Danny Sugerman

Danny Sugerman, manager of The Doors, died yesterday from lung cancer. Don`t expect any controversy in this blog, it ain`t happening, this is as I would say, from my heart rather than my head.

The Doors you ask? Yes the Doors, probably one of the the most influential bands in the last 40 years and more relevant to the dance scene than many of your may realise. Danny Sugerman inherited the band after Bill Siddons left, and for the last 30 or so years has been one of the driving forces behind keeping the legacy of The Doors alive. When Jim Morrison died, it was almost inconceivable to anyone at the time, that 34 years later, the Doors would still be the force that they are today, however, when Morrison crossed, fate would deliver Ray, Robby and John a man with the drive, belief and passion for their music who would keep the flame not only alive, but burning with a brightness that cuts through the darkness of the world we live in today. For 35 years or so, the Doors were kept open, no small achievement when you consider the amount of great artists that have come and gone during that time, and whilst we all like to think that the band were in some way responsible which I am sure they are, the main kudos has to go to Danny, who despite losing what many would see as their greatest asset, Jim Morrison, recognised that the music of The Doors was too powerful to allow to fall by the wayside, that the music of The Doors was too important to future generations to be consigned to the "oldies" section of your local record store and worked tirelessly for 35 or so years to make sure that the ideals and motivations of those four brilliant musicians from Venice Beach would never be forgotten.

In 1991, Oliver Stone`s movie was released. I, like many of my friends watched it, again, and again and again. Oliver Stone is a brilliant film maker, and people will dispute whether the movie was accurate, who cares, for me and a lot of other people in the UK at that time, that movie inspired us.

Prior to that movie I didn`t know who the Doors were, I will be honest, my heroes were people like The Clash, Undertones, Joy Division, LL Cool J, Public Enemy etc. I knew about Woodstock, I knew about the hippy movement, but these were just fairy tales in many respects. I watched the movie and was transfixed by what the Doors achieved.

When you mention The Doors, people straight away think of Jim Morrison, and the movie tends to focus on Jim. Thats natural, Morrison was the front man and in this icon obsessed culture as such this was a logical path for the film to take. Where the movie, in my humble opinion comes alive, are the times when the band were performing live. Thats what grabbed me. It was what we at The Outer Limits went on to try and achieve in our clubnights. Intense, passion, a perfect interaction between musicians and audience. Melissa`s mum saw the Doors live in California in I guess 67, and she has seen a lot of bands and loved their performances, but when you ask her about that one concert her eyes shine and a smile comes on her face that means Stone got it right, the Doors were something different and the memories people carry will stay with them 40 years later. Has dance music reached this level? I`m not sure, certainly there were times at The Outer Limits when everything clicked, and many people tell me the night changed their lives, and for that I am truly humbled and grateful to my crew, the clubbers and DJs, but will they still hold these memories 40 years later, I don`t know, for the vast majority of nights around the world, does this apply?

For me the Doors were the first punk band. The Doors achieved what the Pistols tried but failed to do. Not only did they influence a generation, and then another, and then another and then us, they wrote timeless music as relevant today as it was 40 years ago. Morrison challenged the audience, tried to make them think. He couldn`t have done that without Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger and John Densmore. I think Stone missed this, and its my only criticism of the whole movie, yes Jim Morrison was a genius, a phenomenal poet, but without the music he`d just have been a voice in the wilderness. It was the collective vibe that made the impact, not just one man.

There is a scene in the movie, (and if you haven`t seen it I would say for anyone who wants to know where dance music has gone wrong, watch this movie and see what can be achieved in 2 short years, feel the passion and energy and see what great music, not throw away pap is capable of achieving socially), just after the court case, and it is Oliver Stone at his best, where there is a montage of MLK, the Vietnam War etc.Tell me that isn`t relevant now?

Looking around the world, today, 150,000 people have died from the Tsunami in Asia (and no I haven`t written about it because I am finishing a track that will be given away on my site for a 5 dollar donation to the relief fund), over 100,000 people and over 1400 troops have died in Iraq for a bogus war based on lies and deception, 10s of 1000s of people are dying in Africa from aids (current estimates 40,000,000 people have contracted the virus), there is genocide in Somalia which the media is ignoring and so on.

Where is the protest? There is none. Todays generation of clubbers are more concerned with bitching about meaningless arguments on message boards than the world they live in. Bill Hicks was right, "America, you are free to do as we tell you - here`s 52 channels of American Gladiators - Go back to bed America, your government is in control".

Behind every great band is a great manager, Danny Sugerman was that manager, and from The Outer Limits who were so influenced by the music of The Doors, our deepest sympathy and prayers go out to Danny`s family and the band.

Today is a sad day.

Peace