This story was published courtesy of Mondo DR.
The professional audio, lighting and visual industries rely hugely on
relationships, but few are comparable to that on the iconic Oates brothers. Jerry
Gilbert took on the task of interviewing Tony and Simon Oates to hear historic
anecdotes and what it takes to run distribution companies in Thailand and South
Africa respectively
Few people capture the zeitgeist of the party-infused “90s better than Tony and
Simon Oates. Operating their respective distribution businesses from different
ends of the planet, whenever these galactic troupers descend into our midst,
gravity and equilibrium are both under threat.
Proving the adage that nothing exceeds like excess, who could forget the
carnival spirit on Fuzion’s two-deck stand at the PLASA Show in 2005 with the
presence of a bevy of Thai girls – clad in national costume and shipped over by
Tony – dispensing such exotic cocktails as marshmallow and mint aero vodkas?
The austere post-millennium has done much to erode that hedonistic era but
when mondo*dr managed to corral the brothers in the press bar at the recent
Prolight+Sound show in Frankfurt, the spirit had remained largely intact. Tony
arrived fastidiously attired, armed with Confucian wisdom and a bagful of riffs,
Simon, the self-appointed “better looking of the brothers’ with his heavily
contoured physiognomy consigning the Keith Richards facial roadmap to the
nursery slopes.
Both look as though it’s been a life well lived, and they have remained largely
insouciant, despite at times hanging on grimly to the industry roller-coaster with
ever-whitening knuckles. Yet from a background as musicians – before their
names became synonymous with Fuzion and Tadco respectively – both Tony and
Simon became foundation stones in the construction of the pro industry as we
see it today; gratifyingly, following some diligent housekeeping, their stars are
once again in the ascendancy.
The interview found them in a reflective mood, yet it wasn’t long before sibling
sparring started to gather momentum. No smoke, mirrors, sophistry or trotting
out the familiar tropes for these guys; the chat fired straight from the hip as
they related how they have tried “to blaze a trail through the austerity of the
times’, to use Fuzion’s own website blurb.
Now at the end of their sixth decade, one can only speculate what the scene
would have been like if this summit had taken place 20 years earlier; that would
have been a frat party in the true sense of the phrase.
Like many who established their chops in the pro industry, the Oates brothers
first served their time as professional musicians. Born 20 months apart – Tony
being the elder – the family emigrated from the UK in 1968 to escape the Wilson
Government by immersing themselves in the stoneground apartheid regime of BJ
Vorster’s South Africa. It was the year of the Basil D’Oliveira affair which proved
a watershed in ending competitive sport between the nations. “We moved
because the Wilson government had fucked the country and many people were
leaving. Income tax was on a sliding basis with no ceiling,’ recalled Tony. “So we
left one regime for another.’ In fact, the top rate on investment income would
eventually rise to 98% under the Wilson Government.
The brothers finished schooling and Tony survived several months studying to
be a lawyer before sensing it was not for him. “We tried various ways of earning
money and eventually decided to put a band together.’
Simon was still completing his education when their father, who owned the
lease on a hotel in White Level, ran into trouble. “He had a masterful business
sense,’ said Simon with undisguised sarcasm. “For instance in the mid “60s you
couldn’t fail in the UK if you ran a Laundromat, but somehow he managed to!’
Tony headed up to the location in the Lowveld to help out, and while there, met
a couple of musicians from the local coloured township. “We had extremely long
hair and I think I was there to buy some weed,’ he vaguely recalled. “We were
oblivious to apartheid – but at the same time it was not only the Cape
Coloureds, the Indians and black communities that the white minority was down
on – the Boer War had not been forgotten! At my first school up in Pietersberg I
had to fight every day and always about the fact I was British.’
Taken by the idea that the two men, named Roland and Bernard hung out in a
corrugated hut named “Woodstock’ – next to a railway track – the band was
duly formed, with Simon later taking over on drums.
Eventually the Oates brothers left the Lowveld and headed back to
Johannesburg where they operated initially as a “covers’ band playing mostly
hotel residences before going on to play in various venues around the country.
The venture duly ran its course. “I eventually got tired of playing mother to a
bunch of delinquents,’ continued Tony, pulling no punches. Meanwhile, Simon’s
attempts to get into the Berkeley Music School to learn harmony was derailed
and he instead returned to the UK to study jazz drumming at Leeds University,
coming under the spell of Buddy Rich. “I couldn’t get a union card without a band
and couldn’t get a band without a union card,’ he said. “It was Catch-22 and so
I became a motor cycle courier down in London.’ He would not return to South
Africa until 1976.
