Though many may deny it, most of us are guilty of becoming addicted to the vast number of reality TV and talent shows that have infiltrated modern viewing. Sitting glued to the box week after week, judging, criticising and gossiping about the contestants and their antics. We enjoy watching B-List celebrities squirm on “I’m A Celebrity” whilst they endure stomach churning Bush tucker trials in order to climb their way back up the popularity ladder – just as much as we enjoy watching fame-hungry nobodies sit around talking nonsense on Big Brother, being mildly amused by the thoughts and actions of a group of supposedly “normal” people doing “normal” things 24 hours a day. One of our greatest guilty pleasures as a nation, however, is not to indulge in the plight of has-been celebs in the jungle or the antics of “average Joes” on Big Brother, but to spend weekend after weekend glued to a singing competition of gigantic proportions. That’s right, the nation seems to be addicted to Simon Cowell’s greatest (financial) triumph “The X Factor”. Ratings research board BARB recently announced (22/12/10) that the X Factor final – which aired on Saturday 11th December and saw 27-year-old painter and decorator Matt Cardle scoop the first place spot – pulled in a massive 17.7 million viewers, and has therefore been crowned the most watched television show of 2010.
X Factor can be seen as being a great success not only for it’s ratings, but also for what it can do for the contestants who make it through to the live shows, and especially for those who go on to win the series. X Factor has previously given us Shayne Ward, JLS, Olly Murs, Diana Vickers, Joe McElderry, Alexandra Burke and (unfortunately, some may argue) Jedward, who have all had vast success during the first few years following their stint on the show – not forgetting, of course, the shows most successful contestant to date Leona Lewis (of Series Three), who’s debut album “Spirit” topped the charts in 11 countries and has sold over 6 million copies worldwide.
It could easily be argued that without appearing on X Factor, none of these chart-toppers would have been able to crack their way into the music business, and many would still be singing in pubs and clubs around the country. Talent shows such as X Factor can make worldwide popstars out of ordinary musicians and singers, taking them out of the local social clubs and helping them shoot to fame as the next big thing. X Factor’s motto, or so it would seem, is to seek out the talented members of the public and give them a chance to fulfill their musical dreams.
It would appear to some, then, that the X Factor strives to promote the UK’s entertainment industry, by showcasing the hidden talents of our great nation - but how true is this in reality? The show this year aired on both Saturday and Sunday evenings, from 7.30pm until 10.30 pm – the time that most pub and club entertainers are out performing at venues across the country. If the vast majority of the public are staying in to watch the latest X Factor performances, then who is out watching and supporting the rest of the country’s musicians and singers as they perform?
In the wake of the recession our country faced at the start of 2010, many types of businesses and professions were hit hard, and the UK entertainment and leisure industry was certainly one area to feel the severity of the blow. With the pubic as a whole tightening their belts, a night down the local pub or social club seemed to fall at the bottom of the list for many people – and if the clubs and pubs are losing business, then they simply cannot afford to pay out for performers and entertainers, so both the businesses and the professionals are suffering, not only from a lack of funding, but also – it would seem – from a lack of interest.
The social club scene used to be the place to be of a weekend for many of the generations before us, but the young crowd these days would much rather be on the dancefloor in one of the numerous nightclubs across the country, than down their local social club watching an act perform. So with today’s reality television stealing the spotlight of a weekend, a reported 40 social clubs a week closing down due to a lack of funding (BCC report, March 2010) and the changes in the social nature of the newest generations, the future is looking bleak for all those involved in the UK’s local entrainment industry.
Profile – Peter Jones of Series 1 duo “2 To Go”
30-year-old, Peter Jones – a pub and social club entertainer – appeared in the first ever series of the X Factor back in 2004, as part of duo “2 To Go”. Peter and singing partner Emma Paine made it through to the live shows, as part of Louie Walsh’s category, but were voted off in the third week by their own mentor. Here, Peter talks about his time on the show, how he feels it helped his career and what he thinks should be done about the current lack of support for pubs and social clubs across the UK.
What made you want to audition for X Factor?
The main reason for auditioning was that the X Factor was the first talent show that accepted groups. Previous shows (fame academy, pop idle etc) were only interested in solo acts. Also we thought (maybe naively) that as it was a brand new show it would be a new and refreshing approach to talent contests.
How did you find your time on the show?
It was certainly a great experience. Walking on to the stage with a live audience in the finals is a hard experience to beat. You certainly get a taste of the glitz and glamour. On the other hand you also realise it is not all like that. There's a lot of waiting around, and a lot of staged reactions. For instance, we all new full well that Louis would be our mentor but we had to act like it was the surprise of the century. There was a lot of that sort of thing. But it was a great feeling to get through the auditions especially considering the numbers involved. We were proud to get as far as we did, and the live tour which followed was one of the biggest highlights of our career!
After leaving the show, did you find that people recognised you more?
Yes, we had a lot of people stopping us in the streets. There was a lot of recognition. We still have that today, especially when we're seen together - of course not as much now as it was then.
Did you go back into singing in pubs and clubs?
We never left the clubs completely, it wasn’t right to walk away from our careers to take the chance that we might make it big. In the end, we didn’t get a big break, but when we went back to performing full time we did a lot of great venues, including the Nottingham concert hall, Lincoln castle and Epsom race course. We also started to play casinos and we had lots of corporate events.
Do you feel appearing on the show helped or possibly hindered your career?
There is no doubt the X Factor helped our career if only in a small way. During the two years after the show our standard of gigs was definitely higher than before. As the years went on we found we started to do more clubs again. Inevitably, as new X Factors came and went, our series was put to the back of people's minds, but we are still remembered and the X Factor reference is still a selling point for us.
I wouldn't say it has hindered us but there is no doubt that other finalists have come off the worst for their experience. I believe we were in the bracket of doing well enough to achieve a slightly higher status, but we were never at risk of being dropped or ridiculed by the X Factor as we were never picked up by the record company and we didn't quite get far enough to merit that kind of attention.
Have you noticed the recent decline in the public's interest in going to their social club to watch an act perform? Why do you think this is?
The decline in audiences at clubs is becoming a worrying problem. Contributing factors to this issue are undoubtedly the increasing prices of drinks coupled with the smoking ban. Certainly it is a lot cheaper and easier to stay at home with friends or family and have a few drinks whilst watching Saturday night telly. I don't know whether people are deliberately choosing to not go and see the acts, as I am informed by the club secretaries that the clubs have become less busy in general and not just at the weekends. Also I believe that a lot of clubs will close because they have an outdated principal. It is sad to say, but some clubs are only attended by an elderly audience, and to put it bluntly, when they are gone that will be it. Unfortunately I think the working men’s club ethic has become an old fashioned one and I’m not sure how this can be changed.
I don't know how much the standard of acts reflects in the turn out of audiences, but I will say that there are now a lot of cheap and cheerful acts who are now getting a lot of work as the clubs cut their budgets. I have seen some of these acts and think I would say that there has definitely been a drop in standards.
I say this not only from my own experiences but also from what people tell me in the clubs I perform at. I don't know if this is a contributing factor or not. Having said all that there are still lots of great (and busy) clubs out there, so there is still a club spirit. I am still lucky enough to make a living from the clubs and I am still having great nights working in clubs across the country, so there’s still hope for performers yet!
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