Starmakers and Svengalis: The History of British Pop Management
About this book
For the first time ever, the inside story of British pop management from 1955 to the present [published in 1988]. Johnny Rogan explores the diverse roles of the pop manager through a series of 17 case Larry Parnes, the great pioneer of British rock'n'roll; Ken Pitt, who nurtured Bowie to his first big hit - then lost him; Brian Epstein, the man behind the Beatles; Andrew Oldham, the Stones' supremo; Simon Napier-Bell - from the Yardbirds to Marc Boland to Wham!; the flamboyant and controversial Sex Pistols' svengali, Malcolm McLaren; enigmatic Joy Division/New Order manager, Rob Gretton - and many more. Rogan has interviewed scores of entrepreneurs over the years and his penetrating analyses of their grand designs, millionaire coups, litigious battles and spectacular falls brilliantly convey the perilous nature of pop management. These stories are not only intriguing in themselves but provide fresh insights into the careers of many of the most important artistes of our time. "Starmakers and Svengalis" is a cornucopia of charismatic characters, wealth, glamour, power, scandal, violence and tragedy; it is compulsive reading for anyone interested in popular culture or the evolution of the music business over the period of 30 years, up to the late 1980s.