Meanwhile, Tony had landed his first “proper’ job, with Hohner South Africa, a
company set up by Emil Feil to represent Peavey, Sonor, Ovation, and others. “I
was supposed to go to Germany to learn how to fix accordions but figured out
how to do it myself before they got round to sending me. I left after a year
having been made redundant, but it was my first brush with an industry I have
now been in for over 35 years.’
Utilising the cottage and garage complex at the back of his house in Parktown,
Johannesburg, as workshops, Tony started to offer services to the local music
community. He remembers one day someone in the PA rental business
producing a plan of the classic JBL 4560 bass bin cabinet. “He wanted 20 to add
to a somewhat fledgling rental stock. So I built them and ended up operating
them in the system they became part of.’
This was the start of his relationship with Prosound owners Terry Acres and
Dennis Feldman, which appears to have been a fairly volatile one by all
accounts. “I sorted out the workshops and manufacturing, did most of the rental
work and serviced key clients.’ Anecdotes from the period pour forth from Tony’s
lips like confetti, how he ventured into Salisbury, Rhodesia to mix Mungo Jerry
under armed escort – during the Ian Smith regime – was one of the more
memorable.
He also worked for a time with David Marks, owner of 3rd Ear Music, and a
member of the sound crew at the epochal Woodstock Festival. He ended up
buying part of the legendary Bill Hanley Sound System, specifically designed for
the event, although the system had migrated into the Prosound rental fleet by
the time Tony joined.
But the key relationship that was to carry him through the next few chapters of
his life were forged with Electro-Voice. It began with a masterstroke of genius.
Faced with a swingeing 80%-plus import duty he put together a competent in-
house manufacturing facility after gaining Electro-Voice’s permission to build its
speaker systems and mould its recently patented constant directivity horns
under licence.
“That would certainly be right up there with my best achievements,’ he
reflected. “As Electro-Voice had just started building its own systems.’
The Hanley bins were driven by Crown DC-300’s, which were well named, since
they were noted for going “DC’. Since JBL would not supply South Africa at the
time Tony often had to fly over to New York to buy recones for the JBL 15-inch
K140’s, or beg those visiting to pick some up.
“However, there was a company importing a brand called Kustom,’ he
remembered. “Some genius decided they would import a full set of spare
components for every cabinet they bought in. v
“When the company went broke there was an auction and we picked up a load
of Electro-Voice SRO 15-inch chassis speakers very cheaply. Ergo, when the JBLs
got fried, we replaced them with SROs, which also eventually got fried. But we
liked them a lot.
“Contacting Electro-Voice about recones, they said sure, but what about the
mics and speaker systems we make? I went over to see them and that’s how
the relationship began.’ This deal gave the company a unique competitive price
advantage in South Africa. “Here I am, not yet 30, financially comfortable and yet
I could already see everything potentially going wrong, with the “big fish in small
pond’ syndrome and debauchery constantly just around the corner.’
Meanwhile, back in the UK, Simon had been clicking his heels away from the
industry, largely mired in administrative office work. The chance to end this ennui
and return to South Africa came just before Sun City was due to open in 1979
and he and his South African wife were lured back to the Southern Hemisphere.
“Tony asked me to come back and join him at Prosound because they could not
find good personnel locally,’ said Simon.
At the risk of straining a relationship between the brothers and Prosound, Tony
took the decision to move on, and after working with well known Detroit FOH
engineer, Frank Fisher – known for his work with OJays and Earl Klugh – headed
off to Michigan.
“I had just got married and a few weeks later left for the States with my wife
Sharon. I wanted to get back to engineering and be more hands on instead of
managing a large number of people,’ explained Tony. But during the year it took
Tony to extricate himself from South Africa, Frank Fisher, in cutting ties with his
then business partner, had effectively gone bankrupt.
“My plan to obtain a green card via an old USA / UK treaty trader relationship
and to invest in a US business, was torpedoed, as there was now no business
to invest in. I wanted to go back to South Africa but Sharon said “no way, there
has to be another plan’. So instead of paying me the money he owed me I
asked Frank to buy two one way tickets to London.’
