#simon napier-bell

[lenetaylor]

Towards the end of any Scotch of St James evening, most people noticeably flagged. I’d usually sneak away to a seat by the wall and collapse in a half-awake, half-asleep daze, with the music throbbing erotically and my mind sliding drunkenly from image to image in a gentle circular motion. One night, I remember slipping softly off my chair and under the table. I lay there – comfortable and happy. After a while I opened my eyes, and there, crawling towards me through a forest of under-the-table legs, was John Lennon. He came up to me on all fours and stopped. I managed to slur out a question. ‘What you doing, John?’ He fixed me with a long, serious stare. ‘I’m looking for my mind,’ he said, and turned and crawled away again.

-- From You Don't Have to Say You Love Me by Simon Napier-Bell

(The Scotch of St. James was the most popular nightclub for the rich and famous in the Swinging Sixties.)

[mrepstein]

[at the Scotch of St. James] There were always one or two people there whom no one quite knew. One young lady, for instance, presented herself to the world as a living alternative to Vogue magazine - a dazzling personification of all that was chic and trendy. Covered with Cartier, she talked to anyone who’d let her in a deep guttural accent and with a demonic passion that scattered ‘darlings’ two or three to a sentence. If Brian Epstein arrived with a new ‘discovery’ she’d be on top of him at once.

‘Brian darling, you look wonderful, how do you do it? My goodness, darling, you always look so young and superb.’

He’d flinch of course, and try to move away, but she was unstoppable.

‘And darling, who’s this beautiful boy with you? Where did you find someone so fabulous? He’s a sensation; I think he could be an enormous star.’

A few minutes later she’d be telling everyone, ‘Darling, that Brian Epstein, he has no taste at all. Such common little things he picks up.’

- Simon Napier-Bell (You Don't Have To Say You Love Me, 1982)

[kulturegroupie]

Jimmy Page and Keith Relf with Simon Napier-Bell

[odk-2]

Fresh - Stoned in Saigon (1970) Ray Singer / Simon Napier-Bell from: "Fresh Today" (LP) "Stoned in Saigon" / "Just a Note" (Single)

Rock/Pop | Anti-War | Satire

JukeHostUK (left click = play) (320kbps)

Personnel: Ray Singer: Vocals

Studio Musicians: Allan Gorrie Dolby Mullens Paul Korba Pete Wilsher Tyzac Fry

Arranged by Ray Singer / Simon Napier-Bell Producer by Ray Singer / Simon Napier-Bell

Recorded: @ The Olympic Studios (?) in London, England UK 1970

Single Released: on September 11, 1970

RCA Victor Records

[goalhofer]

2024 olympics New Zealand roster

Athletics

James Preston (Wellington)

Sam Tanner (Papamoa)

Georgie Beamish (Hastings)

Hamish Kerr (Dunedin)

Ethan Olivier (Vereeniging, South Africa)

Jack Gill (Auckland)

Tom Walsh (Timaru)

Connor Bell (Auckland)

Zoe Hobbs (New Plymouth)

Maia Ramsden (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia)

Camille French (Hamilton)

Imogen Ayris (Auckland)

Eliza McCartney (Auckland)

Olivia McTaggart (Auckland)

Maddison-Lee Wesche (Auckland)

Tori Peeters (Cambridge)

Laura Bruce (Christchurch)

Canoeing

Finn Butcher (Auckland)

Hamish Legarth (Hastings)

Max Brown (Cambridge)

Grant Clancy (Auckland)

Kurtis Imrie (Wellington)

Luuka Jones (Tauranga)

Lucy Matehaere (Dunedin)

Lisa Buck (Ōhope)

Aimee Fisher (Rotorua)

Alicia Hoskin (Gisborne)

Olivia Brett (Auckland)

Tara Vaughan (Auckland)

Climbing

Julian David (Tauranga)

Sarah Tetzlaff (Tauranga)

Cycling

Laurence Pithie (Christchurch)

