I fully agree with your reflection around a needed narrative, the myths around the protagonist(s). They keep going whether in music, fashion, film and other fields like science or now entrepreneurship. That’s what I did with PHENOMENA, the 1980s Supergroup that never performed live, had no permanent members other than its producers/director and one international No 1 hit with “Did It All For Love”. That cover story of “The return of the concept album” did it.
It was certainly a star-studded group - too much so to hold together, perhaps. Sad that it never performed live because nearly all its members were supremely good at doing just that.
Headlining SwedenRock, taking Phenomena performing across the global at the world’s largest pillar free mobile venue and I started the $10Mio DreamRunner movie production - it was all there. But this time Tom Galley rejected my production advice and delivered a half baked third album. In consequence RCA walked away! I moved to help launch MTV Europe.
Here's short excerpt from my book Black Vinyl White Powder - not a book you should have missed 😋.....
Shortly after skiffle started, America came up with a new rock ’n’ roll singer, Elvis Presley, a teenager throbbing with sex. British kids immediately wanted one of their own. But what they got instead was Tommy Steele.
Tommy may have been a poor substitute for the real thing but when he took off every British record company wanted someone like him. Copycat rock ’n’ roll stars sprang up all over the place. You pushed your arse into tight jeans, waved your credentials in the face of the audience, and became an instant front-man for the new generation.
The search for rock ’n’ roll stars became something of a cottage industry and leading it were Larry Parnes and Lionel Bart, both of whom had an instinctive feeling for the teenage boys that girls would fancy – the ones they fancied themselves.
Around that time, a friend of mine who knew Parnes told me about his flat. ‘It’s always full of boys – not Larry’s singing stars, but other ones – boys who come to see him hoping to be chosen. If Larry likes the look of them, he gives them a clean white T-shirt and tells them to hang around. If a boy’s wearing a black T-shirt, it means Larry’s had him already and his friends can have a go if they want to. You ought to meet him. He might like you.’
I wasn’t sure I wanted to be ‘liked’ by Larry Parnes but the chance to meet him was irresistible. We arranged to meet at a Chinese restaurant where he turned up with Lionel Bart. During most of the meal I was hardly spoken to, just stared at, but as he was paying the bill Larry asked, ‘Can you sing?’
'No,’ I told him, ‘but I can play the trumpet, and I’ve been working as a bandboy for Johnny Dankworth.’
‘Intriguing’, he said. ‘Perhaps we could meet later.’
I turned the offer down, but it was impossible not to be fascinated by Parnes and his aura of success.
Like most managers who followed him, Larry Parnes was something of a loner. His family background made it difficult for him to be open about his homosexuality so he was unable to have a permanent relationship, but as a pop manager he had the perfect excuse for surrounding himself with the type of young men he fancied.
He found himself a comfortable niche and took full advantage of it. Behind the scenes he was authoritarian. He created his artists’ image, controlled their private lives, tried to keep them away from drink and drugs, and made them go to bed before midnight (sometimes, it was rumoured, with himself).
Parnes was obsessed with giving his boys new names. It was as if by changing their names he could wipe out their past and make them his very own.
When singer Clive Powell turned up, Parnes told him: ‘You come from the same county as George Formby, and you’re going to be famous.9 You can be called Georgie Fame!’
But when he wanted to change Joe Brown’s name to Elmer Twitch, Joe refused point blank.
Parnes always liked to claim that his ‘stable’ of boys was one big happy family – Joe Brown, Dickie Pride, Tommy Bruce, Johnny Gentle, Duffy Power, Georgie Fame, Johnny Goode, Vince Eager – but he saw a class distinction between himself and his singers and exploited it.
Joe Brown worked for three years with not a single night off. ‘Some of the gigs were miles apart.10 One night we did Bristol, the next night Torquay, and back up to Preston. Then it was in London by eight o’clock the next morning for Saturday Club. It was anywhere and everywhere for £15 per week. Three solid years and then my head went. I had a breakdown and got the shakes. My mother called the doctor, who said: “He’s got to stop working”. She phoned Larry Parnes, who said: “What d’you mean stop working. Has he broken a leg?” Within minutes he’d sent two Harley Street specialists to see me to make sure I wasn’t swinging the lead. It was ridiculous – he gave me six days off, six bloody days after three years.’