Moving to Chiswick in 1982, Tony started making furniture in Fulham while
looking for a position in the industry. But stopping off for a pint in Notting Hill
one day he heard the unmistakeable Scottish tones of Tam Fairgrieve, a backline
tech – with Andy Summers of The Police – whom Tony had met on a Bay City
Rollers tour. “I had contacted everyone in the pro audio industry but not had a
squeak back from anyone. Tam said, “let me make a call’. Next day John Denby
from Entec contacted me from Shepperton Studios and said he needed someone
to replace Mark Burgin, who was leaving.’
The two struck up a friendship and shortly before Mark was about to leave, Tony
received a phone call out of the blue from Larry Frandsen, President of Electro-
Voice Europe (and later head of Mark IV Audio Europe). “He wanted to come and
see me.’
Electro-Voice had its own office in Hove under Gulton UK (Gulton Industries were
the owners of Electro-Voice at the time) but Larry decided to shut this when
Tony agreed to set up an independent distribution operation to manage the
Electro-Voice brand.
“After dinner, and breakfast the following morning, the conversation went
something like “can you have an office running by Monday?’ I had no resources
so replied, “Monday might be tight, how about Tuesday?’
“I went back to Entec and said to Mark, “you are off tomorrow, and I am too’.
Mark wanted to know what I planned to do and after I explained he said, “that
sounds like fun, let’s go and see my old man’. Mark’s father agreed to bankroll
the new operation and the following day a £20K line of credit was set up.’ By
July 1982 they were open for business and Shuttlesound was born as Electro-
Voice’s new UK HQ.
I recall visiting the preppy young Tony and Mark at the beginning of 1983 and
listening to their impressive and pragmatic approach to marketing from their
base at 200 New Kings Road, the company subsequently operated from
Wandsworth and later Mitcham. At that time, with the club world booming yet
still largely relying on old fashioned disco boxes designed for the mobile DJ, the
incipient Shuttlesound faced a major challenge to ramp up Electro-Voice’s market
share, and I seem to recall succeeded when Peter Gatien’s high-profile nightclub
Limelight opened in a converted London West End church.
But by 1994 the marriage had been dissolved. After a year of attrition Tony left
the company he had started to set up Fuzion – with Gary Ashton and Paul Ward
– the name taken from graffiti he had seen on a railway wall. “It had all got very
messy and after completing my gardening leave several of our previous
suppliers followed me to Fuzion – in fact all except Electro-Voice.’
Included in the product mix was Nexo. “At the first distributor meeting at
Frankfurt in 1995 I told them all the things that were wrong with the company,
somewhat harshly. I expected to be fired at my private meeting with them the
following day. However, Nexo co-owners Micky Johnson and Eric Vincenot, after
a long night with a bottle of single Malt, decided that what I had said was fairly
accurate. They asked if I was prepared to join them and fix the issues.
“So I joined the board of Nexo with the clear objective of building the brand
globally and eventually floating some of the company on Libre Marche once the
bulk was there.
“Apart from the first six months of Fuzion while setting it up and getting
operational I was never involved 24/7 with the business. But my position did
enhance Fuzion’s abilities to do the “big deals’ in the UK and the synergy was
good.’ The Nexo role lasted until 2000 by which time Tony was already planning
his next global relocation.
“One winter’s morning I woke up and realised I didn’t want to be here any
more! I needed a warm place in a third world market with proper potential for
growth – as opposed to stealing from each other.’ Bangkok beckoned and in
2001 Fuzion Far East (FFE) was established to service the Thailand, Laos,
Myanmar and Cambodian markets. “I would have been happy at any number of
places but Thailand very quickly felt like home and I fitted in very easily.’
He had already become acquainted with Sutat “Pok’ Kohkiat of Mr Team fame, as
he was the Nexo distributor at the time. However, distribution was very much
second fiddle to Pok’s production business. “I said how about me bankrolling a
proper distribution business?’ So in 2001 the operation started, along with
Varuit Rattapong, equally well-known in the Thai market.
Meanwhile, back in South Africa, Simon had ended his 18 year stint with
Prosound when the time-honoured “difference of opinion’ called time on
proceedings. “This had included eventually assembling the Electro-Voice cone
drivers and even BGW amplifiers. We did the sound in FNB Stadium for Mandela’s
release, at just 48 hours’ notice, for over 150 000 people. The stadium was
capable of half of that. We also did the Namibian Independence Celebrations
and South Africa’s Inauguration.
“But I wanted to start my own company. Why do it again? Because it’s what I
know.’ “No,’ Tony suddenly interjected. “You wanted to do it because you didn’t
do it correctly the first time.’