Corbin Strong (Invercargill)

Sam Dakin (Auckland)

Aaron Gate (Auckland)

Keegan Hornblow (Nelson)

Tom Sexton (Invercargill)

Campbell Stewart (Palmerston North)

Sam Gaze (Tokoroa)

Rico Bearman (North Harbour)

Niamh Fisher-Black (Nelson)

Kim Cadzow (Tauranga)

Ellesse Andrews (Christchurch)

Shaane Fulton (Hamilton)

Rebecca Petch (Te Awamutu)

Ally Wollaston (Waikato)

Bryony Botha (Auckland)

Emily Shearman (Palmerston North)

Nicole Shields (Clyde)

Samara Maxwell (Taupō)

Leila Walker (Cambridge)

Diving

Elizabeth Roussel (Auckland)

Equestrian

Clarke Johnstone (Matangi)

Tim Price (Rangiora)

Melissa Galloway (Tuamarina)

Jonelle Price (Rangiora)

Field hockey

Dom Dixon (Hawke's Bay)

Brad Read (Auckland)

Malachi Buschl (Dunedin)

Scott Boyde (Brisbane, Australia)

Dane Lett (Carterton)

Simon Child (Auckland)

Charlie Morrison (Christchurch)

Joe Morrison (Christchurch)

Jacob Smith (Wellington)

Sam Lane (Temuka)

Simon Yorston (Christchurch)

Nic Woods (Hamilton)

Kane Russell (Dunedin)

Blair Tarrant (Timaru)

Sean Findlay (Taradale)

Hugo Inglis (Dunedin)

Hayden Phillips (Levin)

Isaac Houlbrooke (Auckland)

Leon Hayward (Darwin, Australia)

Golf

Ryan Fox (Auckland)

Daniel Hillier (Wellington)

Ko Bo-Gyung (Orlando, Florida)

Gymnastics

Dylan Schmidt (Auckland)

Georgia-Rose Brown (Melbourne, Australia)

Maddie Davidson (Christchurch)

Judo

Moira Koster (Christchurch)

Sydnee Andrews (Camberley, U.K.)

Rowing

Tom Mackintosh (Hastings)

Dan Williamson (Beachlands)

Phillip Wilson (Wellington)

Robbie Manson (Hamilton)

Jordan Parry (Tauranga)

Matt Macdonald (Auckland)

Ollie Maclean (Auckland)

Tom Murray (Blenheim)

Logan Ullrich (Brisbane, Australia)

Emma Twigg (Napier)

Kate Haines (Hamilton)

Alana Sherman (Auckland)

Brooke Francis (Te Kauwhata)

Lucy Spoors (Christchurch)

Phoebe Spoors (Christchurch)

Jackie Kiddle (Wellington)

Shannon Cox (Whangārei)

Jackie Gowler (Raetihi)

Kerri Williams (Raetihi)

Davina Waddy (Christchurch)

Rugby

Scott Curry (Rotorua)

Brady Rush (Kerikeri)

Tone Shiu (Napier)

Akuila Rokolisoa (Lautoka, Fiji)

Dylan Collier (Ōpōtiki)

Ngarohi McGarvey-Black (Rotorua)

Fehi Fineanganofo (Auckland)

Andrew Knewstubb (Wellington)

Regan Ware (Tokoroa)

Tepaea Cook-Savage (Kaitaia)

Moses Leo (Auckland)

Leroy Carter (Tauranga)

Tevarn Webber (Hamilton)

Sione Molia (Pukekohe)

Michaela Blyde (New Plymouth)

Jazmin Hotham (Hamilton)

Sarah Hirini (Feilding)

Tyla King (Auckland)

Jorja Miller (Timaru)

Manaia Nuku (Hamilton)

Mahina Paul (Whakatāne)

Risealeaana Pouri-Lane (Auburn, Australia)

Alena Saili (Porirua)

Theresa Stefano (Auckland)

Stacey Fluhler (Papakura)

