We speak to Craig Chettle, CEO of Nottingham’s Confetti Institute of Creative Technologies which turns thirty this year

You’re Notts born and bred. Tell us about your early life in the city…
I was born on High Church Street in New Basford and went to St Augustines Infants, then Stanley Road in Forest Fields. After that we moved to Old Basford, where I went to Heathfield Primary. I had an amazing teacher called Carol Bickerstaff who changed my life. In 1975, I went to Bluecoat School in Aspley, where I made some friends who were into music and that was the start of my musical journey. My mum Marilyn was a hospital receptionist and my dad Frank was a council worker who started as a bin man. They weren't well off financially, but they were both very loving and encouraging. They were also responsible for my love of early Tom Jones, The Beatles, Elvis, 70s disco and much more.

What jobs did you do before Confetti?
I dropped out of my A-levels and got a job at C&A on Listergate as a full-time porter and occasional shop assistant. My first day there was 8 December 1980, the day John Lennon was shot in New York. It was a very depressing day for me, spent alone crushing boxes and reminiscing about The Beatles. Then I worked as a builder’s labourer for a year and loved it. After that I got a job as an operating theatre technician at the QMC and in my spare time was in several bands, teaching myself about sound and music production. 

In 1990, I quit my job when Tim Andrews from the Square Centre asked me to tour manage and do front of house sound for Whycliffe. Within a few months, I'd gone from being a full-time employee at Glaxo to working with Whycliffe, who was supporting James Brown on sold out shows at Wembley and the NEC. It was mad!

This was the start of your career in the music industry. Who else did you work with back then?
I spent four years doing death metal for Earache Records and the incredible Martin Nesbitt, who managed Carcass. Then for a few years I worked with The Tindersticks on tour and covered occasional gigs with Maria McKee, Nick Cave and Robert Forster. My life on the road lasted around ten years, but during this time, when I was back in Nottingham, I’d help out in a small community studio in Hyson Green called Tennyson Hall with my friend David Longdon (who played in Big Big Train and Genesis). It was mainly hip-hop and rap music and this is where I first had the idea to set up Confetti. I loved this type of work, sharing my knowledge from the music industry with people like Joe Buhdha, Trevor and Courtney Rose, Simon Carty, Tower and Mr 45.

Who else was involved in those early days of Confetti?
I was supported by Susanna, my wife at the time and a friend Toby Neal (who would later become a city councillor). We rented a small space on Convent Street and worked with Peoples College to start providing education and training for people that wanted to learn more about music production and get into the industry.

This was 1994 and it was just me teaching ten students from an electronics course. At that time, there was nothing around that taught relevant industry skills. Soon after this, we were joined by a very talented musician called Mark Cousins, and together we wrote several music production courses. From that moment on, Confetti grew steadily throughout the 90s and 00s. As we saw how the creative technology industry was evolving, we added courses like film, TV and games design.

Aside from Confetti, what are your memories of that year it all began?
Globally 1994 was the year that Nelson Mandela became President of South Africa, John Major was UK Prime Minister and Bill Clinton was the US President. In music, Kurt Cobain died, and Oasis and Blur were battling for the Britpop crown. Oh and people had started talking about this thing called the internet. Closer to home, some of my Tindersticks’ friends, Neil Fraser and Stuart Staples, were working at Selectadisc so I have fond memories of that time and place. Another Brian Selby-owned enterprise was The Garage nightclub off St Mary’s Gate in the Lace Market. The Hippo on Bridlesmith Gate was also a regular haunt and gig venue.

You've overseen a lot of students go onto big things over the last thirty years. Can you give us some examples of alumni who make you particularly proud?
Yes, we’ve seen a remarkable array of talent here at Confetti, with so many students going on to achieve incredible success. Take Kurt Martinez (Music Technology 2008), for example, who is now a Dolby Atmos mix engineer. He's worked on platinum-selling singles like Rain by Aitch and AJ Tracey and REACT by Switch Disco and Ella Henderson.

Another standout is Gaddiel (BA Music Performance 2021). Gaddiel, aka Gadzz,  is already composing music and playing keys for various artists, TV companies, and films, including performing on stage with the Sugababes at Silverstone and composing music for the James Bond No Time To Die trailer on Sky. Then there’s Luke Gentry (Music Technology 2009), who is now a sound editor and designer and has worked on blockbuster films such as Aladdin and The Gentlemen.

A very recent example is Alex Calladine. While studying an Esports Production BSc with us, Alex found a passion for directing and vision mixing, and during his three years with us, he worked on every commercial esports event to take place at Confetti, including the Amazon University Esports Masters, British Esports Federation Student Champs and the Commonwealth Games.

Alex was Confetti’s Student of the Year for 2023 and now works as a broadcast engineer at Gravity Media, on assignment with Riot Games at Project Stryker. These are just a few examples of what  we’ve seen from Confetti alumni over the past thirty years. We are really proud to be shaping the next generation of creative talent.

