Robert Stigwood

[Disco Child Ballads]

Has died at the age of 81.

He seems like an important figure in pop music. He managed Joe Meek early on in his career, and of course he gave the world the Bee Gees.

[G-Man]

Robert Stigwood

I'd have sworn he was dead already. He looked old to me when Saturday Night Fever came out.

He also managed Cream and Eric Clapton.

[Stumpy Pepys]

Robert Stigwood

I always imagined him as one of your 70s cigar-chewing impresarios, in a Soho office, permanently on the phone.

He was instrumental in the career of Andrew Lloyd-Webber as well. And the Grease film. What was less forgivable was the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band movie. Was Xanadu one of his?

[ursus arctos]

Robert Stigwood



The bell has been silenced

[Jah Womble]

Robert Stigwood

Stumpy Pepys wrote: I always imagined him as one of your 70s cigar-chewing impresarios, in a Soho office, permanently on the phone.

He was instrumental in the career of Andrew Lloyd-Webber as well. And the Grease film. What was less forgivable was the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band movie. Was Xanadu one of his?

No, Xanadu was Gordon and Silver - but, by crikey Moses, there were some wretched music movies out at that time. You Can't Stop the Music and The Music Machine also come to mind. (Edit: "Xanadu features music from Olivia Newton-John, ELO, Cliff Richard and The Tubes." How the f*** did The Tubes get involved in that?)

The cigar-chewer sounds more like Allen Klein - Stigwood was hardball, but in a more benign way. If that makes any sense, which I don't think it does.

[Hamish! Dougal!]

Robert Stigwood

Stigwood head hunted a certain David English from Decca Records to run his label, subsequently named Red Cow Records. If the name isn't well known to you then his list of achievements reads as follows:-

Shagged a Miss World, an African princess and many others
Managed The Bee Gees
Was an extra in A Bridge Too Far, Lisztomania, Emmerdale Farm.
Threw up on Ian Botham
Thrown out of school for having sex with another pupil on a Yorkshire hillside
Travelled to Morocco and back on £10 aged 17
Formed the Bunbury charity cricket team, and wrote the Bunbury children's books
Instrumental in setting up the Bunbury/ESCA Festival of schoolboy cricket, from which 90% of the England test team has emerged in the last 20 years.

In his book Confessions Of A Loon, he recalls how when he became president of Red Cow, none of his artists were recording due to drugs/rehab/no talking to each other, so for the first release on the new label he commissioned a version of How Much Is That Doggie In The Window by Rover. Played backwards. It sold 6 copies!

[Eggchaser]

Robert Stigwood

My mother in law worked for Stigwood in the 1970s and got invited to all sorts of galas, opening nights and star studded parties.

Prior to that she worked for Alan Sugar's dad.