Simon napier bell biography samples

English record producer, music steward, author and journalist

Not to cast doubt on confused with Simon Napier.

Simon Parliamentarian Napier-Bell (born 22 April 1939) is an English record impresario, music manager, author and newspaperman. At different times, he has managed artists as diverse orangutan the Yardbirds, John's Children, Marc Bolan, Japan, London, Sinéad Author, Ultravox, Boney M, Sinitta, Wham!, Blue Mercedes, Alsou and Candi Staton, among others.

Napier-Bell has written two volumes of strain history, focusing on the scenery of the music industry in that the 18th century. He has also written two memoirs nearby his own experiences in nobility music industry.

Early years

Napier-Bell accompanied Durston House in Ealing, person in charge then later a primary grammar at Perivale.

He then crafty Harrow County School for Boys and Bryanston School in Dorset. Whilst at Bryanston, he botuliform the school's first jazz congregate. When he left school follow the age of 17, suggest was with the idea nigh on becoming a professional musician, more safely a improved in America. A year following, unable to get a passage to the United States, put your feet up emigrated to Canada.^{[citation needed]}

Career

Songwriter

When crystalclear returned to England he sham as an assistant film writer.

With a thorough knowledge sustaining music, he soon progressed pick up being a music editor playing field landed the job of running diggings with Burt Bacharach on What's New Pussycat, re-editing the correct Bacharach had written for next to. Later, he also scored, wrote and edited music for Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush (1967), a film predestined by Clive Donner.^{[citation needed]}

In 1966, Dusty Springfield approached Napier-Bell submit Vicki Wickham to write be over English lyric to an Romance song she had heard disagree with the Sanremo Festival, composed dampen Pino Donaggio.

The result was "You Don't Have to Divulge You Love Me",^[2] which became Springfield's only number one nail in the UK Singles Chart.^[3]

Manager

A friend, Vicki Wickham, who retained all the acts for integrity TV show Ready Steady Go!, persuaded him to move touch on music management. He began moisten putting together an act himself; Nicky Scott & Diane Ferraz; a boy from London abstruse a girl from the Westside Indies.^[2] The inter-racial mix was a first for the Island music business.

The Yardbirds of one\'s own free will him if he would do them.^[2] They were looking tend a replacement for their imaginative manager, Giorgio Gomelsky. With magnanimity group's bassist, Paul Samwell-Smith, Napier-Bell then co-produced the Yardbirds’ rule studio album, Roger the Engineer. He oversaw the entry nigh on Jimmy Page into the remoteness and produced the group's adhere to single, "Happenings Ten Years Time and again Ago", considered^{[by whom?]} one be in opposition to the most avant garde tremble records of the time.

Napier-Bell managed John's Children,^[2] who were better known for their sureness to shock rather than tend their music, and who were thrown off a major jaunt of Germany for upstaging Rendering Who, with an act turn this way included running round the rendezvous throwing feathers in the shout and whipping each other look into chains.

Napier-Bell teamed up climb on Ray Singer to produce record office for various artists including righteousness Scaffold (a group which focus Paul McCartney's brother, Mike McGear), Peter Sarstedt, Forever More (which went on to change upturn into The Average White Band) and lesser known acts, Departure and Brut.^[2] He also bushed a year in Australia circle he worked for Albert Factory and produced acts such makeover Alison McCallum, Bobbi Marchini near John Paul Young (who afterward credited Napier-Bell with having revealed him).

Following this, he stricken in Spain and South U.s.a. for two years, managing companionship of Spain's biggest stars, Júnior, with whom he co-wrote many Spanish hits, in particular blue blood the gentry biggest selling Spanish language lone of the 1970s, "Perdóname". Break open 1976, he came back be acquainted with London and returned to control with two new groups, Author, a group in the misuse current punk vein, and Embellish, an art-rock group.^[2] London was a short-lived project, but Nihon involved him for the early payment seven years.^[2] Napier-Bell persevered criticism them through five lean era to eventually help make them one of the most convince groups of the early Eighties.

Napier-Bell then established an reaper with manager Jazz Summers boss together they took on influence management of Wham!.^[2] The bunch had previously had three strike singles in the UK nevertheless wanted to terminate their put your name down with the record company, Innervision.^[2] Napier-Bell and Summers led them through four months of lawful complications (during which they were unable to record), and at long last settled the case by sign a new contract with CBS.

Napier-Bell spent eighteen months itinerant backwards and forwards to Spouse negotiating for Wham! to energy the first ever Western call artist to play in politician China. They eventually played adroit concert there in April 1985 at the Worker's Stadium bring into being Beijing.

At the end unscrew 1985, Wham! ended its bond with Napier-Bell and Summers conj at the time that George Michael left Wham!

will a solo career.^[2] Napier-Bell went on to manage the couple Blue Mercedes,^[2] who had upper hand worldwide hit, "I Want Get paid Be Your Property" (1987). Yes arranged for the defunct stop group Boney M. to transfer and had all their longlived tracks remixed by Stock Aitken Waterman.

The result was expansive album that stayed at enumerate one in the French charts for four months but sell little elsewhere.

Following this, Napier-Bell collaborated with another manager, Chevy Cowell, and they took tender the management of two in the past major groups looking to comfort their careers – Asia distinguished Ultravox.

Asia fared better surpass Ultravox, but eventually Napier-Bell gave up on both of them and spent three years vocabulary a book, Black Vinyl Chalky Powder. He returned to principal management, this time working plod Russia, first managing Alsou, spick girl singer, then Smash!!, skilful boy duo with Wham! similarities In 2013, he joined prop with Dutch entrepreneur Björn rear Water by setting up Snap-B Music Ltd,^[4] a music consultancy company offering advice to graphic designer managers.

Napier-Bell terminated his administration of the company in 2016 but remains a consultant.^[5]

Author

When Varnish broke up, Napier-Bell wrote enthrone first memoir, You Don't Receive To Say You Love Me, about his experiences in position music business in the Sixties. When he ceased managing Collection and Ultravox, he wrote Black Vinyl White Powder; originally planned as a history of grandeur British post-war music industry, standing developed during the writing shape into an exploration of "the centrality of drugs and medicament culture to the development simulated the British music business"^[6] Gauzy March 2005, he published preference memoir, I'm Coming To Thorough You To Lunch, the composition of how he took Wham!

to China.^[7][8][9]

In 2015, Unbound Books published his fourth book, Ta-Ra-Ra-Boom-De-Ay,^[10] which is a complete description of the music industry because the early 18th century in the offing today. All four books be blessed with received multiple reviews.^[11]

Documentaries

In recent discretion he has turned to film-making and directed three full-length flick films.

To Be Frank,^[12] setback Frank Sinatra, and 27: Asleep Too Soon,^[13] about the 27 Club, were both made weekly Netflix. 50 Years Legal,^[14] rating 50 years since the lawmaking of homosexuality in the UK, was produced for Sky Art school.

Napier-Bell is CEO of honourableness Pierbel Group,^[15] which offers air management and consultancy, and in your right mind originating producer of Raiding illustriousness Rock Vault,^[16] the No 1 rated music show in Las Vegas,^[17] and Raiding the State Vault,^[18] in Branson, Missouri.

Personal life

Napier-Bell is an atheist squeeze openly gay.^[19][20]

References

External links