Portia Woodman (Kawakawa)

Sailing

Josh Armit (Auckland)

Lukas Walton-Keim (Auckland)

Tom Saunders (Auckland)

Isaac McHardie (Hamilton)

William McKenzie (Auckland)

Micah Williamson (Hamilton)

Greta Pilkington (Auckland)

Justina Kitchen (Auckland)

Joanna Aleh (Auckland)

Molly Meech (Auckland)

Erica Dawson (Auckland)

Shooting

Owen Robinson (Morrinsville)

Chloe Tipple (Christchurch)

Soccer

Alex Paulsen (Auckland)

Michael Boxall (Auckland)

Sam Sutton (Auckland)

Tyler Bindon (Los Angeles, California)

Finn Surman (Christchurch)

Joe Bell (Christchurch)

Matthew Garbett (Porirua)

Ben Old (Wellington)

Ben Waine (Wellington)

Sarpreet Singh (Auckland)

Jesse Randall (Wellington)

Kees Sims (Bracknell, U.K.)

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Jay Herdman (Invercargill)

Matthew Sheridan (Wellington)

Fin Conchie (Hamilton)

Lachlan Bayliss (Darwin, Australia)

Oskar Van Hattum (New Plymouth)

William Gillion (Auckland)

Isaac Hughes (Wellington)

Anna Leat (Auckland)

Kate Taylor (Christchurch)

Mackenzie Barry (New Plymouth)

Catherine Bott (Wellington)

Meikayla Moore (Christchurch)

Malia Steinmetz (Auckland)

Michaela Foster (Hamilton)

Macey Fraser (Rangiora)

Gabi Rennie (Rangiora)

Indiah-Paige Riley (Albany Creek, Australia)

Katie Kitching (Well, U.K.)

Victoria Esson (Christchurch)

Rebekah Stott (Papamoa)

Katie Bowen (Auckland)

Ally Green (Sydney, Australia)

Jacqueline Hand (Auckland)

Milly Clegg (Auckland)

Grace Jale (Auckland)

Annalie Longo (Auckland)

Surfing

Billy Stairmand (Raglan)

Saffi Vette (Gisborne)

Swimming

Kane Follows (Auckland)

Taiko Torepe-Ormsby (Christchurch)

Cameron Gray (Auckland)

Lewis Clareburt (Wellington)

Nina Brown (Auckland)

Eva Morris (Tauranga)

Laticia-Leigh Transom (Brisbane, Australia)

Erika Fairweather (Dunedin)

Eve Thomas (Auckland)

Vanessa Ouwehand (Auckland)

Caitlin Deans (Dunedin)

Tennis

Lulu Sun (Geneva, Switzerland)

Erin Routliffe (Caledon, Ontario)

Triathlon

Dylan McCullough (Auckland)

Hayden Wilde (Whakatāne)

Ainsley Thorpe (Auckland)

Nicole Van Der Kaay (Rotorua)

Weightlifting

David Liti (Auckland)

Wrestling

Tayla Ford (Christchurch)

[qnewsau]

Robert Stigwood: the greatest showman

New Post has been published on https://qnews.com.au/robert-stigwood-the-greatest-showman/

Robert Stigwood: the greatest showman

Young gay South Australian Robert Stigwood hitchhiked to England in 1955 and went on to become one of the greatest entertainment impresarios in history; responsible for movies like Saturday Night Fever and Grease.

In Adelaide, young Robert had worked as a copywriter for an advertising agency. In England, he initially found work in an ‘institution for backwards teenage boys’. His main job was ‘preventing any flow of traffic’ between dorms after lights out. Unimpressed by his duties, he quit.

After setting up a theatrical agency with a friend, Robert Stigwood quickly became a revolutionary power in British pop music. By the end of the sixties, he managed supergroup Cream and the Bee Gees, a trio of young English brothers who grew up in Brisbane.

Wham! manager Simon Napier-Bell wrote that Robert Stigwood loved the music business and became the first British music tycoon.

