Tony Cummings completes his history of UK Christian music 1965-1975 and the huge part Musical Gospel Outreach played in it

The December '75 Buzz announced that Lincoln's full time music group and Dovetail recording artists The Advocates were calling it a day as they felt "the Lord is directing them into other avenues of Christian ministry." Their feelings were correct as The Advocates' Stuart Bell went on to become a major figure in the UK church as a preacher and author. In the review section Roger Hurrell reviewed 'Yesterday Today Forever', Dovetail's double album studio recording of an ambitious musical which had just completed its run at the New Theatre, Oxford. Pete Meadows reviewed the show itself calling it a "worthy vehicle for the Good News." Also released that month by Key was Bill & Gloria Gather's 'Let's Just Praise The Lord'. The Gathers were, of course, to go on to enormous success in Southern gospel but their venture into something approaching contemporary worship failed to impress Hurrell who wrote, "The music is styled in the '50s youth rallies, appallingly mixed and theologically banal. . . The great British public deserve better."

MGO were continuing to put on big events. The latest one scheduled to be held at the Royal Albert Hall on the 10th January 1976 was called Welcome To The Family and featured a mammoth programme including The Advocates (their last ever concert), Lois Buckley, Cloud, Kevin Gould, Stewart Henderson, David Maclnnes, Len Magee, Meet Jesus Music, Gwen Murray and Dovetail's latest signing, Adrian Snell. In a media statement published in New Music magazine Malcolm Wild (formerly of Malcolm & Alwyn) was MGO's spokesman. "The past things that have been at the Royal Albert Hall I have enjoyed. Some of them I have been privileged to take part in. It is not to say that anything that we do this year will be 'one-up' or better than any other. There have been some excellent concerts at the Royal Albert Hall. I remember the Cliff Richard concert, Larry Norman and Choralerna involvement; it was really terrific. The difference will be an emphasis on evangelism. We feel that the time has come when we start to reap in some of the sowing that has been done."

Then came an inspired idea from David Payne - to twin Cliff Richard and his band with Choralerna, the Swedish choir, for a major UK tour culminating at the Royal Albert Hall. It was an outstanding success and, though the MGO trio did not know it at the time, was to be the climax of their combined efforts over the years they had been together.

After 10 years of intense activity and innovation, stress fractures began to surface among the relationships between Meadows, Payne and Shearn. Partly it was due to finance. Debts began to accumulate that could not be met by means of a never-ending quest for bigger and better. A lack of focus had also set in. What had started as a call to evangelism through a multitude of groups had been replaced with a few big names and a move towards charismatic worship. And there was conflict as to whether the role of the now flourishing Buzz magazine was primarily to serve the needs of MGO's projects and products or to serve its readers. It seemed clear the latter would require Buzz to leave the MGO fold with the added benefit that the income generated from its sale would meet some pressing financial needs. So it was decided that Peter Meadows, Geoff Shearn and David Payne should each go their separate ways.

Geoff Shearn took the recording and music publishing division of MGO, changing the name to Kingsway Music, where he pioneered contemporary worship in the UK and worldwide. His signature product was the Songs Of Fellowship hymn book, strategically designed to encourage both charismatic and non-charismatic believers to worship together. After 10 years building Kingsway/Thankyou Music into Britain's largest Christian music company he left to expand the Church Copyright Licence scheme he had started with Rob Lamont from Word while at Kingsway. The CCLI scheme was crucial in helping those who wrote worship songs have a source of income to develop their ministry.

David Payne became chief executive of Pilgrim Records, the music subsidiary of long established book publishers Marshall, Morgan & Scott, and later being appointed their Managing Director. Then after running a short-lived independent label Window Records he relocated to work in the American Christian music industry. In his late 50s he turned to acting and has built a considerable reputation as actor, writer and producer of CS Lewis-related performances, revealing a talent that surely ought to have surfaced during his MGO days.

Peter Meadows

Meanwhile Pete Meadows found backers to purchase Buzz from MGO to guarantee its independence, steering it to become the largest circulation non-denominational publication since the Welsh Revival. Through the magazine Pete co-founded the annual Easter event Spring Harvest; served as Director of the Luis Palau Mission to London, attracting half a million people to the QPR football stadium over six weeks, served as Communications Secretary for the Evangelical Alliance; and founded Premier Radio, London's Christian radio station.

David Payne, Geoff Shearn and Pete Meadows could have had no idea where God was to lead them when they produced their first humble MGO newsletter in 1965. Now, with the benefit of hindsight, it is evident their efforts resulted in adding much to the wealth of the Christian resources we all now enjoy today. But that is merely a by-product. Their influence on contemporary Christian music in those early days was profound and in Buzz and other MGO activities they provided both a refuge and a resource for thousands of young people who, at the time, felt much of the established Church did not speak their language whereas MGO did. In their own way Payne, Shearn and Meadows were truly history makers.