold that business one of the terms was that I’m prohibited from
doing live events at the moment.”
As for the reason behind the sale, Vince is typically matter-of-fact about
things.
“The time seemed right. Everything comes to an end,” he says.
“I’d been there for 23 years, so you have to move on.”
It is a philosophy that seems to have worked well for Vince who would
probably be the first to admit that there hasn’t been a great deal
of planning in his career.
He says: “I came over from Ireland when I was 16. My first job was
in Woolworths. Then I worked at the Walls factory, McVities biscuits,
Heinz... then I started doing demolition work.”
Vince laughs quietly at the memory. “I liked that, I liked knocking
things down. And that’s where I got the idea of being a furniture
dealer.
“In the 1960s, everybody was rushing to get into the high-rise blocks
and they used to leave chests of drawers, wardrobes and chairs so I used
to do them up and put them up for sale, with ads in newsagents windows.
Then I got myself a little shop in Harlesden.
“Then I had a lucky break. I picked up a painting for £10
and sold it at Sotheby’s for £7,000! It was a Dutch Master,
16th century. I can’t remember the artist. It was on the floor with
a lot of rubbish. I don’t know anything about art but it looked
well-painted.
“I took it back to the shop and put it in the window. A dealer asked
me how much I wanted for it. I said I’ve only just got it, I don’t
know. He offered me £100 so I told him well, I just want to have
a look at it for a while.
“Then within half an hour another dealer came in and offered me
£300. So I thought I’m definitely not going to sell it then!
The next day I took it to Sotheby’s and that’s what set me
up really.”
Music had always been a passion for Vince though, and his next step would
be to start The Mean Fiddler club. Not that he foresaw how that would
turn out.
He says: “I just wanted a good bar where I could get a good band
in. A place where people can have a good drink and a good time.
“And I like musicians, I like watching them grow. That was what
The Mean Fiddler was all about. I remember bands that started in the acoustic
room at Harlesden and ended up playing stadiums.
“Of course,” he chuckles, “there were a million more
that were completely useless.”
As well as The Pigalle Club Vince is also working on his biography with
former Loaded magazine editor James Brown.
He says: “James decided to write it last year because selling The
Mean Fiddler Group was the end of an era.
“And he panics when I’m being interviewed in case I give away
all the good stories! But it’s not so much about the music business,
it’s more about my family, my background in Ireland.
“Hopefully it’ll be an inspiring tale for people: You can
do well out of nothing if you have determination.”
And, presumably, a Dutch Master?
Vince laughs, before — perhaps unwittingly — summing up the
real reason behind his success.
“Yes, that was very lucky. But you still need to find those opportunities.
They say that an opportunity passes you every day — it’s just
whether you have your eyes open to it.”
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