In Conversation with Livewire’s Andy Rance
In 1966, The Who sang on their hit song: ‘The Kids are Alright’. And that’s apt for two reasons when it comes to Saltash’s Livewire Youth Music charity — firstly, the band’s Pete Townshend has been a major supporter of the organisation over many years and secondly, the kids are indeed alright in the area as they have a one-of-a-kind place to go and play music for all sorts of social, therapeutic and mental health reasons.
Livewire has been on the shores of Saltash under different names since 1946, sporting its current moniker since 1997. Tens of thousands of young people have passed through its doors over the years with plenty of them going on to form bands and acts that have provided a bedrock for Plymouth and South East Cornwall’s grassroots music scene.
Matt Fleming of What’s On Plymouth Culture sits down with Andy Rance, the charity’s youth work co-ordinator, who tells us all about this special place of music’s past, present and future — and how you can support it by going along to its epic Rockin’ by the River festival in October…
Hi Andy! Livewire has been a total success story and you’ve been such a key cog in its journey. How did you get involved in the first place?
I got into youth work mostly because of childhood and later life trauma. Realistically, if it weren’t for my wife Julie and eventually my role as a youth worker, I doubt I’d still be here. I started out in youth work in 1990! Someone mentioned there was a little youth club down on the waterside in Saltash that was in danger of closing due to lack of volunteers, so I said I’d go have a look. Well, I fell in love with the place and the people — and never left…
Amazing. What is Livewire to you?
Livewire is a youth project based around music and mental health. We support young people going through a rough time with our mental health services and help build their confidence through music. It started its life back in 1946 as the Waterside Boys Club, later to become Saltash Boys Club and it has existed as Livewire ever since I took over managing the project in 1997. My first job managing the place was to survey young people in the local area about what they wanted from the place and hence Livewire’s music focus came into being. It has come a long way from its humble start with just a couple of DJ studios and a small basic recording studio setup to what we have today. I was able to utilise some music contacts I’d made from a previous life and so it began.
Since the Waterside Boys Club started in 1946, could next year be seen as an 80th anniversary for the club?
We are most definitely planning a large 80th celebration next year! No spoilers but it will definitely involve music and a lot of boogying.
How would you describe Livewire’s evolution since the 1990s?
There have been so many changes since 1997, when I took over managing the project, most notably the creation of the live music venue and the addition of Pete Townshend’s recording studio (yes, The Who star has been involved). We’re so lucky to have those things now. Beyond the music, Livewire’s mental health and wellbeing provision has probably been the single most important change we’ve made. For years, young people in the area had pretty poor access to mental health services but now we have the ability to help them in the ways they really need.
Tell us more…
The mental health services side really came into its own in 2018 when one of our members, a young lad called Ed, took his life. Ed was the most wonderful and happy young man [on the outside]. The day I announced he had died, at least 150 of his friends turned up at Livewire to grieve. What do you say to someone whose best friend has been lost to suicide? All I could do was hug his friends. I pretty much hugged them all. Everything for Livewire and for me personally changed that day. I realised that we make assumptions as to someone being okay but we couldn’t do that any more. We cracked everything up from that point and pledged to not let another member take their life.
You're a registered charity primarily catering for 10 to 19-year-olds. How many young people do you cater for and what do they get out of Livewire?
I think the main thing young people get out of Livewire is the community of like-minded people. We really care about creating a safe environment to just be yourself in. If you want to hop on the stage and belt out your favourite song, we’ll all be there to cheer you along. If you want to get away from stuff in school or at home, we’ll have our doors open to let you come and work it all out. We have always attracted a lot of young people who maybe don’t feel that they fit into mainstream life — the alternatives, the poets, the eccentrics and just those who feel a little different. Over the course of a year, we work with around 1,000 young people.
Do you offer counselling?
Yes. Young people need support with issues — it’s just a fact of life. Without it, we know they would really struggle and you can’t be expected to wait for services to be available in a few months’ time because what if you need help now? We’re really proud to have a core counselling team who are there for anybody who needs it. We only wish we could have had these things in place sooner. In addition to the counselling, the role of the youth worker has changed massively. Once upon a time, these workers spent their time organising trips, pool tournaments and the like. Now they spend their time offering one-to-one support.
And what about the music?
Music is such a confidence boost for young people who struggle with this kind of thing. We like to speak to new members about music — and if they are interested in it, we find new friends for them to connect with. We usually see those situations turn into bands and it’s always awesome to see them growing more confident and comfortable in themselves as those things develop.
Has it been easy to keep the charity going? We presume you get a lot of kind-hearted donors in Devon and Cornwall?
To be honest, it’s a continual struggle to find funding. Someone once asked me ‘what’s the one thing that keeps you awake at night?’. My response was one simple word: ‘funding’. I think if I spent all my time on fundraising it would be easier but I’m a youth worker through and through and the thought of not supporting young people or not being a youth worker would kill me.
There have been some great young bands emerge from Livewire over the years. Who are some of the most memorable and where are they now?
I guess the most notable would be alt-rock, folk and pop band Haunt The Woods who have been doing amazing things over the past few years since forming in 2016. They have toured and appeared at festivals — but they’re only one example of many. Another band making waves are The Outlanders, a high-energy rock outfit. Current bands to watch out for are The Other Woman, Callima, Sleaze and The Schambles.
Any others?
We’ve got so many great bands around at the minute. Some of them just played the massive Boardmasters festival in Cornwall, in fact, on the Keg and Pasty Stage
It’s not just about the performers, bands and musicians though, right?
