Another Single Release From Big Derek

What You Looking At? single cover
Big Derek – What You Looking At Single

What You Looking At?

Following on from the success of Will You Be There Red Bus Music have now released Big Derek’s second single What You Looking At? If you are a fan of retro pop music then this single will definitely appeal to you. Originally recorded at Red Bus Studio’s, London back in 1988. The name of this single was originally City of Cheer but this was changed to make it more commercial. Obviously the hook line (chorus) is What You Looking At?

A Little Bit Of History..

When What You Looking At? was recorded back in 1988 it attracted the attention of many record companies. Most memorable company was Island Records , Chris Blackwell personally wanted to sign the band on the strength of this single alone. Very exciting indeed but at the time Island Records were very busy. The A&R team suggested we would have to wait possibly a year for a release. If only we had waited. Things may have been a lot better now? A year is a very long time in the music industry.

Eventually What You Looking At? was released by Sony Columbia, Holland in 1991. Yes, a long way round but it eventually got released. Unfortunately, Sony, Holland didn’t seem to push this song as well as tit could have been. It was dropped in a pile of other Sony artists to Dutch radio stations hoping someone would pick it up and run with it. The good thing was we got to go to Holland a couple of times 1st Class, which was nice. Our A&R team at Sony were a great set of people but it just didn’t seem to work for us, which is another blog story I may write some other day.

Anyway, Red Bus Music have now re-mastered and re-released this amazing single which we hope puts a smile on your face and you download it on your favourite music app. Lets try and get this song to the top where it deserves…

New YouTube Channel For Big Derek

Big Derek – What You Looking At?

New YouTube Channel For Big Derek

Are you on the bus or not?

For years and years we have had a number of videos made from a selection of gigs that we did thanks to Keiths mam Lynn (one of our biggest fans). These were originally video tapes which were then put onto DVD. Now DVD is a thing of the past (nearly) so now we needed to put them onto HD or USB. In a blink of an eye the future has changed so much. Having to develop websites, Facebook pages, twitter accounts, YouTube channels…… How do you keep up, not only that you have to write songs too, who has the time these days..?

Yes, I know, a bit of a rant. We have a release of an old tune to come out from Red Bus very soon, (What You Looking At?) that will be another blog. With the re-release of our second single we decided to put all that old footage to good use. I think we looked much better back then, that been the reason not to do a recent video lol.

So, we (Big Derek) would love you all to be on board and join in with our second journey. Please watch our latest video for our very soon to be released single, What You Looking At? We would love you all to like the video and then subscribe to our Big Derek Music YouTube Channel. For a lot of you who knew us back in the day, I’m sure this video will trigger some great memories of some good times.

WHATCH THE BIG DEREK VIDEO NOW

You never know…… This time next year Rodders!!

Will You Be There T-shirt.

Will You Be There T-Shirt
Will You Be There Tee

Another excellent Big Derek T-shirt Available.

We forgot to add this amazing T-shirt design was back in August 2017 when we actually released the Big Derek Music single Will You Be There. This Tee is available in the usual sizes small, medium, large and extra large. Only available in white.

If you fancy being the envy of all your friends then please make sure you contact us to book your Tee.

£19.99 plus FREE UK delivery

Big Derek Release Date Has Been Delayed.

Apologies to all.

We have just received some unfortunate news. The release of Big Derek’s next single will have to be delayed. Oh no i hear you all yell. It seems that due to the influx of single releases between now and December we would be competing with too many other artists. We decided along with Red Bus Studios that it would be in our best interest to wait until the new year. 

We will be looking to release our single in January 2019, an actual date is yet to be confirmed.  We hope you can bare with us and understand our reasons for doing this. Please stick with us and stay on the bus. We hope to make your journey worthwhile.

Obviously, there is now more time for us and you good people to spread the word in anticipation for this great pop song. Please like our FaceBook Page and follow us on Twitter.

