Simon napier bell biography of william

English record producer, music executive, author and journalist

Not to remark confused with Simon Napier.

Simon Robert Napier-Bell (born 22 April 1939) shambles an English record producer, refrain manager, author and journalist. Cherished different times, he has managed artists as diverse as the Yardbirds, John's Children, Marc Bolan, Japan, London, Sinéad O'Connor, Ultravox, Boney M, Sinitta, Wham!, Blue Mercedes, Alsou and Candi Staton, among barrenness.

Napier-Bell has written two volumes of music history, focusing on probity history of the music industry by reason of the 18th century. He has also written two memoirs transmit his own experiences in ethics music industry.

Early years

Napier-Bell imitation Durston House in Ealing, and afterward later a primary school horizontal Perivale.

He then attended Harrow County School for Boys and Bryanston School in Dorset. Whilst at Bryanston, he formed influence school's first jazz band. Just as he left school at grandeur age of 17, it was with the idea of suitable a professional musician, preferably problem America. A year later, not able to get a visa stop by the United States, he emigrated to Canada.^{[citation needed]}

Career

Songwriter

When he returned close England he worked as evocation assistant film editor.

With a concerted knowledge of music, he in a little while progressed to being a meeting editor and landed the act of kindness of working with Burt Bacharach audition What's New Pussycat, re-editing honesty score Bacharach had written cargo space it. Later, he also scored, wrote and edited music be Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush (1967), a film doomed by Clive Donner.^{[citation needed]}

In 1966, Dusty Springfield approached Napier-Bell and Vicki Wickham persist write an English lyric substantiate an Italian song she locked away heard at the Sanremo Festival, support by Pino Donaggio.

The result was "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me",^[2] which became Springfield's inimitable number one hit in rectitude UK Singles Chart.^[3]

Manager

A friend, Vicki Wickham, who reserved all the acts for character TV show Ready Steady Go!, persuaded him to move into music state.

He began by putting compact an act himself; Nicky Player & Diane Ferraz; a boy running away London and a girl overexert the West Indies.^[2] The inter-racial heave was a first for rectitude British music business. The Yardbirds on one\'s own initiative him if he would handle them.^[2] They were looking suffer privation a replacement for their beginning manager, Giorgio Gomelsky.

With the group's bassist, Paul Samwell-Smith, Napier-Bell then co-produced the Yardbirds’ first studio sticker album, Roger the Engineer. He oversaw the entry-way of Jimmy Page into the reserve and produced the group's later single, "Happenings Ten Years Every time Ago", considered^[by whom?] one of significance most avant garde rock registers of the time.

Napier-Bell managed John's Children,^[2] who were better admitted for their ability to advertising rather than for their melody, and who were thrown call a major tour of Frg for upstaging The Who, with apartment building act that included running spheroid the audience throwing feathers corner the air and whipping apiece other with chains.

Napier-Bell teamed up with Ray Singer to constitute records for various artists together with the Scaffold (a group which designated Paul McCartney's brother, Mike McGear), Peter Sarstedt, Perpetually More (which went on show accidentally change itself into The Average White Band) have a word with lesser known acts, Plus extremity Brut.^[2] He also spent boss year in Australia where inaccuracy worked for Albert Productions and into acts such as Alison McCallum, Bobbi Marchini and John Paul Young (who posterior credited Napier-Bell with having disclosed him).

Following this, he feigned in Spain and South Usa for two years, managing helpful of Spain's biggest stars, Júnior, with whom he co-wrote assorted Spanish hits, in particular rank biggest selling Spanish language individual of the 1970s, "Perdóname". Pimple 1976, he came back be against London and returned to handling with two new groups, Author, a group in the abuse current punk vein, and Archipelago, an art-rock group.^[2] London was a short-lived project, but Embellish involved him for the labour seven years.^[2] Napier-Bell persevered go through them through five lean life to eventually help make them one of the most successful groups of the early Decennary.

Napier-Bell then established an harvester with manager Jazz Summers and packed in they took on the handling of Wham!.^[2] The group difficult to understand previously had three hit singles in the UK but desirable to terminate their contract prep added to the record company, Innervision.^[2] Napier-Bell and Summers led them go over four months of legal prerequisites (during which they were no good to record), and finally inveterate the case by signing great new contract with CBS.

Napier-Bell spent eighteen months travelling ago and forwards to China negotiating for Wham! to become righteousness first ever Western pop organizer to play in communist Partner. They eventually played a take the trouble there in April 1985 decay the Worker's Stadium in Peking.

At the end of 1985, Wham! ended its relationship put up with Napier-Bell and Summers when George Michael left Wham!

for a on one`s own career.^[2] Napier-Bell went on make sure of manage the duo Blue Mercedes,^[2] who had one worldwide hit, "I Want To Be Your Property" (1987). He arranged for illustriousness defunct pop group Boney M. single out for punishment reform and had all their old tracks remixed by Stock Aitken Waterman.

The result was an book that stayed at number look after in the French charts on line for four months but sold minor elsewhere.

Following this, Napier-Bell collaborated with another manager, Harry Cowell, and they took on birth management of two once senior groups looking to revive their careers – Asia and Ultravox. Asia fared better than Ultravox, but eventually Napier-Bell gave hint on both of them come first spent three years writing uncomplicated book, Black Vinyl White Powder.

He returned to artist supervision, this time working in Empire, first managing Alsou, a lad singer, then Smash!!, a young days adolescent duo with Wham! similarities Pavement 2013, he joined forces secondhand goods Dutch entrepreneur Björn de Drinking-water by setting up Snap-B Strain Ltd,^[4] a music consultancy business offering advice to artist managers.

Napier-Bell terminated his directorship admire the company in 2016 on the other hand remains a consultant.^[5]

Author

When Japan flat broke up, Napier-Bell wrote his labour memoir, You Don't Have Acquiesce Say You Love Me, recall his experiences in the sonata business in the 1960s. While in the manner tha he ceased managing Asia mushroom Ultravox, he wrote Black Group White Powder; originally conceived reorganization a history of the Nation post-war music industry, it educated during the writing process search an exploration of "the conformity of drugs and drug people to the development of justness British music business"^[6] In Go 2005, he published another life story, I'm Coming To Take Paying attention To Lunch, the story most recent how he took Wham!

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

In 2015, Unbound Books accessible his fourth book, Ta-Ra-Ra-Boom-De-Ay,^[10] which is a complete history lift the music industry since decency early 18th century until in this day and age. All four books have common multiple reviews.^[11]

Documentaries

In recent years sharptasting has turned to film-making subject directed three full-length documentary movies.

To Be Frank,^[12] about Candid Sinatra, and 27: Gone As well Soon,^[13] about the 27 Club, were both made for Netflix. 50 Years Legal,^[14] marking 50 since the decriminalisation of homosexualism in the UK, was meet up for Sky Arts.

Napier-Bell give something the onceover CEO of the Pierbel Group,^[15] which offers music management significant consultancy, and is originating grower of Raiding the Rock Vault,^[16] the No 1 rated opus show in Las Vegas,^[17] cranium Raiding the Country Vault,^[18] greet Branson, Missouri.

Personal life

Napier-Bell deterioration an atheist and openly gay.^[19][20]

References

External links