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The Courier
14-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Courier
T in the Park founder Geoff Ellis on his love of Dundee, missing Balado and making business fun
Scottish music legend Geoff Ellis has a strong affinity with Dundee. It was in the City of Discovery that DF Concerts first flourished, with Geoff putting on shows at Fat Sam's and Bar Chevrolet with founder Stuart Clumpas. And Courier Country is where DF's T in the Park festival would expand into the world-renowned behemoth it became on the fields of Balado in Kinross. So, it is fitting Geoff will take centre stage at this year's Courier Business Conference as keynote speaker. This month's event takes place at Chris van der Kuyl's ground-breaking The Big Real at Water's Edge — a £9 million Hollywood-standard production studio. The conference is once again held in partnership with Henderson Loggie, with the theme of powering Scotland's creative economy. Geoff's company DF put on concerts in Dundee in the 80s, and he fondly recalls those early shows at Fatties and Chevy's — a 50s-style diner complete with an American muscle car built into its walls. He said: 'I feel a connection with Dundee as well, because the company started there, up in Denhead of Gray. It's where Stuart Clumpas formed the business.' 'Somebody wiser than me once said, 'if you do something you enjoy for a living, you'll never work for a day in your life'. 'But I think the fun comes from you enjoying what you do. 'And there's aspects of what you do when you're running an entertainment business, or a creative business, that can be fun as well. 'Because you work with a team of people who, by nature, are fairly creative, fairly inspirational and then you all gel together and that helps make work — even the boring stuff — enjoyable. 'That's because you're working with a team of people who have a spark and an enthusiasm for what they're doing. 'Nobody who works in the company doesn't like live music and events — they all love it. 'So while there might be aspects of the job that are not exciting, like with any job you have to pay the bills, raise invoices, deal with admin… there's plenty of enjoyable aspects of it as well.' T in the Park enjoyed its most successful years at Balado. It moved from Glasgow to the disused Kinross airfield in 1997, where it stayed until 2014. In that time, everyone from Oasis to Beyonce came to the festival. The festival was held for two years at Strathallan, in Perthshire, in 2015 and 2016, and was 'retired' by DF Concerts to make way for TRNSMT and Summer Sessions. How people attend festivals has changed in recent years, Geoff points out, not helped by global events like the Covid-19 pandemic. A shift in what people want from their music and gig experiences has contributed towards this too, he adds, as well as having to leave their beloved Balado site. When asked if he missed putting on Scotland's largest festival, T in the Park, at Balado, Geoff said: 'Oh yes! I think we always will and we look back very fondly. 'The most successful years T in the Park had were at Balado. 'It was a great event. There's a great community in Kinross and Milnathort, who really supported the event from day one 'I mean, everything has its day and it's really regrettable we were forced to move from the site and it was never quite the same once we had moved. 'That's not to say we'd still be going had we stayed on the site, but it was a perfect festival site and we had many great years there. 'I think the days of having 10 or 12 stages is probably not what people want so much these days. 'Tastes have changed a little bit, they want to see more of their favourite artists and want longer sets. 'And people like being at an event in the city too. They like having somewhere to go afterwards now.' Geoff agreed to be involved with The Courier's Business Conference after speaking with long-time friend Chris van der Kuyl. He and Chris, one of the city's leading lights in games design through his involvement with Minecraft, had discussed working together for a while. Geoff will share unique insights gathered from 40 years 'and counting' in the creative industry. 'Dundee is a great city, a creative city, with all of its design and history,' he said. 'And more recently, its gaming achievements, which obviously Chris has been at the forefront of. 'For me, I think it's important that you put something back in as well. 'I've been fortunate enough to have a career for a few decades and I'm not giving up any time soon. 'It's a privilege to work in the creative industries and we need to sell the creative industries to younger generations and help them be regarded as serious businesses. 'I think we're quite often viewed as people just having fun. When you see people like Chris, it's hard to deny he always seems to be having fun, but there is a serious business element to what we all do in the creative industries. 'Whether that's running a venue, being an author, a designer, or whether it's putting on concerts and festivals.' Held on June 24, The Courier Business Conference 2025 brings together pioneers of gaming, music, fashion, design, media, and digital innovation to explore the future of one of Scotland's fastest-growing sectors. Dundee games entrepreneur and Water's Edge owner Chris van der Kuyl will talk about the new virtual production facility and explain why it will draw businesses to the city. As the co-owner of 4J Studios, which helped make Minecraft a global phenomenon, he will also give his views on the games and tech sector. Jade Robertson, owner of Perthshire business Little Lies, which counts Taylor Swift among its customers, and Livehouse boss Angus Robb will also present to the captive audience on their experience as business leaders in Tayside. The Courier's editor David Clegg will chair a panel discussion featuring local businesses on 'monetising creativity in Scotland'. The conference runs from 8.15am to 2pm. Tickets are still available through the conference website