Absolutely. We’ve got young people who’ve gone on to do sound tech, lighting and stage management all across the country. We’re really keen on guiding young people toward whatever it is they’re interested in. One ex-member, Dom Chiswell, has been doing monitor engineering with The Stranglers and is now the full-time drummer for The Wurzels, no less. Other ex-members are out there doing live sound and lighting all over the UK. It’s a testament to the opportunities and skills we help develop at Livewire.
Rockin’ by the River is on 25 October at Livewire. What’s this event all about?
Rockin’ by the River started after members of the New Wave Of Classic Rock (NWOCR) Facebook Group visited Livewire for an event and witnessed the joy on member Rory's face on stage. They also saw the amazing work we do and they wanted to do something to help. The NWOCR team reached out to all sorts of bands and they responded eagerly. The event will include four NWOCR bands with a Livewire band opening, giving them an opportunity to play in front of a new crowd who have travelled from all over the country. We have been doing these shows annually now for a while and have raised more than £15,000 for Livewire as a result.
Awesome! Who exactly is playing?
This year we have local heroes Departed headlining and fan favourites Sons of Liberty, The Hot One Two and The Outlaw Orchestra are also on the bill. Livewire band The Schambles will open the event. The lineup is quite a bluesy, Southern rock feel. What makes it even more special is that leading NWOCR band Those Damn Crows are playing the Plymouth Pavilions on the Sunday and we have negotiated a deal with the Leonardo Hotel in Exeter Street, Plymouth — if someone buys tickets for Rockin’ By The River, they can get a room for the night for just £40.
Livewire’s current venue, built in 2005, is 20 years old this year. Formerly a sports hall, it has an excellent stage, lighting, soundproofing and PA system. What has it been like to provide such a powerful setting next to a city that struggles to provide such venues?
Like I’ve said, we’re so lucky to have what we’ve got here. There’s some real cutting-edge gear in the venue which the young people get to make some noise with and the size of the place is ideal for touring bands who are coming through the area. We’re part of a wonderful venue community who all look out for each other — and we’re really grateful for that.
The likes of Mick Jagger and Iron Maiden have sat up and noticed Livewire in the past. What other celeb or rockstar associations do you have?
Our very good friend Pete Townshend was kind enough to give us a shoutout during a show at the Eden Project recently. I missed the whole thing because I was engaged in a mobile toilet… Seriously, though, we are so fortunate for these people to take notice of us. We’re just a youth project down on the waterfront who really care about young people. It speaks to the power of music that these musicians recognise the importance of that work and want to help us out. I have some quite funny stories relating to AC/DC, Blur and Lemmy but… I never kiss and tell!
What about the youth workers? How essential are these key people to the charity?
Essential doesn’t cover it. The work those people do here is the whole reason we are still around. The young people come here to socialise and relax, but they also come here for guidance and empathy. The same has to be said for our counsellors and musicians. Everybody who works and volunteers here is responsible for the place still standing. We wouldn’t be Livewire without them.
How many young musicians and artists do you think Livewire has helped over the years?
I’m not sure I’d be able to tell you but if you base it on just 500 young people each year going from 1997 when I took over running the place, it probably works out at about 14,000 — which is a staggering amount! But to be honest, it’s never been about numbers or anything like that. If we can help just one young person and get them out of a bad place and make their life better, we’ve done our job. We’re really proud to provide that.
How hard has the road been to get Liverwire to where it is today?
Funding has always been the hurdle and it’ll continue to be for as long as we are alive. The amount required to keep the place alive has gone up so much in the past 28 years that it’s all we can do to make sure we’re fed at the end of the day.
Apart from the gigs and festivals, what's next for Livewire?
One thing we’re discussing is an in-house magazine. We want to get some of our young people engaged in music journalism and give them opportunities to interview real musicians and cover events and potentially festivals in the area. It’d be a great opportunity to get our name out there and let people know we are serious about our love for music.
What does the next decade hold for Andy Rance and Livewire?
I’m getting old! While I have no intention of retiring, I generally say I’ll stop when my heart stops. Livewire has without doubt been my life’s work for the past 35 years and it means everything to me — the young people, the staff and its heart. My health has taken a battering over the years. All those things they say knock a few years off your life I did in bucket loads when I was young. Unfortunately, Julie’s health has plummeted since a hip operation a few years back, meaning she’s no longer able to do youth work. She remains at Livewire as its office manager, though.
How are you preparing for the future, then?
By thinking about what happens after I’m dead and gone, to put it simply. To this end, we are hoping to secure funding to employ someone to work alongside me for a couple of years to learn the ropes and gradually take on some of my responsibilities and ultimately step into my shoes when I’m gone. Now’s the time to start that process. For me, it would be ideal to focus solely on the one-to-one youth work — which is possibly the one thing I’ve been good at — and not have to constantly worry about funding and all the organisational stuff. We hope we’ve found that person, actually. Beyond this, the project has to continue and grow in the years to come. The music, the youth work and the mental health and wellbeing work is crucial to Livewire’s heart. Long may Livewire be a big success story!
Livewire Youth Music The Waterside, Brooke Close, Saltash
Telephone: 01752 843570
Email: info@livewireyouth.com
Livewire’s Rockin’ by the River festival 2025 — Saturday 25 October, doors open at 5.30pm at Livewire Youth Music. Tickets: £15.50, book online. For tickets and details, check out: https://www.facebook.com/Rockinbytheriverlivewire
All photos courtesy of Andy Rance
To find out more about Livewire, check out:
https://www.facebook.com/LivewireYouthMusic
