Subject: RE: Whatever happened to Gordon Haskell?
From:
GUEST,gordon haskell
Date: 11 Aug 11 - 04:24 AM
I am grateful for many blessings. The 'fame' bit has never been fully explained and it takes a while to decide whether or not to tell the story, or not ,as it is just as Kipling wrote, an impostor.
My former manager Ian Brown, played a large role. He was a bankrupted farmer living in a rented house but he had the same gift as those dark characters who act as PR men for Prime Ministers and Presidents. I always made my records with my own money yet I had to endure his false reporting right from the start, of him saying over and over again "I lent Gordon 200 quid as he was broke to make his record and I gave it to Johnnie Walker'. He loved to make himself the hero, and frankly I was amused at his immaturity and allowed him his little ego trips. Silly little man I thought.
So what is the truth? And should I even bother to tell it, as who cares?
I am not even sure if I care anymore as I eventually rejected that crappy crummy little world for a heavenly one here in Skopelos.
I already owned a house when I met Ian Brown. I already had a 28,000 pa income from gigs via the bars. He had nothing. Yet the illusion and perception remain the same. That I owe it all to Ian Brown. To the media twats who know nothing about music, it wasn't the song, very well sung if I may be so bold, very well written and performed and produced by me. It was all down to the genius of Ian Brown.
Johnnie walker and I were old friends from 1966 and I had seen him a few times over the 35 years. The day Johnnie got my record I was with Tiggy, his wife to be. He fell in love with her, that very night and played my record and the following day me and Tiggy parted company and they became a serious item. I was pleased for them even if it seemed like a trade off for getting my record on the air. I pretended not to feel betrayed. I told you this business is crummy.As soon as it was aired the public went nuts and my success was assured. So far Ian Brown had had little to do with it. Where Ian Brown scores is his ability to get things done like distribution and publicity . Not for publicity's sake but to give retailers the confidence in stocking a 'dark horse' type of record. 55 years old? Not really chum. It escalated from there. Ian Brown's own little record company could not perform its tasks with such large orders so we agreed to sign to Warners. At that point he, morally, should have dropped his percentage. I paid 50% for 6 weeks of his time and it amounted to well over 300,000. He made sure all the phone calls for work went through his office. I received no offers, or phone calls. It was like being imprisoned, owned, an inanimate 'object' . I would hear from him when he had had time to cook something up. I was kept well and truly in the dark. He transferred his affections from me to the heads of record companies, to media editors, creating a network for any future artists he might control in the same way. I did not meet anyone. I was considered lucky and financially, it is true, I was at the time. When Ian Brown began to grasp how easy it is to make money in his new position as a manager of a successful artist, he really got into his stride. Clear Channel the largest promoter in the country cooked up a deal with him and Asgard for A Gordon Haskell tour. It was just like Zero Mostel in the movie'The Producers'. How can we make more money out of a flop than we can out of a hit? Simple. After 2 weeks of tickets being available , feed a story to our friends in The Tabloids that only 39 tickets were sold in Hammersmith and the tour is being cancelled. Result? The Guarantee stipulates compensation for the 'Artist' of 100,000 pounds. I received 5000 pounds of that with his kindly words' That's the easiest 5000 you've ever made'. He omitted to clarify where the rest of the money went. Nice work Ian. Gradually my gratitude turned when I saw what a creep he had become in the space of 2 months. Then it all began to become clear. It was indeed a blessing and I am indeed grateful to him for he educated me in the ways of the world and here I am in paradise with the same money I had when I met him. Paradise isn't that expensive and to stay around such people as the above just to make money would be the same foolishness that they have chosen. None of them have anything I want. Or need. No one uses me anymore and it feels great. So thankyou to all those who tried to make a fool out of me. How little did you know that time would show you how morally, aesthetically, and politically bankrupt you all are. The tide has turned. So from being a bankrupt farmer you grew into a bankrupt human being. Congratulations. I hope you too are grateful for what you have learned. Best wishes from paradise. I thank you.
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