The groundwork was done at the NSCA Exhibition in 1995 and the new company
Tadco was ready to blast off in July that year. Despite minimal funding Simon
immediately built momentum with Nexo, Kelsey, Sabine and a couple of other
smaller lines.
So how did the Tadco name originate? “Well in South Africa the name had to be
descriptive,’ he explained. “I discussed “The Audio Distribution Company’ with
Tony and there was a good acronym staring me in the face.
“Crown had initially stayed with Prosound but we won them over – and in fact
Tony and I had been the last independent distributors of Crown before its
distribution reverted to Harman and Camco filled the breach.’
The departure of Crown had been a particularly sad day for Fuzion after Harman
President, Mark Terry, announced the decision to homogenise all the brands.
Crown had been a huge revenue spinner for both factions. “Crown actually
fought very hard on our behalf but finally we reached an agreement and we
parted ways. We did well with Camco for a while but there were mistakes and
internal issues,’ said Tony enigmatically.
The departure of Crown set in train a litany of unfortunate circumstances, with
Nexo also changing its business model in 2009, relegating Fuzion from
distributor status to that of mere “dealer’.
Tony remains fairly sanguine about the French company’s decision. “It was
understandable. Everyone that Nexo was up against was going direct so it was
obvious the model would need to change. When they announced the Yamaha
acquisition we were still involved and it was a year or two later that the decision
was made.’
But recently VUE Audiotechnik, the company set up by US industry heavyweights
Ken Berger and Jim Sides, pacted with Fuzion UK, and has the makings of
something that ticks all the right boxes.
For all the other eclectic brands Fuzion has represented, their major investment
in Kelsey Acoustics custom cable had also seemed something of a masterstroke
and provided a continuing legacy for Richard Vickers’ company. “It came about
as a promise to Richard on his deathbed to keep the company going,’ said Tony.
“The integration into Fuzion was a fraught process at first but it eventually
worked out very well.’
Simon also reflected philosophically on the development of Tadco from the
bedrock of earlier brands. “We sold Lab.gruppen through the local distributor,
but when the opportunity arose to take on Crown – a product we had handled
in my previous company – we took the opportunity. We also offered
dBTechnologies but then met Mark Ladewig from Group Technologies in
Australia. Having lost the RCF distribution after the Mackie takeover, he took on
Nexo and started looking at a Group Technologies solution for the more entry
level part of the market in the form of Quest Engineering. Mark sent me a couple
of sample speakers, plugged them up and I believe we were his first export
client. We’ve never looked back. It is the most incredible product with the most
incredible people. But then so are Camco, DiGiCo, Nexo and Coda!’
Simon also later engaged in a joint venture with Ofer Lapid at Gearhouse, in
2004 forming TLDC (The Lighting Distribution Company). “This was largely to
keep High End Systems alive in South Africa but we also brought in Milos and
Jands, and branched out to include Christie projectors. Welcome to the world of
AV.’
However, the AV arm was recently severed when Tadco decided to make
changes to its business model. “We needed to refocus on what we do best and
that’s audio,’ rationalised Simon. Today, lighting distribution in the region is
largely controlled by near neighbours DWR, with whom Tadco enjoys a close
working relationship.
This strategic move also forms part of the recovery plan following two
particularly bad trading years. In 2008 the global economic crisis took root, from
which South Africa was not exempt, followed by the local impact on the 2010
FIFA World Cup, followed by further currency fluctuation. “A lot of audio kit
flooded into the country for the World Cup, much of it without a home. And in
the last four months, due to the devaluation of the Rand, we have lost over
20% against the EUR, USD and GBP currencies. This really hurts,’ he admitted.
On the supply side, Tadco has been able to relocate to new premises around 50
square metres bigger than its old building. “The fact that it is on a single level
allows us a lot more floor space to work in, with a demo room and the footfall
synergy that occurs through having DWR as near neighbours, which is a further
bonus. But the real thing here is that we are separate companies and Tadco
works with all distributors. Synergy is king.’
Simon’s Tadco operation is supported by a loyal, long serving and competent
team. This includes three family members, Roz, his wife of 32 years, Josh his
son, and daughter Lexi.
“It was never pre-ordained, and although Roz has handled Tadco’s books since
inception, she is actually a potter and artist. Lexi trained as a somatologist but
the hours were long, the pay was crap and the appreciation non-existent.
