Ok guys so now it's time for me to come clean….I know it's hard to believe but I'm not perfect !
I A&R'd from my heart and my passion for music still burns brightly……it will never die .
I must be honest…I was not easy to work with……I know my colleagues at Virgin,Sony and BMG will concur…in fact I was pretty unpopular with most of them……why ? Because I never cared what anyone else thought of the bands I signed and the music they recorded…sorry if that sounds arrogant but once you start asking people their opinion of a track everyone becomes an expert " the vocal isn't right ".. " the guitar is too loud "…" the mix isn't right "…etc etc…..I AM THE A&R MAN…ONLY MY OPINION MATTERS ...Simon Draper told me that
I was very difficult to work with …I know that and I regret a lot of things I did and the way I behaved at times ( you will read all about it the book I'm writing ) …but you must understand that I came from a record shop ,never had any expectations of working for a record label….I'm entirely self-taught at A&R…I've got GREAT ears….the only person I owe anything to is the late great Erskine Thompson..I owe him everything.
A&R is the heartbeat of any label…without great A&R then what does have a label have ?
I was always prepared to put the interests of my artists first…..that's why me and my artists were so tight….they knew they could TRUST me…..TRUST is the most important thing between A&R man and artist..once that breaks down it's all over…..bar the dropping
My attitude and general demeanour did not endear me to my bosses ,the only one I respected was Simon Draper because he was a GENIUS A&R man….again I regret some of my behaviour but I didn't like anyone telling me what to do if they don't know what they are talking about....most MD's and Chairman think they are A&R men...they're not,they're executives.....you don't tell me how to A&R and I won't tell you how to run the company was my attitude.
Through my years in the business I have encountered a lot of people whose sole priority was keeping their job…they sat on the fence,never made a decision and were happy to maintain the status quo of bland mediocrity…..I couldn't live like that…I don't do mediocre/ordinary/average……
Sorry ,I digress ,……where was I …where am I ? I'm back in Brighton where it all started for me 40 years ago
I say I've retired …..but I tell lies all the time…..I AM The Soul Guru and I WILL be back
The Soul Guru LOVES you x
PS.....And now I AM back...better than ever......
I A&R'd from my heart and my passion for music still burns brightly……it will never die .
I must be honest…I was not easy to work with……I know my colleagues at Virgin,Sony and BMG will concur…in fact I was pretty unpopular with most of them……why ? Because I never cared what anyone else thought of the bands I signed and the music they recorded…sorry if that sounds arrogant but once you start asking people their opinion of a track everyone becomes an expert " the vocal isn't right ".. " the guitar is too loud "…" the mix isn't right "…etc etc…..I AM THE A&R MAN…ONLY MY OPINION MATTERS ...Simon Draper told me that
I was very difficult to work with …I know that and I regret a lot of things I did and the way I behaved at times ( you will read all about it the book I'm writing ) …but you must understand that I came from a record shop ,never had any expectations of working for a record label….I'm entirely self-taught at A&R…I've got GREAT ears….the only person I owe anything to is the late great Erskine Thompson..I owe him everything.
A&R is the heartbeat of any label…without great A&R then what does have a label have ?
I was always prepared to put the interests of my artists first…..that's why me and my artists were so tight….they knew they could TRUST me…..TRUST is the most important thing between A&R man and artist..once that breaks down it's all over…..bar the dropping
My attitude and general demeanour did not endear me to my bosses ,the only one I respected was Simon Draper because he was a GENIUS A&R man….again I regret some of my behaviour but I didn't like anyone telling me what to do if they don't know what they are talking about....most MD's and Chairman think they are A&R men...they're not,they're executives.....you don't tell me how to A&R and I won't tell you how to run the company was my attitude.
Through my years in the business I have encountered a lot of people whose sole priority was keeping their job…they sat on the fence,never made a decision and were happy to maintain the status quo of bland mediocrity…..I couldn't live like that…I don't do mediocre/ordinary/average……
Sorry ,I digress ,……where was I …where am I ? I'm back in Brighton where it all started for me 40 years ago
I say I've retired …..but I tell lies all the time…..I AM The Soul Guru and I WILL be back
The Soul Guru LOVES you x
PS.....And now I AM back...better than ever......
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