“He became fascinated by it. He loved its trickery and tease, and the apparent ease with which money could be made … And what made Robert Stigwood different from his predecessors is that he expanded laterally. He didn’t remain simply a manager or an agent. He moved into music publishing as well, and into pop concert promotion. But his real contribution to the British music scene was independent record production.

“He was in every way the first British music business tycoon, involved in every aspect of the music scene, and setting a precedent that was to become the blueprint of success for all future pop entrepreneurs.”

Soon, he added stage musicals to his repertoire, producing shows like Hair, Jesus Christ Superstar and Evita. In 1975, he produced the film of the Who’s rock opera Tommy.

And then he bought the rights to a magazine article about the disco scene emerging from gay and black clubs in the US.

Saturday Night Fever

Tribal Rites of the New Saturday Night was mostly made up, but something in the article resonated with Robert Stigwood. He’d already signed television actor John Travolta to a million-dollar contract and commissioned the Bee Gees to write the soundtrack.

With its gay and black origins whitewashed, disco suddenly enjoyed commercial appeal.

The double-LP soundtrack for Saturday Night Fever became the biggest-selling soundtrack album ever released.

The movie and soundtrack popularised disco around the world and had a massive impact on popular culture.

As did Robert Stigwood’s follow-up, Grease, again starring John Travolta, this time teamed up with Australian singer Olivia Newton-John.

Although well-known to be gay, Robert Stigwood never came out. He died in 2016, aged 81.

Gay Aussie was almost James Bond.

Aussie Living Treasure Reg Livermore.

Australian LGBTIQ Legends: Sir Robert Helpmann.

Dame Joan Hammond: coming out at 80.

For the latest LGBTIQA+ Sister Girl and Brother Boy news, entertainment, community stories in Australia, visit qnews.com.au. Check out our latest magazines or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

[siddysthings]

Sinéad O'Connor's former manager on her derailed comeback: 'It was going really well. Then she flew home… to have the operation.'

[olafsings]

Music History Today: April 28, 2023

April 28, 1966: Dusty Springfield hit Number 1 on the UK singles chart with "You Don't Have To Say You Love Me."

Initially, this was an Italian song composed by Pino Donnagio. Springfield heard Donnagio perform it at the San Remo festival and asked her friend Vicki Wickham, who produced the British TV show Ready Steady Go, to write some English lyrics. With the help of Yardbirds manager Simon Napier-Bell, she did.

Springfield didn't read much into the lyrics of her previous hits "Wishin' And Hopin'" and "I Only Want to Be With You," where she sang from the perspective of a woman who was perhaps a little over-devoted to her man. This song had a much more profound effect on the singer. She said that he cried when she first heard the song.

[kulturegroupie]

“I'd known Peter [Grant] from way back in the days of Immediate because our offices were next door to Mickie Most and Peter was working for him. The first thing we did with him was a tour of Australia and we found that suddenly there was some money being made after all this time.

I was only on a wage, anyway, with the Yardbirds. I'd like to say that because I was earning about three times as much when I was doing sessions and I've seen it written that ‘Page only joined the Yardbirds for the bread.’ I was on wages except when it came to the point when the wages were more than what the rest of the band were making and it was cheaper for Simon Napier-Bell to give me what everybody else was getting.”

— Jimmy Page, Trouser Press, 1977

[innervoiceart]

Jeff Beck - A Man For All Seasons: In the '60s (docu 2015)