In 2014 you were instrumental in the team that set up Notts TV. Tell us about that journey and some of your favourite moments from the channel.
I spotted an opportunity to start a local TV channel when the DCMS and Ofcom were considering creating a local network across the UK.  I thought it was a great opportunity for the city and for Confetti and its students. I knew we needed partners and allies to make it a success, so I approached NTU, The Nottingham Post, Rob Pittam, Mark Del from Nusic and you at LeftLion, as well as  a few others, to see if they would partner or collaborate with us. Thankfully, everyone said yes and the concept of Notts TV was born. We then wrote a bid to Ofcom and DCMS, for the licence, and after a competitive process, our bid won. 

Jamie Brindle, a hugely talented and charismatic BBC radio producer, became our Channel Director and quickly built up a team, which included our current channel manager, Chris Breese, and several new VJs and presenters. The wonderful Frances Finn also agreed to front the news show.

We launched at 4pm on 27 May 2014, and fittingly in my view, the first show was Mass Bolero, a tribute to Torvill and Dean. Later that evening, after our first news show with Frances, we aired The Boys of ’79 our tribute to the Nottingham Forest squad of 1979. That was made by Jonny Owen and Spool Films with crucial support from Charlie McParland and was the embryonic beginnings of the 2015 feature I Believe in Miracles.

Vicky and Jonny, Shane Meadows, Billy Ivory and many others have been so generous with their support for the channel over the years, but a special thank you also has to go to our inspirational Chairman, David Lloyd for his gifted and insightful guidance for me, our board and the team at Notts TV.

Tell us more about your post-production house Spool…
Spool was formed in 2001 by Penny Linfield and I, with an aim to produce TV and film in Nottingham as a genuine alternative to London. Penny recruited a small team and alongside my long-time collaborator Greg Marshall in the technical hotseat, we began working on projects. One of our first major projects was Shane Meadows’ Dead Man’s Shoes, and from this point until now, we have had the pleasure and privilege to work with Shane on many of his films and TV series, including This is England, The Virtues and most recently The Gallows Pole.

We met Vicky McClure through Shane back in the mid-noughties on This is England, and since then we have developed an incredibly strong and supportive relationship with the Queen of Notts. Her support and friendship for Penny and I on a professional and personal level is truly humbling.

Spool has worked on hundreds of film, TV and promo projects over the last 23 years and I am eternally grateful to Penny (now my wife and soulmate), Mary Kearns, Susan Pennington, Russ Noon and all the staff and students who have worked with us.

Denizen Recordings is your music company. Tell us about some of the musical artists you have helped to nurture through that.
Denizen was set up with the wonderful Pete Fletcher (who is now at Black Bay Studios in Stornaway) with us in the 00s as our vehicle to support and develop new music from Nottingham. Expertly assisted by Kristi Genovese (now Metronome’s promoter) and Spencer Wells, Pete and the team worked with Kagoule, Kappa Gamma, Field Studies, Keto and many more. Denizen is still Confetti’s development platform for new music coming out of the institute.

In 2015 NTU became the parent company of the Confetti Media Group. Why did that feel like the right thing to do and how has it changed things since?
Between 1994 to 2015, we had grown the business significantly, but there was a lot more we wanted to do. So, when NTU appointed Edward Peck as their new Vice-Chancellor, we began to discuss how we could take it to another level. NTU became our parent company in August 2015, and right from the start, Edward and his senior team supported significant developments such as Confetti’s Digital Media Hub on Parliament Street, Metronome, Confetti X, and most recently Confetti London, our new campus in Whitechapel. Being part of a big, successful university like NTU brings enormous benefits. We’ve learned a lot from Edward and the teams at NTU over the last nine years and we each bring our own different and distinct approach to education and business.

Confetti London is part of The Amp, a newly refurbished 135,000 sq ft campus for education and innovation in the Aldgate district of the London borough of Tower Hamlets.

In 2020 you were awarded an MBE for Services to Entrepreneurship and the Creative Industries Sector…
The MBE was a very proud moment for me, my family, and all the friends and colleagues that have supported me over the years. I also want to thank Nottingham City Council for their part in the award. I received my MBE from The Princess Royal, Princess Anne, at Windsor Castle. Incidentally it was the same ceremony as Gok Wan!

In 2023 Confetti opened a London campus. How is that going? Confetti London is doing well. We’ve recruited a whole new team led by campus director Darius Khwaja and our undergrad and postgrad students love it. We’ve also done a big deal with Tileyard London, one of the largest music business ecologies in the world, to provide a totally unique education. However, while we are ambitious about what the Whitechapel district campus can achieve over the next decade, Nottingham is our home and will always be our main offer for our students.

confetti.ac.uk