"The endless tease of expectation" - that's a brilliant film or book title. Such nice piece once more Simon, and so right it is... the endless loop of sorts, expectations, the waiting, the frustrations... it certainly is a roller coaster of sorts to be a (young) dependent artist. Guess best thing is to take as much control as you can into your own hands... and get a few good people on-board if you are lucky... for start there will be no-one to blame, but you are in the driving seat... I don't really understand the charts these day, how many streams count into sales etc. Its beyound Einstein to understand for mortals... However how i loved the charts back in the days...I wish for a number one too... :-)
Reading you is like drinking a fine wine. I do wish bands always got the need for a story. I have just started managing a band, and they are completely clueless about the need for tall tales and the the importance of the way they are told.
As a non geeky reader..... I would like to have met Marc Bollan or David Bowie - you cite knowing them , but were we properly introduced and did we leave the chapter feeling we actually knew them? ant xxx
I love your writing. The artifice of artists are as important as their music. David Sylvian is a good example. He has become serious but still mysterious.
I fully agree with your reflection around a needed narrative, the myths around the protagonist(s). They keep going whether in music, fashion, film and other fields like science or now entrepreneurship. That’s what I did with PHENOMENA, the 1980s Supergroup that never performed live, had no permanent members other than its producers/director and one international No 1 hit with “Did It All For Love”. That cover story of “The return of the concept album” did it.
It was certainly a star-studded group - too much so to hold together, perhaps. Sad that it never performed live because nearly all its members were supremely good at doing just that.
Headlining SwedenRock, taking Phenomena performing across the global at the world’s largest pillar free mobile venue and I started the $10Mio DreamRunner movie production - it was all there. But this time Tom Galley rejected my production advice and delivered a half baked third album. In consequence RCA walked away! I moved to help launch MTV Europe.
Great article that gets to the heart of popular culture.
Enjoyable read…..sharp and insightful…. as usual
Thanks simon
Love the stories about the myths Simon, especially the way you bring them to life.
Based on some of the singers you highlight, they were authentic throughout each ‘incarnation’ then moved on to their next authentic self.
Thanks for another excellent & insightful post👌🏾🎶
I think I realised most of this but excellent to read it. Brilliantly written so thank you Simon
Well, music is like...
The lyrics have to have a certain kind of music to them or they don't work.
The look has to have a kind of music to it or it doesn't work.
And the name....
"Elvis Presley" is already a name that has a lot of music in it, even if you'd never heard one of his records or seen his picture.
Bizarre synaesthesia variant.
Or something like that, anyway.
By-product of having grown up with the record player, maybe.
Exactly. Tame Impala would've likely not gotten as big if he started putting his music out under Kevin Parker. There's a mystique about the name.
Yes - a good name does all the initial heavy lifting
"Gene Vincent" quite loaded in the above regard.
Of course, Larry Parnes was on top of that stuff.
Billy Fury aside, not much great music in the records, let's put all the great music into the name.
Larry Parnes's brilliance was to build an artist's myth instantly - just with the name.
I imagine you would have crossed paths at one time or another, no?
Here's short excerpt from my book Black Vinyl White Powder - not a book you should have missed 😋.....
Shortly after skiffle started, America came up with a new rock ’n’ roll singer, Elvis Presley, a teenager throbbing with sex. British kids immediately wanted one of their own. But what they got instead was Tommy Steele.
Tommy may have been a poor substitute for the real thing but when he took off every British record company wanted someone like him. Copycat rock ’n’ roll stars sprang up all over the place. You pushed your arse into tight jeans, waved your credentials in the face of the audience, and became an instant front-man for the new generation.
The search for rock ’n’ roll stars became something of a cottage industry and leading it were Larry Parnes and Lionel Bart, both of whom had an instinctive feeling for the teenage boys that girls would fancy – the ones they fancied themselves.