The Courier
07-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Courier
Perthshire fashion designer's journey to dressing Taylor Swift and £2m turnover
At secondary school in Perth, Jade Robertson was known for customising her uniform. Fast forward two decades and her flair for design caught the eye of one of the world's top pop stars. Orders for Jade's Perthshire-based fashion brand 'skyrocketed' when Taylor Swift was spotted in one of her velvet dresses last year. However, the incredible success of Little Lies is down to far more than just the so-called 'Taylor effect'. Founded in 2015 by Jade and husband Stuart Robertson, the business – which specialises in bohemian, 70s inspired styles – turned over £2 million last year. It began as a small, online boutique operating out of the couple's bedroom. Clothes, while carefully curated, were bought in from wholesalers. However, since 2023, Little Lies, headquartered in Glencarse, has been selling solely its own creations. Jade, 35, will share more about her remarkable story at this month's Courier Business Conference. The event, on Tuesday June 24, is held in partnership with Henderson Loggie and brings together pioneers of gaming, music, fashion, design, media, and digital innovation in Dundee to explore the future Scotland's creative sector. Speaking to The Courier from her Little Lies HQ this week, Jade said: 'So much has changed since we started Little Lies 10 years ago but the ethos remains the same. 'For me, it has always been about helping women of all ages and sizes express their authentic selves and feel comfortable in clothes that are made for their bodies. 'Little Lies isn't a brand that chases trends. 'We are inspired by the music and free spirit of the 70s but want our pieces to feel timeless and be worn again and again. 'The antithesis of fast fashion, we care about quality and fit and use reputable factories.' Perth-born Jade credits her aunt Eve Graham, who sang lead vocals with the New Seekers, with inspiring her love of 70s music and fashion. Jade would dress up in songstress' vintage stage wear and listen intently to tales of parties with the Beatles and Led Zeppelin. She recalls: 'As a young girl my aunt's influence was huge and definitely got me hooked on the music and style of that era. 'I've always had my own unique style. I used to customise my own clothes, including my school uniform, and at one point wore bright pink shoes to school.' Attending Craigie Primary School and Perth High School, Jade excelled in art, music and English and took part in the school drama shows. But despite an impressive haul of Higher results, she decided to leave after fifth year to run a charity fashion show, Rock the Catwalk. Jade immersed herself in the planning and staging of popular event at Perth Concert Hall for four years – even roping her architect dad, Billy, in to be a model. At 21, she decided to apply to the Royal Conservatoire in Glasgow to study technical theatre – but the degree wasn't quite what she expected. 'I loved working behind the scenes at the Concert Hall and decided I wanted to learn how to do all the technical jobs. 'I enjoyed much of my time at the Conservatoire but after two years I realised it wasn't for me and I was going to end up a qualified electrician rather than doing something creative.' Never one to be doing just one thing, Jade's 'side hustle' came to her rescue. She continued: 'I had been making tie dye t-shirts so I started to make more of them and sold them to independent shops to cover the remainder of my rent.' After a brief stint with Scotland's Charity Air Ambulance, she began working in a boutique in Dunfermline, which stocked her t-shirts. It was there, she met her now husband, Stuart, 38, who was friends with the owner. The pair immediately clicked and within a matter of months Stuart had persuaded Jade to set up her own business. Jade said: 'I remember the moment we decided to go for it. We were driving back from a gig and Stuart said he would support me all the way. 'I have always been quite spontaneous but I think I needed that push from him to realise I could make it work. 'Little Lies has been a joint project from day one and I'm so grateful for Stuart's support.' Starting small, Jade set up Little Lies as an online boutique in 2015, sourcing garments that both fit her aesthetic and she knew women would feel good in. She bought a small van and attended tattoo conventions and held local pop-up shops at Aviva and SSE's Perth offices. At the start of 2018 she opened a small standalone Little Lies store in Dundee. While Jade loved chatting to customers on the shop floor and helping them chose outfits, running costs and profitability were a struggle and she made the decision not to open again after the pandemic. However as one door closed, another opened and soon after she got the keys to the current Glencarse unit, Little Lies began selling its own designs. There were a number of reasons Jade was keen to start designing, notably to offer better size inclusivity. She explained: 'Our clothes now come in sizes 6 to 24 and in two different lengths. 