Friday Interview | Music publicist and eco-activist Lydia Laws

By Laura Kingston

Let’s start at the beginning! Tell us about you and your business?

OK! I live in Whitley Bay, operating an international boutique PR and communications agency – Lydia Laws PR (LLPR) which I set up four years ago. I work with a range of artists, labels and event brands – specialising in one of my main passions – electronic music. Artists I currently represent include Sasha, BLOND:ISH, Elliot Adamson and many more, alongside exciting new talent in the industry. 

Living in the North East, I grew up as a real ocean lover and enjoy snorkelling, surfing, swimming and spotting marine wildlife. Around two years ago, my client BLOND:ISH (Vivie-Ann Bakos) founded an initiative called Bye Bye Plastic which aims to eliminate single-use plastic in the music industry by 2025. I’ve been involved since its inception and now we have grown to a team of 10 women. I handle all of our communications and also organise worldwide events such as beach cleans and speaking on panels to raise awareness. 

What an amazing career! How did you get into it? 

I studied English Language at Newcastle University and during that time volunteered for a charity called Freedom from Torture which provides therapeutic care for survivors of torture who seek refuge in the UK. After graduating I was lucky enough to spend six months in Ibiza working as a music journalist for Ibiza Spotlight which was amazing. Following that, I worked as a staff writer for Pulse Radio and then worked for three years as Head of Digital press for Neighbourhood PR – an international PR company for the music industry which has offices in London and Newcastle. I realised that I could have the freedom to do this for myself and set up Lydia Laws PR. 

What is your advice to women who are told that you have to move to London or abroad to make it in fashion, music, PR or other industries?

I used to get asked ‘when are you moving to London’ all the time!  I think it just feels like the easy obvious thing to do, move to the capital. There are women making a name for themselves and building a successful career in every possible field all over the UK, whether they’re in remote villages in the countryside, by the sea, in cities…

I think it’s important to keep an open mind to travel generally, especially earlier on in your career, but there is always a way to make things work from wherever you are. If the place you live has your heart then you can always find a different route from the norm. Be more open to jobs outside your comfort zone in your chosen field, or try approaching companies that might not have realised what someone like you could do for them. Find that niche and start your own business. Negotiate with full-time roles that are based elsewhere and see if there’s room for movement to work from home. Challenge the system!  

How do you stay motivated working from home? Do you work in any local coffee shops too?

I’m actually quite lucky as I get less distracted squirrelling away at home solo than I do in an office environment. If I do need a change of scenery and a sugar fix, I might head to Kith & Kin with my laptop for a peanut butter blondie…

And finally, what are your North East favourites?

The Boatyard is my go-to for the perfect brunch and the best vegan cake around. The in-house granola and the Turkish delight Victoria sponge (supplied by Zen Bakery) are both sublime! I often do urgent ‘cake runs’ there the second I see them post about a new cake on their Instagram, ringing in advance to reserve a slice (or 2)!

Also Cullercoats Coffee for delicious oat lattes and so many friendly faces. They deserve a shout out for providing a safe haven for us to warm up after 6am surfs/swims in Cullercoats and Tynemouth! I love the community feel in the North East, everyone is friendly and looks out for each other.

Hoochie Coochie is my favourite bar/club hands down. There’s a sort of New York jazz bar feel to the place, they have lots of live music as well as DJs and there’s always great energy on the dancefloor! It’s not-for-profit too which I love.

I travel a lot for work, and it’s so easy to get to the key spots I need to, like Ibiza, Amsterdam, Barcelona direct from Newcastle Airport. It’s also so easy to fly to Tenerife if I want some last-minute winter sun…

The walk from Whitley Bay beach to Cullercoats then Tynemouth and along to the old low light is my favourite walk. It’s absolutely stunning, especially on a sunny day, and you can stop off for vegan(!) fish & chips at Laura’s Fish Bar en route. It never fails to make me feel so lucky for living here. 

Photo credit: Tom Bing