Around that time, a friend of mine who knew Parnes told me about his flat. ‘It’s always full of boys – not Larry’s singing stars, but other ones – boys who come to see him hoping to be chosen. If Larry likes the look of them, he gives them a clean white T-shirt and tells them to hang around. If a boy’s wearing a black T-shirt, it means Larry’s had him already and his friends can have a go if they want to. You ought to meet him. He might like you.’
I wasn’t sure I wanted to be ‘liked’ by Larry Parnes but the chance to meet him was irresistible. We arranged to meet at a Chinese restaurant where he turned up with Lionel Bart. During most of the meal I was hardly spoken to, just stared at, but as he was paying the bill Larry asked, ‘Can you sing?’
'No,’ I told him, ‘but I can play the trumpet, and I’ve been working as a bandboy for Johnny Dankworth.’
‘Intriguing’, he said. ‘Perhaps we could meet later.’
I turned the offer down, but it was impossible not to be fascinated by Parnes and his aura of success.
Like most managers who followed him, Larry Parnes was something of a loner. His family background made it difficult for him to be open about his homosexuality so he was unable to have a permanent relationship, but as a pop manager he had the perfect excuse for surrounding himself with the type of young men he fancied.
He found himself a comfortable niche and took full advantage of it. Behind the scenes he was authoritarian. He created his artists’ image, controlled their private lives, tried to keep them away from drink and drugs, and made them go to bed before midnight (sometimes, it was rumoured, with himself).
Parnes was obsessed with giving his boys new names. It was as if by changing their names he could wipe out their past and make them his very own.
When singer Clive Powell turned up, Parnes told him: ‘You come from the same county as George Formby, and you’re going to be famous.9 You can be called Georgie Fame!’
But when he wanted to change Joe Brown’s name to Elmer Twitch, Joe refused point blank.
Parnes always liked to claim that his ‘stable’ of boys was one big happy family – Joe Brown, Dickie Pride, Tommy Bruce, Johnny Gentle, Duffy Power, Georgie Fame, Johnny Goode, Vince Eager – but he saw a class distinction between himself and his singers and exploited it.
Joe Brown worked for three years with not a single night off. ‘Some of the gigs were miles apart.10 One night we did Bristol, the next night Torquay, and back up to Preston. Then it was in London by eight o’clock the next morning for Saturday Club. It was anywhere and everywhere for £15 per week. Three solid years and then my head went. I had a breakdown and got the shakes. My mother called the doctor, who said: “He’s got to stop working”. She phoned Larry Parnes, who said: “What d’you mean stop working. Has he broken a leg?” Within minutes he’d sent two Harley Street specialists to see me to make sure I wasn’t swinging the lead. It was ridiculous – he gave me six days off, six bloody days after three years.’
Another banger!
"The endless tease of expectation" - that's a brilliant film or book title. Such nice piece once more Simon, and so right it is... the endless loop of sorts, expectations, the waiting, the frustrations... it certainly is a roller coaster of sorts to be a (young) dependent artist. Guess best thing is to take as much control as you can into your own hands... and get a few good people on-board if you are lucky... for start there will be no-one to blame, but you are in the driving seat... I don't really understand the charts these day, how many streams count into sales etc. Its beyound Einstein to understand for mortals... However how i loved the charts back in the days...I wish for a number one too... :-)
....and perception is reality.
Exactly! 😋
Reading you is like drinking a fine wine. I do wish bands always got the need for a story. I have just started managing a band, and they are completely clueless about the need for tall tales and the the importance of the way they are told.
I hope you can persuade them - or overrule them without causing a crisis - you're certainly going to need that story. v
As a non geeky reader..... I would like to have met Marc Bollan or David Bowie - you cite knowing them , but were we properly introduced and did we leave the chapter feeling we actually knew them? ant xxx
Aah - but had you read my books, which of course you should have done, you would feel you knew them rather well.
sadly lacking in that department - thus I remain a wallflower.......
I love your writing. The artifice of artists are as important as their music. David Sylvian is a good example. He has become serious but still mysterious.
Indeed - David built a wonderful mythology, then chose not to benefit from it, which in itself built him a whole new one.