POP & ROCK MANAGEMENT

Website: https://themmf.net (The Music Managers Forum)

Don Arden

Don Arden had worked as a singer and comedian. He had switched to management in which he deployed his theatrical skills. He developed a notoriety for being ready to use thugs against managers who he thought were trying to steal his acts. In reality, he seems to have a wariness of actually deploying physical violence. He could be charming and funny when he wished to be.

Location: 52-55 Carnaby Street, W1F 9QE. Arden s office during the years 1965-7. (orange, red)

Cancelling Commissions

On one occasion in the mid-1960s Rik Gunnell (1931-2007) hired Lenny the Leaper to go round to Don Arden s offices and destroy it. On the way there, Lenny encountered two of his colleagues who had commissioned by Arden to do exactly the same to Gunnell s offices. The three went for a drink in The Red Lion, by the end of which none of them could be bothered to execute their commissions any longer.

Peter Grant

Peter Grant (1935-1995) had a number of jobs before finding his metier. These included wrestling as His Highness Count Bruno Alassio of Milan (he was 6ft. 5in. (1m. 98cm.)). Upon one occasion he was one of the heavies who dangled Robert Stigwood upside down from his fourth-floor office window. Grant recalled that the Australian had disgusting skinny ankles . Working at The Two I.s coffee bar led him to become first a road manager for American musical acts that were visiting Britain and then a manager of British bands and performers. He had a genuine respect for musicians.

In 1968 Grant was managing The Yardbirds when they broke up. The guitarist Jimmy Page, a member of the group, invited him to manage his next band - this was Led Zeppelin. Under Grant s instinctive direction the four men refused to follow the traditional promotional activities of releasing singles and making television appearances. Instead, they carved out its own enormously lucrative career in the music business. Among the services that Grant performed for the group, and rock musicians as a whole, was increasing the share of concert grosses received by performers.

There is a story that once, after members of Led Zeppelin and their entourage had trashed their hotel rooms, Grant was settling up with a hotel manager, when the latter remarked that he had always wanted to throw a television set out of a hotel window room to see what it was like. Grant peeled off a $500 bill from his wad which he proffered to the man and said, Have one on me.

Location: Swan Song Records, 484 The King s Road, SW10 0LF (blue, grey)

The Peter Grant Award

The Peter Grant Award recognises outstanding careers in pop management.

Website: https://themmf.net/tag/peter-grant-award

Wilf Pine

Wilf Pine (1944-2018) was a thug and small-time criminal who spent much of his time on the Isle of Wight, where he had grown up. His legitimate activities included working as a bouncer. One of the people he provided services for was the owner of the island s first discotheque. The man became a concert promoter and having been impressed by Pine s discretion, employed him to act as his assistant. Pine had had a poor education but his natural intelligence and his organisational skills meant that he was soon executing the bulk of the administrative work. He proved able to establish a good rapport with many of rock acts that played for his employer. At the time, many of them were being swindled out of their due earnings by shady promoters. Pine s violent tendencies meant that he became adept at recovering what was owed.

Pine s thugishness drew him to the notice of Don Arden, a London-based band manager. Arden employed him, together with a number of other bouncers who were open to criminality, to act as his hired muscle. Arden was open to the use of violence but had a distinct preference for it not to be employed. Their association with him helped to underscore his reputation as the Al Capone of Pop . As a result, there came to less of a need for Pine to play the thug. He became close to Arden and was able to learn more about the managerial aspects of the music industry.

The band Black Sabbath had wished to drop their Birmingham-based manager and move to Arden. However, through a misunderstanding the two sides failed to communicate with one another and the switch did not happen. The son of an ex-Arden employee became aware of the band s wish to acquire London-based management. He persuaded Arden to join him in acting as such. The group proved open to this development and signed with them. Black Sabbath had already recorded their debut album Black Sabbath (1970). Upon its release it proved to a big hit in Britain, Germany, and America. As a result, Pine became established as a leading manager, working for WWA Records. For several years he worked closely with acts such as The Groundhogs and The Edgar Broughton Band. While these were high profile in the day none of them replicated Black Sabbath s degree of success.

While Pine had been working in a recording studio in New England a chance encounter led to him eventually developing an association with Joe Pagano (1928-1989), a capo in New York s Genovese mafia family. Initially, this appears to have derived from the mafia s appreciation that Hemdale, the ultimate parent company of the agency for which Pine worked, had gambling interests in the U.K.. Ultimately, the Genovese decided not to try and acquire control it. However, the manager developed a warm friendship with the capo.

As he had become successful in the music industry, Pine had largely ceased his criminal activities. However, he had not disavowed the criminal world. His growing closeness to Paganu enhanced his standing within it. At the prompting of Laurie O Leary, who was the host of The Speakeasy, he had provided accommodation for Charlie Kray, the older brother of the infamous Kray twins. After a decade of music management, Pine concluded that he no longer wished to be part of the industry and left. He took to working as a painter and decorator. However, his well-attested business skills led to the imprisoned Ronnie Kray asking him to see whether he could find a means of developing an income for them. He proved able to exploit their image rights on their behalf.

Location: 27 Dover Street, W1S 4LZ. Pine s principal base as a band manager. (blue, brown)

David Backhouse 2024