Instead she has grown into an amazing asset for us. Josh studied BCom
Marketing and drifted into Tadco with some pretty cool new ways of looking at
things and has been here ever since.’ – Simon Oates
Trimming the number of brands has been just one of a number of new
strategies implemented by Simon. “This has allowed us to identify and focus on
those that we feel are integral to the company and our offering to our clients;
each one is a dominant force within its own sphere. But we learn from our
mistakes.’
His optimism for the future is based on the size of the continent. “Sub Saharan
Africa is “nebulous anamorphic’ by description. Africa has 54 countries and most
people could not name 20!’ In fact Tadco has had a permanent base in
Kampala, Uganda for the past five years which deals with East Africa and has
also opened offices in Lagos, Nigeria.
“Africa is going to be huge, that much is clear as day, and business from north of
our borders is increasing.’
Creating a company that pumps gear into this market is easy, the goal is to not
only to raise the standard in terms of the quality of kit available but to increase
the knowledge and service of the companies and uplift the operators to
international standards. We work together with SARA (South African Roadies
Association) – a grass roots, non-profit organisation, headed by Freddie
Nyathela – to train people in the technical skills of this industry. It is so cool that
many of the rental companies in S.A. are supportive. That is my passion and the
way I have geared Tadco.’ And as mission statements go, is pretty damned
commendable.
Back in Thailand, Fuzion Far East has also cemented its success as a pure
distribution company with a relocation to new custom built premises last year. It
did so by merging several fire damaged units to create a modern 16 000 square
foot space with warehousing, offices, showrooms and service facilities close to
its previous premises in East Bangkok’s RCA (Royal City Avenue). Its success
continues unabated.
Both operations have highly selective brand portfolios. Thailand’s aim has
always been straight and true, and Tadco’s fortunes also seem to have turned
the corner. But is there still a future for the distributor in the modern age, can
the distribution model remain intact? Once again Tony remains both pragmatic
and enigmatic and Simon nodded in agreement.
“The answer is both yes and no,’ he said. “For sure, the MI distribution model is
failing in Europe where the trend towards single point distribution is well
entrenched. The customers know what they want, how to use it and have a
very clear idea of the global street price due to the success of operations like
Thomann, Sweetwater, Musicians Friend and so on. There are scenarios where
language is an issue but each country has its “communities’ who network on
social sites in their native language so the answers are typically available. It’s a
product, in a box, at a price and shipped anywhere. In other parts of the world,
MI distribution remains realistic, but one wonders for how long.’
What does remain of the distribution model, he believes, resides in the
“solutions’ business of pro audio. “Dealing with products which are too complex
and specialised for a social network to overcome the issues. Language
translation in some territories also becomes a vital factor. For instance, many
customers simply cannot converse in, or understand English, written or verbal.
Furthermore, there is still a massive amount of misunderstanding and bullshit
surrounding complex sound systems and even not-so-complex systems.’
“The distributor needs to provide training, support and brand management on
behalf of the manufacturer – and deal with complicated logistics, funding and
after sales support issues – which often demand a visit to site. The more
tangible the level of solution provided, the higher the margin all round.
“Conversely, a rental company may have all the knowledge and skills in-house
so one might have to accept a lower margin on sales of such items as part of a
brand mix.’
As an indicator to the future, Fuzion UK recently celebrated its first major London
West End installation success with VUE Audiotechnik, symbolically opening a
new chapter as it sets out to build the next hot loudspeaker brand.
Tony on his website, said: “We strive to be a “fun’ company to do business
with.’ Simon added playfully that he will always be more fun than Tony, so its
clearly central to both men’s ethos. Mark Burgin once famously told me: “If we
had run our business in the “80s the way we are having to run it in the “90s we
would be seriously rich.’ Or words to that effect. But that was before anodyne
replaced outrage in the industry canon. We were all either guilty or take full
credit, depending on your perspective.
Whether Tony regrets that or not, he remains a streetfighter – a word
coincidentally used on the Fuzion website – and quintessentially feisty, believing
that “the demise of both of our companies was caused by key people who we
had supported above and beyond, although in the end it’s totally our fault.’
Dammit, it seems I even hold my own personal place somewhere on Tony Oates’
wall of shame!
But both men remain survivors, and as more and more “emerging countries’
finally come out on the world map, their combined knowledge will be
indispensable. As Tony and Simon put it: “As long as we continue to focus on
what we are good at, we will be fine.’