Another Big Derek T-Shirt Design

Black crew neck t-shirt with yellow/gold letters, wyla? on the front
Black WYLA T-shirt

Black Cotton Crew Neck Tee

This uber cool t-shirt may give those who know a bit of a clue to the next single release on 18th November. This design is another hot off the press and awaits your purchase. This black cotton crew neck t-shirt with the letters WYLA? printed on will only be available for a limited period.

Sizes available: small, medium, large and extra large

£19.99 plus FREE delivery (UK Only).

Please contact us so we can let you know of availability.

New Big Derek T-shirt Design

White T-shirt with Big Derek Music Logo
New Big Derek T-shirt

The First New Big Derek T-shirt Design

To celebrate the release of our new single with Red Bus Studio we are starting to design some new T-shirts. This one is the first one hot off the press. If you like it as much as we do and would like to purchase one of the coolest T-shirts on the planet then please get in touch with us through our contact us page on this website.

Currently we are only supplying this T-shirt in white (as seen above). Available in sizes small, medium, Large and Extra Large.

£19.99 plus FREE delivery (UK Only).

A Friday Night Band Meeting

Michael Common and Keith Swan having a band meeting
Michael Common and Keith Swan drinking Rioja

Last night Michael and Keith got together to discuss their approach as to getting some old video footage of Big Derek onto YouTube. The things you have to do just to get your songs out there into the public domain. It seems that drinking £26 bottles of Rioja was a much better idea lol.

Talking about Rioja, It seems that both Michael and Keith are not the greatest fans of Rioja. However, the more they drank, the easier it became to drink lol. Maybe we should turn this website into a blog about wine tasting on a Friday night with Mick and Keith… Mmmmm this has me thinking now!!!

Coming Soon

Big Derek are set to make their mark once again in the ever changing music scene. From Vinyl to Download but the melodies and tunes are still coming strong and hard. Revamped / Remastered / Remixed / Remade and NEW! Following on from the success of their 1st release, Will You Be There in 2017, Red Bus Music will be a remastered track called What You Looking At. Keep your ears on standby for this awesome track..

What You Looking At?
Possible new single cover

Big Derek Music Logo and Favicon

Logo and Favicon now complete

Big Derek Logo and Favicon

Just been working on the website as I think we will always be. It seems that in this day and age you can’t just write a great song, you have to promote it, do a website, design a logo, set up a facebook page, instagram, YouTube channel…. The list goes on. How does anyone have any time to actually just be a rock star?

So today the latest Logo and favicon for the website has been sorted. Now this is not all set in stone as things like this are always changing. So, far now I like it and that will do for now.. 🙂

Introducing The Producer – Pete Yellowstone

The man who pulled it all together in the studio.

Pete Yellowstone Playing the Stienberg Grand Piano
Pete Yellowstone

Introducing Pete Yellowstone. An Italian Scotsman with a flair for making pop music for the masses originally from the 1970’s duo Yellowstone and Voice Pete then went on to produce acts like Kelly Marie and many more.

Big Derek were introduced to Pete Yellowstone and Paul Radford in the late 1980’s were Pete was now the resident Producer along with Paul at Red Bus Studios. As you can see from above. Smoking was allowed in studios back then. Ah, the good old days lol. From their first meeting a great friendship and working relationship was formed. Pete and Paul got to work with this new and very naive North East Band (Big Derek). Pete would selected a couple of tracks at a time from Big Dereks list of songs. The band would learn from Pete how to record their songs and how to improve them. From Andy’s drumming techniques through to Michael’s vocals. Diction! Diction! Diction! “Your audience needs to hear and understand what you are singing about”. Very true and all Pete’s tricks and advice have lived on through to today. 

Later into the 1990’s Pete would also write with Big Derek along with Billy Lawrie. Some great times were had from all. Pete was an inspiration, a great laugh and a good bloke to be around. So yes, Thank you Pete!