Andrew Lauder obituary: record label executive who shaped rock
Influential A&R man who signed the Stranglers, Buzzcocks and Motörhead in the Seventies but let Queen and Elton John slip through the net, dies aged 78
OK:
As head of A&R at Liberty and then United Artists in the late 1960s, his British signings ranged from the cosmic space-rock of Hawkwind to the surreal humour of the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band via the high-octane electric blues of the Groundhogs
And:
He was one of life’s incurable enthusiasts. Into the 1970s he signed Dr Feelgood, Motörhead,
There’s a definite thread that connects Groundhog, Dr F and Motorhead.
There’s a connection between Hawkwind and Motorhead too.
Lemmy played base in Hawkwind 1971-1975 and is singing the vocals on the Silver Machine single.
He started out as their roadie.
He also tried to teach Sid Vicious how to play bass.
it is said that Lemmy was thrown out of Hawkwind for doing too much drugs.
I remember being entranced by the live footage of Hawkwind performing ‘Silver Machine’ on Top of the Pops in 1972, when I was a mere nine years old. Always loved the song. Always loved the band too – well, at least from a few years later when I understood the concept of ‘the double live album’ and bought Space Ritual.
Influential A&R man who signed the Stranglers, Buzzcocks and Motörhead in the Seventies but let Queen and Elton John slip through the net, dies aged 78
Some might hazard that the first three named were musicians whilst the last two were variety acts.
I believe I may have seen Queens first gig at Kingston Poly. The only memorable part of that evening was a Chinese we had after in Kingston.
Never heard of him.
Shocked by his age. He started all this when he was 20.
One of the daggers that Keith Emerson used to stick in his organ was a gift from Lemmy.
I feel that comment might need further clarification for those ignorant of Mr Emerson’s habits!
For anyone passing by who falls in to that category from about 55 seconds: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xggFzkyd288&list=RDxggFzkyd288&start_radio=1
I did a Tube once when Motorhead were also on the show. Those guys were permanently in character.
A&R men, eh? I met Muff Winwood, one of the shrewdest but also nicest of people. Gave me some excellent advice.
Then there was the teenage A&R man at CBS. I was waiting outside his office to play him my demo tape. He was on the phone to his mate, boasting that he’d been too pissed a few days ago to travel to Brighton to see a hot new band, and therefore missed signing Haircut One Hundred. He thought it was hilarious.