'It's important to me to cater to everyone and while the average women's size in the UK is a 16, it can be hard to source over a 14. 'Now sizes 14 to 18 are my biggest sellers.' Turnover was steadily increasing year-on-year until January 2024 when Taylor Swift was spotted wearing Little Lies' Sweet Jane olive crushed mini dress on a night out in Brooklyn. Orders and pre-orders flew in from across the globe and Little Lies met its monthly target within 24 hours. Jade said: 'We usually sell 200 to 300 per style but we sold 6,000 Sweet Jane mini dresses. It was incredible. 'Taylor is the perfect ambassador for the brand. She embodies female empowerment, is unapologetically herself and has strong value that she stands up for. 'She didn't just wear our dress, she wore an affordable £58 dress from a tiny, Scottish female owned brand that comes in inclusive sizes. 'The Taylor effect was a flash in the pan moment in terms of long-term sales but it increased brand visibility and has given me new opportunities to share my story, such as the Courier Business Conference.' Jade, who was recently asked to design St Johnstone FCs third kit, is excited about the future of Little Lies but is also enjoying the 'stability' that 10 years in business brings. Mum to two-year-old Naila, her work/life balance is more than important than ever and her weekends now involve more soft play trips than gigs. She added: 'I used to hate the 9-5 but am now glad to be able to have my evenings and weekends free to be with my family. 'Running your own brand can be stressful so I am happy to be in a stable place right now and work on slow growth and releasing collections I really love.' The Courier Business Conference will also hear from Dundee games boss Chris van der Kuyl who will demonstrate a new virtual design studio and his company, 4J Studios' new game. Held at The Big Real at Water's Edge in Dundee, the keynote speaker will be Geoff Ellis, chief executive of DF Concerts, who will reflect on his career putting on high profile music events including T in the Park and TRNSMT. Tickets are available from
The Courier
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Courier
Courier Business Conference to feature legendary T in the Park promoter
Geoff Ellis, the man behind major Scottish music festivals T in the Park and TRNSMT, will be the keynote speaker at this year's Courier Business Conference. The chief executive of DF Concerts will reflect on more than 40 years in the music business, during which time he has dealt with everyone from Oasis to Beyonce. DF Concerts is also behind the Summer Sessions concerts which brought Noel Gallagher and Stereophonics to Slessor Gardens in Dundee in 2022. This year's Courier Business Conference 2025, held in partnership with Henderson Loggie, will have the theme of powering Scotland's creative economy. This year's event brings together pioneers of gaming, music, fashion, design, media, and digital innovation to explore the future of one of Scotland's fastest-growing sectors. Last year's conference at the new Innovation Hub at Michelin Scotland Innovation Parc, looked at the plans and potential impact of the Eden Project coming to Dundee. This year we are also holding the conference in one of the city's newest spaces – the £9m virtual production studio at Water's Edge at City Quay. The studio is able to create hyper-realistic digital film sets on a giant digital screen and use cutting-edge techniques such as motion capture, made popular in films like Avatar. Dundee games entrepreneur and Water's Edge owner Chris van der Kuyl, will give an overview of the new technology and explain why it will draw businesses to the city as well as benefiting local companies. As the co-owner of 4J Studios, which helped make Minecraft a global phenomenon, he will also give his views on the games and tech sector. The conference, which runs from 8.15am to 2pm, will feature a panel discussion from representatives of the creative sector before Mr Ellis' keynote speech. The Courier editor David Clegg will chair a panel discussion featuring local businesses on 'monetising creativity in Scotland'. He said: 'Scotland's creative industries are among the most exciting and dynamic parts of our economy – and Tayside, Fife and Stirling is right at the heart of that story. 'This year's Courier Business Conference will shine a light on the talent, innovation and entrepreneurial spirit driving growth in music, film, games, marketing and beyond. 'I'm particularly looking forward to hearing from Geoff Ellis, whose career reflects just how powerful creative vision can be when paired with business acumen.' David Smith, managing partner at Henderson Loggie, said: 'As sponsors of the Courier Business Conference, we're proud to support a platform that's spotlighting the creative industries shaping Courier Country. 'The conference is great event for business leaders to connect and hear from the creative minds driving change in our region. 'It's an exciting time for our local economy, and we're looking forward to being part of the conversation.' Tickets for the conference are available at
