JOHN Cale has been lined up as a keynote speaker at this year's Liverpool Sound City, along with Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore and Rick Parry, former chief executive of the Premier League and one-time CEO of Liverpool Football Club.
It's the first wave of announcements from the festival, now in its seventh year. The conference strand will cover the the themes of style, music with a big emphasis on football.
Cale will talk about his role as co-founder of The Velvet Underground, how their style and music inspired a generation, becoming a world renowned music producer and solo artist as well as discussing the relationships he made along the way with Lou Reed, Iggy Pop, Patti Smith, Brian Eno, Nick Drake and countless others.
Thurston MoorMoore, one of Rolling Stone magazine’s top 100 guitarists of all time, will take part in an interview and Q&A session, focusing on “the undying influence his presence has had on counter cultural style and a generation of musicians”.
David Pichilingi, CEO of Sound City, said: “We promised a step change this year and we have delivered. John and Thurston are two of the biggest global names in music – not just for the records they’ve made but the artists they have inspired and the sub-cultures they’ve inspired.
He added: “Our remit is to create a new type of music industry conference that offers big name keynotes and ‘In Conversation’ pieces designed to inspire, motivate and bring together new thinking."
Rick ParryThe world of sport is acknowledged when Rick Parry returns to Liverpool to be interviewed by novelist Kevin Sampson, former manager of The Farm and an avid Reds supporter, on the business of football. The conference will also see BBC sports correspondent and award-winning author James Corbett discussing the football industry.
Liverpool Sound City describes itself as “the biggest urban festival in the UK” and says it expects over 45,000 attendees this year.
The conferences will run on May 1 and may 2 in the Hilton Hotel, Liverpool ONE.
Topics will include the ‘pornification’ of pop culture. The rebirth of vinyl – fad or trend? delegates will also be asked to ponder "the death of music sub cultures or just old bastards moaning".
