Boren spends five years trying to book Paul McCartney
By William Kerns, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, Texas | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
Today: How promoter chased the concert
Thursday: Concert-goers survivor's guide;
Friday: What McCartney fans say; concert review on lubbockonline.com
Saturday: Concert review
He wanted to chase
His mother had begun G. Boren Services in 1960, and he continued to help run it, serving as vice president of a company that had grown by providing most of
That might be enough to satisfy most men, but Boren wanted to expand the company's music production division.
He called their music production company Llano Estacado Music.
And even as Llano Estacado Music began promoting concerts in
That was McCartney, the former Beatle who had been inspired by the late singer-songwriter and
Booking McCartney, Boren said over his mostly ignored lunch at a local restaurant, would provide a completed circle for the musician, allowing McCartney to return to the roots of his idol (Holly).
Boren knew it would not be easy.
Major markets across the globe already had opened their arms to McCartney; he could literally choose wherever he wanted to perform on any night.
Even teaming up early with internationally respected producer
Starting in late 2009 and working hard until 2013, he came very, very close.
Told he would be gambling with millions of dollars, Boren said
Boren depended on Hubbard for sources, finding out who to call.
Hubbard, now a spry 87, remains the president of ACTS, or American Collegiate Talent Showcase.
Each musician knows she invests every dime she earns into scholarships for students wanting to work in the music business.
In fact, it was
Yet Hubbard alone could not make McCartney's representatives excited about Boren or
Before that date, Texas Tech athletic department officials listened to another concert promoter make a pitch to use
In 1980, an ill-planned
But before
He also covered the entire part of the field being used, set up his stage facing the west stands, and made sure there were two expensive backup generators on hand just in case the first one failed.
Beer was sold inside the stadium. In fact, a
It is traditionally extremely hot in August on the South Plains, and college students had not returned from their own summer breaks.
But a three-pack of
The show encountered no problems and no breakdowns. Those in the music business, from
Indeed, when he began promoting concerts, he had to produce the money to pay each act up front, which, said Boren, "was never easy." After the
Now was the time to start writing to McCartney's people again.
In early 2011, Boren joined Hubbard on a trip to
What he was told was that he would have to show proof of support (for the concert) by the
Boren said, "I know, that sounds easy. But it's not."
Over the next year, he found out that
It was about that time that Hubbard was able to introduce Boren to
He made it clear that what Boren had to show next was "financial credibility."
Meanwhile, Boren needed some encouragement. He finds it relatively easy to find in
"That was so exciting," said Boren.
Mayor
"Then
Boren added. "In fact, he also wrote a personal letter, which I turned in with the others."
Throughout the year, Boren met a number of other concert promoters. He said, "I saw that some were making payments under the table. But I never was tempted; I decided to stick with the direct approach."
When he talked with banking officials, he found not one, but two,
"We're talking a million dollars," said Boren, who mentioned that a third bank was waiting in the wings in case it was needed.
By this time, the
Boren simply stated, "And the 12th commandment states: There is no such thing as a secret in
(Asked for the 11th commandment, he quickly noted: "When walking through the feedlots of life, don't step in it on purpose.")
From 2011 to 2012, Boren was uncertain where McCartney might perform in
"I pointed out that was without the covering allowing chairs on the field," said Boren.
Then-head football coach
Then Athletic Director
Boren said, "I was so pleased when Chancellor (
"I had been sending McCartney's office copies of every concert review in the A-J, copies of the newspaper's coverage of every event at the Buddy Holly Center, every mention in print of McCartney," Boren said.
"It took every single person I met with in
Boren thought a stadium show would work best, but he also began to scale the
Then, in the spring of 2013, after a visit to
It was as close to a Dear John letter as he'd ever read.
"They told me, 'The concert is not going to happen,' " said Boren. "I was crushed.
"I think it was the first time in my life that I had tried so hard, and for so long, to make something happen. And I lost. I got my hopes up way too high. They told me that they were worried whether there were enough people in the region. That was even after I showed them the population base that would be drawn to the show.
"And if they wanted to play at the arena, I had showed them how many people already had been squeezed in for
"I'd done everything I knew how to do. This is when you just pray for divine intervention. It was like that Beach Boys song 'God Only Knows.' But no answers came.
"I'd done all I could. So I dropped it."
Not even a year later, it was announced that McCartney was headed to
One would be foolish, however, to conclude that McCartney would be performing anywhere in
All Boren says, however, is, "Believe me, it took work by a lot of people to pull this off, to bring Paul to
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