FROM TOP OF THE POPS TO FARMING SNAILS TO BACK ON STAGE: ‘ONE-HIT WONDER’ TO GIVE KEYNOTE SPEECH AT CONNECT LIVE!

The keynote speech at next year’s inaugural Connect Live! event will be given by self-proclaimed ‘one-hit wonder’ Clive Jackson, lead singer with Doctor And The Medics.

The Rev Dr Clive Thomas Jackson will share some of his story and his life as a musician, most famous for the 1986 international Number 1 ‘Spirit in the Sky’ and still touring and recording today. 

He will share the realities of having a number one hit in that decade and how, when the band hit rock bottom in the 90s, he survived and made a living by working as a joiner, blacksmith, set builder and modelmaker before starting the longest ever come back in entertainment history! He is now busier than ever on the live circuit and is back in the recording studio.

Connect Live! is being organised by professional speaker, trainer and coach Stefan Thomas, who is known as author of Business Networking For Dummies and Win The Room – and who is also a huge music fan and festival-goer. 

Stefan said: “I’m delighted that Clive has agreed to be our keynote speaker for this inaugural event. His story is amazing and a huge lesson in resilience, and how to keep going, when everyone is telling you to stop’.

Clive said: “This is the first time I’ve spoken at a business event and I’m really glad I’ll be working with Stefan on this. He first came to see me on stage in 1985, and I’m delighted to be sharing a stage with him nearly 40 years later! Seriously, I’ve been running the band as a small business with all the challenges and stresses of any other small business, so I really hope my message is useful to the attendees.”

Founded in 1982 to win a £5 bet, Doctor and the Medics had a smash hit in 1986 with their cover of Spirit in the Sky* which topped the charts in the UK and 28 other countries around the world. Although described as a ‘one hit wonder’ the band went on to have another top 30 hit in the same year.

While many associate Clive with the glamour of Number 1 success and assume that made him and the band fabulously wealthy, his career has seen many twists and turns.

“One minute I was starting a band for a bet, then the NME was voting us ‘the best live band’. But from appearing on Top of The Pops with Spirit in the Sky, it was just a few months before I was mixing cement on a building site. The 90s were very tough music-wise, but by 2019 Doctor and the Medics were busier than ever.

“I enjoy inspiring people with my story of resilience, belief, and (so I’ve been told) absolute pig-headedness that have led me to where I am today, through what you might call a ‘varied’ career.”

And when Clive says his career has been varied, you can add snail farmer, joiner, model maker, blacksmith (his work featured in the renovation of Windsor Castle and the entrance canopy of the Ritz Hotel in London), and more recently wedding celebrant and radio presenter, to his chart topping success.

Connect Live! 2024 is the first in person national event being held by Stefan Thomas where facilitated networking will be the main activity for all attendees. 

Stefan said: “I know how daunting networking can be, to sell yourself and your business in a busy and pressured environment can feel awkward or like a transaction. No one wants to be sold at, or sold to – so how do you square that circle?“

“As an introvert, I have had to learn about networking and I’ve now shared my learnings in three best-selling books. I initially found networking painfully difficult and it was a skill I needed to develop and nurture. Yet done well, it’s a powerful sales tool forging long-lasting and meaningful business relationships.”

Connect Live!  will be held on Wednesday 15th May 2024 from 9 am to 5 pm at the Cotswolds Hotel and Spa, Chipping Norton, OX7 5QH. There will be a maximum of  120 people attending including several members of Stefan’s private international online networking group Connect. Stefan has been running his Connect group for several years and membership is by invitation only. For tickets visit https://connecteventlive.co.uk