Page 9 - Fyne Times Spring 2014

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Behind the scenes
heroes
Simon Napier-Bell
After he spent some time traveling and hitch-
hiking across America as a youngster, Simon was
persuaded to try working in the music industry by
his friend, Vickie Wickham. He began putting his
own acts together, which lead to The Yardbirds
asking him to manage them. In his career he also
worked with Japan, Ultravox and Asia. But his
biggest band was definitely Wham! He now runs
his own label called Snap-B Music Ltd.
Joe Meek
Joe loved the electronic side of music from a
young age and ditched his job with the electricity
board to try his hand at record producing. He
became an audio engineer and worked for a
small company before setting up a label with
an associate, Triumph Records. Later he set up
his own label and created a recording studio at
his flat in Holloway Road. It was there he used
his pioneering and sometimes a little obscure
methods to record his most famous record, Telstar
by the Tornados.
Vickie Wickham
One of the strongest forces in music for 37 years,
Vickie started as the producer of top music show
‘Ready, Steady, Go’. She then started to work
with up-and-coming star Dusty Springfield. Her
musical talents also extended to composition,
which she proved by co-writing the Dusty
classic ‘You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me’.
She managed Dusty all the way through her
career and even up to her death, although she
has said in the press there was never a romantic
relationship between them. She is, however,
openly gay and currently manages Marc Almond.
Brian Epstein
Brian was reluctant to work at his father’s
department store until he was put in charge of
the record section. He made ‘Epstein’s’ the
place to see and be seen in swinging
60s Liverpool. But he had bigger
dreams than that and when
he went to the Cavern to see a band called the
Beatles, he knew he had found his ticket to fame
and fortune. He went on to manage other acts,
but the fab-four is what Brian will always be
known for.
Clive Davis
Born in New York, Clive started out in law but
moved into the music industry when he began
working for Columbia/CBS records. After he was
fired from Columbia for using company funds
to put on a bar mitzvah party for his son, Clive
moved on to found the company Arista Records.
In 2000 he left to set up another company, J
Records. Divorced twice, he came out as bisexual
last year and has been in a relationship with a
man for 14 years now.