LEN RAWLE
THE PROFESSIONAL AMATEUR
& ORGANIST SUPREME
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PAGE SIXTEEN:
THE YAMAHA STORY CONTINUED
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THE OFFER THAT COULD NOT BE REFUSED
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Soon after attending the Music Fair at the Russell Hotel In 1971, Len traveled from Tonawanda to Bletchley near Milton Keynes in order to visit the Kemble Pianos Head Office and Factory. at the invitation of Mr. Bill Drysdale.
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Mr. Michael Kemble founded Kemble Pianos in 1911 in Stoke Newington, which was, at that time, the centre of the piano manufacturing industry in the UK. By the 1950s, sales had grown that it necessitated a move to a larger establishment at Bletchley.
Kemble Pianos entered into an association with The Yamaha Corporation in 1968 which eventually led to the formation of Yamaha-Kemble Music (UK) Ltd. In 1985, The Company began to manufacture a range of Acoustic Pianos for Yamaha that were to be sold in the U.K. By 1987, The Yamaha Corporation chose Kemble Pianos to be its European manufacturing partner, however by 2009, the production of Kemble Pianos was moved to factories in the Far East.
Kemble Concerto Upright Piano
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At Kemble Pianos Head Office, Len was given a tour of the factory and was invited to examine a few sample Electones that were being stored in a small section of the Dispatch Department along with a multitude of brochures.
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The sale of Electones into the British Market was undertaken somewhat late in the day by The Yamaha Corporation. The Corporation and Kemble Pianos entered into discussion about distribution, and noted that a number of professional organists had been hired as full-time demonstrators by other distributors. Len says that he had already been approached by Mr. Jimmy Gibbs to become a demonstrator at Hammond UK and by Mr. Jock Robertson to do the same at Wurlitzer UK. Len had rejected these offers since he felt that such a move was a little too risky.
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As Len learned, Yamaha was hoping that by associating itself with Kemble Pianos and their network of piano dealers, the dealers would begin to display Electones in their establishments and thereby create an interest in the products, and perhaps, generate sales. Those present at this meeting were very interested in hearing what Len had to say about the Electones and how they might make the product more attractive to, at first, dealers, and then secondly, to the public.
Following the tour, Len was introduced to the two joint managing directors of the company, Mr. Denzil Jacobs, and the founder’s son, Mr.Robert Kemble. He was also reintroduced to Mr. Carl Spencer, the newly appointed sales director of Kemble (Organ Sales) Ltd./Yamaha UK.
Evidently both Len and what he had to say during his visit to Kemble Pianos must have impressed Messrs. Jacobs and Kemble for he was offered a position whereby he would be the Musical Director of Kemble (Organ Sales) Ltd./Yamaha UK!
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Len says that the invitation to become The Musical Director of Kemble (Organ Sales) Ltd./Yamaha UK would mean that he and Mr. Spencer were virtually being offered a new company on a plate, but with the existing benefit of sharing the Kemble Accounts Department and access to the valuable 400 plus piano dealerships that might be interested in allowing Electones into their showroom.
Len felt confident enough should he accept the position since he had gained a lot of experience from traveling the country as an Insurance Surveyor and from the of number of years of playing Theatre Organs to groups both large and small. He believed that he knew just enough about what was required by the Company to be able to make a success of the position.
However, Len said that there were other considerations to take into account before he could make the decision to accept or refuse the position.
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Len admits that one thing about the offer was that it certainly looked too good to refuse! However, he added that changing positions would be a major step in his life and that he and Judith needed to think about it carefully since now they had three young children to also consider. Although Judith was naturally a little apprehensive about Len making such a change, she was aware that the music industry had great respect for the Kemble family and its products and she had confidence in Len’s ability to make it a success.
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After careful thought, a decision was made in favour of accepting the offer. As a result, Len resigned his position at the Royal Insurance Company, and five weeks later, he took up his new position at Kemble Pianos. Len says that his time at The Royal had been thoroughly satisfying, but Len knew that this offer was an opportunity that he simply could not turn down.
Len’s final five weeks at the insurance company passed smoothly. He credits his secretary, Ms Gwen Bagley, with helping to make his exit as easily as possible. Before leaving, Len arranged for her to become the full-time secretary to the office manager at the Company’s Watford branch.
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TO WORK AS REQUIRED
Len’s letter of engagement as the Musical Director of Kemble (Organ Sales) Ltd./Yamaha (UK), apart from the obvious points agreed at the meeting, simply said, To work as required. That was it! He then signed the necessary papers in the Non-Executive Dining Room and, as Len put it ……. and so began one of the most unique and enjoyable challenges that I believe anyone in the UK Music Industry is ever likely to be handed.
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Once on board, Len with Carl Spencer, as the newly appointed sales director, together with three other members of staff along with the accounts and credit control departments of Kemble Pianos, he began work by establishing himself in a nearby factory unit on Mount Avenue in Bletchley, Milton Keynes that was capable of housing 1,000 organs, a service and transport section plus room for his office and showroom. Len says that this unit was ideal for their purposes.
The Site of Kemble Pianos on Mount Avenue, Bletchley, Milton Keynes
Kemble (Organ Sales) Ltd/Yamaha UK was located at an adjacent site
With the team and business site in place, Len was now ready to get to know the existing piano dealerships and learn how many would like to venture into organ sales.
During his visits to the establishments, Len had to convince them that there would be a market for the products, and once they agreed, train their staff so that they understood the new approach to demonstrating these new instruments from Japan.
