According to Pollstar, Anthill Clients are Tops!

In the recently published year end issue of concert industry stats Bible, Pollstar, Anthill's clients fared well in 06 results.
In fact 3 of our clients were part or the top 5 grossing tours of the year.
Coming in at No 1 were the Rolling Stones.
While Barbra Streisand came in at No 2, we here all know the role very special guests IlDivo played in the tour's artistic success.
And coming in at No 5 in the top 200 grossing tours was Cirque Du Soleil's Delirium which is set to continue for much of 2007 which could make it the most successful debut tour by any touring attraction ever.
Congrats to these stellar clients and congrats as well to CSN+Y and Pearl Jam who both completed their biggest tours ever.
Lastly but extremely noteworthy is the fact that for the entire span of these Pollstar year end report, 19 yrs the Roling Stones were the. 1 touring attraction 6 times and Pink Floyd also held top spot way back when they were still on the road.
We are proud of our association and add on congratulations to the bands and all their managements and staff.

Just Another Frantic Monday

Following a tradition started by Cathy of working all day in the UK and hopping on the late flight home, Monday in London was most eventful.
Met with Anthill UK head honcho Steve Hatton to review AC/DC artwork from one of our favorite insomniacs, Eiji of JAM in Tokyo. Seems that no matter what time it is in any time zone, it's never much more than an hour 'till his next email. In this case the design from local licensee Inter Apparel "shook me all night long" even though it was still breakfast time!
Joining soon after was Pyramid Poster's goodwill ambassador and licensing guru, Mordy Beniah with an impressive update on Q4's results and a preview of what's in store for 07 including a great new catalog and several new trade shows to show off Anthill's latest and greatest paper products.
Better yet, Pyramid look to be the next licensee to acquire the right to market the timeless artwork of Alphonse Mucha. Well done and thanks.
No sooner was Mordy en route then it was time to make a visit to one of Britain's great icons and proudly our client, Bryan Ferry at his studio in West London. We were surrounded by a pair of Steve's (our Mr H and Bryan's manager Steven Howard) and longtime designer of all things Roxy and Ferry, Bogdan Zarkowski. Got a preview of his soon to be released solo album Dylanesque which will form the nucleus of his upcoming sold out tour of Europe set to run through March and April with more dates likely thereafter.
Needless to say, he looks and sounds great and helped us establish what should be one great collection of Rockware. (http://www.bryanferry.com)
So with Nelly Furatdo starting in just a few weeks, Bryan's tour soon after, poor Steve can't catch a breather as he also is prepping for Deep Purple's major European/UK tour of arenas which sets out in late March.
Officially over there we're called Anthill Overseas Ltd but really it's Steve Hatton Oversees Anthill. Nice one SH.

Bread and Butter in Barcelona

The Anthill Trade Show Season officially started this week in Spain's most wonderful city.
The Barcelona architecture is splendid, the hospitality supreme and the entire organization for Bread and Butter deserving of kudos.
Unlike so many North American shows, this one has a vibe of camraderie not only among attendees but also exhibitors.
The fashion sense of Europeans was evident throughout.
Especially pleasing were the constant crowds in to see the latest Rockware as shown by Amplified in their hip new (made to look old) booth. New catalog looks great and joining Lee and Mark were the design team, sales agents, and even their models! Good showing.
Loved the new bodies. Looks great w/AC/DC, Blondie, Bowie, and Stones art.
Equally impressive was the new collection from Buddhist Punk. There were clever treatments as always for the Stones, but Deep Purple Blondie, and Run DMC garments rocked as well. But where are our samples, Rupert?
En route to Spain via London and a quick catch up visit with CID's chief Nic W. He reported a strong surge in sales late in 06 especially on their internet site. Well done.

Il Divo Kicks off 2007 World Tour

The tour that everybody's talking about kicked off in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday 1/16 to a storming success. Il Divo (http://www.ildivo.com) performed the first concert of their huge five month long World Tour 2007, and wowed the crowd at the packed KL Convention Centre, which was at full capacity having sold out almost instantly last year. It was a star studded event with none other than the royal family and prime minister in the audience.The show, which featured a mix of Il Divo's greatest songs from Il Divo, Ancora and new album Siempre, excited fans and critics alike and the guys woke up the next morning to an array of fantastic reviews in national newspapers. The Malaysia Star said:"[Il Divo] sang from the heart with those powerful vocals that have now become their trademark...Singing in Spanish, Italian, French and English, their delivery was both subtle as well as soaring." Well done boys, we look forward to the rest of the tour!

Trains Planes and Automobiles, All Lead to the Hill

Just a quick note to say Thanks to our initial wave of 2007 visitors to the Anthill world headquarters.It's always a pleasure to see clients, licensees and suppliers though we constantly go through a mad scramble to tidy up. Got to chat with D of RUN DMC who approved a bunch of new ideas and samples. He even noted seeing some of our product in a New Jersey mall and liking it! Whew!
Got to meet with Il Divo's manager Peter Rudge and his great assistant Lisette Rioux, before he jumped on a plane to Kuala Lumpur and the start of their new world tour. Highlights of the meeting ? Pink Floyd's famed lighting/set designer Marc Brockman has created their new stage presentation, the group sold over 1.5 million records in December alone, extra shows have been added in Tokyo and Sydney, and they love our new tour programme.
Also had drop ins from Gary Schwartz, our Alpha rep. And cool new ideas, excellent samples, good chats, etc. from Andy Vaughn of Sourpuss, Martin Leffer from Not Fade Away, and the always stylish Andrei McQuillan from Trunk Ltd.

Weather, Weather Everywhere...

It was so hot in New York today that people were wearing T-shirts.

Not to be outdone, it was so sporty in Colorado today that people were basking in the snow in Rockware!

Our best wishes to all suppliers, clients, and friends for '07 and a huge Thank You to Alann at Primal Wear for sending the first published shots of his fashion sense.

The Grammy's are Coming, The Grammy's are Coming!!

Anthill Artist Grammy Nods: Congratulations!!

Best Female Vocal Performance – KT Tunstall – Black Horse and The Cherry Tree

Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance – Neil Young – Lookin for a Leader

Best Rock Song – Neil Young – Lookin for a Leader

Best Rock Album – Neil Young – Living with War

Best Rock Instrumental Performance – David Gilmour - Castellorizon