At the end of 1964, celebrated guitar maestro Eric Clapton left the Yardbirds, a band still searching for their first hit. His replacement was a player of very different capabilities - a technical and sonic pioneer who helped propel the group from their former status as a blues covers act to become one of the most innovative and daring musical collectives working in the UK. This film traces Jeff Beck's music and career throughout the 1960s - his formative influences and early groups, his work with The Yardbirds, his brief, bizarre reinvention by producer Mickie Most as a solo pop star, and the first, radical incarnation of the Jeff Beck Group, during which he played alongside vocalist Rod Stewart and then bass player Ron Wood. Featuring a plethora of rare performance and studio footage, exclusive interviews, contributions from those who worked with and alongside Jeff during this period and a host of other features, all of which combine to make this documentary - the first yet to singularly focus on Beck's career - a legitimate tribute and enthralling history of this often underrated musician, writer and performer. Includes new interviews with: Yardbirds first manager, Giorgio Gomelsky; the man who took over from Gomelsky, colourful music biz impresario, Simon Napier Bell; Jeff's fellow Yardbirds, Jim McCarty & Chris Dreja; musical conspirators from the early 70s, Tim Bogert & Max Middleton; the ever shocking Pamela Des Barres (aka Miss Pamela of The GTOs); legendary music press scribes, Charles Shaar Murray & Chris Welch; Beck's official biographer Martin Power and Uncut Magazine editor, Nigel Williamson.

[britrockaholic2]

【What Do You Want】" Roger the Engineer" THE YARDBIRDS

Roger the Engineer (originally released in the UK as Yardbirds and in the US, Germany, France and Italy as Over Under Sideways Down) is an album by English rock band the Yardbirds. Recorded and released in 1966, it is the only Yardbirds album with guitarist Jeff Beck on all tracks and contains all original material. It was produced by bassist Paul Samwell-Smith and manager Simon Napier-Bell.

Although the British edition is still officially titled Yardbirds by authoritative chart sources, such as Official Charts Company,it has since been referred to, first colloquially, then semi-officially, as Roger the Engineer, a title stemming from the cover drawing of the record's audio engineer Roger Cameron by band member Chris Dreja.

It is the only Yardbirds album to appear in the UK Albums Chart, where it reached number 20. In the US, it reached number 52 on the Billboard 200 album chart. The album's best-known song, "Over Under Sideways Down", was released as single in May 1966, two months before the album.

The album is included in Robert Dimery's 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. In 2012, the album was ranked number 350 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

[don-lichterman]

'When Wham! split I lost £40million' - music mogul reveals all in new memoir | Music | Entertainment

‘When Wham! split I lost £40million’ – music mogul reveals all in new memoir | Music | Entertainment

Napier-Bell in 1984 when he was at his peak managing Wham! (Image: Getty) Many people would have fought tooth and nail to keep hold of a cash-cow star whose career was plainly about to go supernova. Instead, with a poise that’s been typical of his own stellar career behind the scenes, Simon concluded that being fired was, ironically, one of the best days of his life. He had already discovered…

[hootenanie]

you could! and I wish I knew more about Simon Napier-Bell Kit Lambert Larry Parnes et all so I could make it

I forget who on here said "and not like the beatles with their loving gay manager, our gay manager hates us and we buy our jeans at walmart" but I think about it every time I listen to the velvet underground

[guessimdumb]

Keith Relf - Shapes in My Mind (1966)

Even though Keith Relf was the lead singer of the Yardbirds, this solo 45 really sounds nothing like them (except for his distinctive voice). This song would perhaps best be describes as baroque-psych.

[eppysboys]

whats the story of brian in the crowd you speak of

In Debbie Geller’s book about Brian, Simon Napier-Bell says during a concert in 1966 (I think?) he allowed himself to join the crowd and scream along with the fans, because he wanted to experience that too, and express all the love he had for them.

“He told me that just once he allowed himself to go andstand at the back with all the girls in a concert in America. I think it was one of the stadiums where there were probably 25 000, 30 000 people, and he went into the crowd of girls and he just screamed like one of the girls, which he said is what he’d always wanted to do from the first minute he’d ever seen them.He had spent his whole life being restrained and wearing suits andsuddenly he just screamed and became the mad fan he wanted to be.”Simon Napier-Bell 

[ollywears]

Olly Alexander wearing Astrid Anderson sweatshirt in an interview for the “27 Gone Too Soon” documentary (released March, 2018).