Carl Spencer & Len in the Research & Development Headquarters in Japan
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Up until this time, a limited amount of Japanese product could be found in the UK, and what was seen, was viewed as cheap and unreliable. Len saw his role as proving to dealers and the public that Yamaha Electones were quality reliable instruments.
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Once Len started visiting the dealerships in the Kemble Pianos network and demonstrating the Electones and pointing out their features to their staff, he was especially pleased at the very positive response he received from the dealerships’ staff towards his fresh approach demonstrating the instruments.
These demonstrations and public Showcase Presentations were slowly expanded into Road-Shows where Len would present the instruments at a number of large Victorian Town Halls where he was able to take advantage of their remarkable acoustics and so show the instruments off to their best advantage.
As a result, most dealerships were more than willing to add the new Electones to their showrooms, which helped Len’s team build a good image of Yamaha products.
View of the Showroom showing the E10 and E70 Models.
Models were available for dealers to bring potential customers who were
interested in the Top End of The Range instruments. This allowed dealers to save
on both floor space and finance.
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Len soon discovered that, compared to other manufacturers, Kemble (Organ Sales) Ltd. was offering a range of particularly reliable products that were not overly costly and were within reach of the general public. A great selling point was the products’ reliability, which allowed the Company to offer a five-year guarantee with each sale.
Once Len felt that he had established the Electones with the Kemble Pianos Dealership Network, he branched out and began visiting the established Hammond Organ UK network of dealers.
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An estate car allowed Len to take an instrument with him out on the road to demonstrate to dealers and local (mainly Hammond) Organ Societies. The organs were quite different in every respect compared to others available on the market. They had a very thin sound. The loudspeaker was a purpose built 30-inch unit made of a special synthetic material. The cabinet was made of chipboard covered with paper printed with a wood grain effect. Len said that it was a difficult start, as he was targeting some of the well established Hammond Organ dealers. Fortunately he quickly persuaded the dealers to demonstrate the organs in a different way that best showed off the different models, and with a very competitive price structure and proven reliability, Electone sales took off.
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The combination of the Electones’ reliability and their very competitive sales price quickly caused the Company to become the number one wholesaler of organs in the U.K. Len says that these were very exciting years!
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Although Kemble (Organ Sales) Ltd. was an independent British Company, the Electones were made by Yamaha in Japan. At this time, Len had not met any Japanese members of Yamaha. However this changed when the opportunity came to develop some new products that would be specifically designed for the UK ear, and more importantly, for smaller homes.
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Len says that early on in his relationship with The Yamaha Corporation, he realised that the Japanese hearing was most likely going to be different from that of those in the Western Hemisphere. Apparently, the Japanese have a particular liking for thin tones whereas most Westerners prefer a more broad mellow tone. Len adds that he spent a lot of time explaining to Yamaha about the preferences of the Western World.
Regarding the organs themselves: Len says that Yamaha had the benefit of offering small spinet-style Consoles, while both the Hammond and Baldwin Companies were large, but still impressive. The smaller sized organs of Yamaha would therefore fit more easily into the average size British home.
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Teams of engineers began to visit Len and Carl Spencer at their offices at Milton Keynes to discuss the construction of new organ specifications. Len says that he and his team developed a good working relationship with the Japanese that resulted in the Company being able to join with Yamaha’s Research & Development Department in designing three new ranges of instruments that would prove better suited to the western market.
Len says that the Japanese staff accepted his suggestions and the new designs quickly appeared on paper. Before these designs went into production, Len and Carl Spencer were invited to Japan to visit the Research & Development Department to fine tune the voicing and ergonomics of the proposed new range of six instruments.
Len says that on each on the ten days that they were at the Yamaha factory, he would write his evaluations on giant flip charts placed beside each of the new models. He says that he was amazed to find that overnight a team of ten engineers produced, as if by magic, the necessary alterations for them to further evaluate the following day. Several visits resulted in the production of the following types of Electones:
B4-BR, B5BR, B10, B20, B30, D45, D85 & THE ‘PASS’ RANGE (Pulse Analogue Synthesis System)
Len says that he and Carl Spencer were much impressed with the entire organisation and adds that their visit to Japan was a remarkable experience, for which, he now realises, that his years of visiting industrial premises as an Insurance Surveyor had prepared him well.
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The new range of Electones was an instant success when they were launched to the public at Woburn Abbey. Demand for the products was such that it soon became necessary to expand the Company’s warehouse and office facilities. Len was proud of what he, Carl Spencer and their staff had achieved in such a short space of time, as Yamaha Electones were now the products that every dealer wanted in their showroom above all others.
Len seated at an EX-1 Electone in the Showroom and ready for a demonstration
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During those years of growth, while Len was involved with the demonstration and the understanding of each new range of Electones, Carl Spencer was pursuing a nationwide television advertising campaign that also took Len into television studios and meetings with numerous well-known personalities, including the likes of Dudley Moore (1935-2002), Micky Most (1938-2003), John Dankworth (1927-2010), Hank Marvin (1941), Debbie McGee (1958), Paul Daniels (1938-2016), Dr. Lloyd Webber (1914-1982; Director of the London College of Music), Richard Baker (1925-2018) and Jimmy Savile (1926-2011).
Len says that Kemble (Organ Sales) Ltd/Yamaha were the only organ company in the U.K. to embark on large scale television advertising both in the form of the Company name being strategically placed during weekend televised football matches and also with advertisements featuring Len or a well-known personality.
As a result of the rocketing sales, television advertising and celebrity endorsements, the Company was becoming a household name.
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