John Reid (music manager)

John Reid (born 9 September 1949) is a former music manager, widely known for being the manager and former lover of singer Elton John as well as for managing the British rock band Queen.

John Reid
Born (1949-09-09) 9 September 1949
Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland
Occupation(s)Music manager
Years active1967–1999, 2005

Early life

Reid was born in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland, the son of John Reid, a welder, and Betty, a shop worker. Apart from three years in New Zealand, he was brought up in the Gallowhill district of Paisley. He attended St Mirin's Academy, where he was a fellow pupil with singers Gerry Rafferty and Joe Egan. At the age of 16 he attended Stow College in Glasgow where he studied marine engineering, but dropped out to move to London in 1967.[1]

Career

Reid began his music management career in 1967 at the age of 18 as a promoter for EMI. At the age of 19, he became the Tamla Motown label manager for the UK. In 1971, Reid set up his own company with a few hundred pounds in savings and a £5,000 loan.

In 1970 Reid met Elton John, then known as Reg Dwight, at a Motown Christmas party. They moved in with each other, and began a romantic relationship as well as a business one, as John became Reid's first client.[1] Their personal relationship stopped after five years, but he remained John's manager until 1998. Their professional relationship ended over a leaked letter detailing John's spending, which was found by Benjamin Pell and published in the Daily Mirror.[2] The ending of their business relationship in 1998[3] led to a legal action in 2000.[4] Reid settled out of court by paying John £3.4 million.[5][6] Reid's company earned more than £73 million from representing John between 1970 and 1998.[6]

In 1974, in New Zealand, in a widely reported incident, Reid threw champagne in the face of a party host and is alleged to have punched the Auckland model and journalist Judith Baragwanath[7] who came to the man's defence, sending her to the floor.[8][9] Later the same night he was involved in an altercation with a second journalist at a nightclub.[10] He was convicted and sentenced to a month in prison for assault.[1][10] Between 1975 and 1978, Reid was the manager of British rock group Queen.[6]

In 1994, he was the manager for Irish dancer Michael Flatley. After Flatley left Riverdance and ended his relationship with Reid, Flatley paid Reid approximately £1 million to settle a wrongful termination lawsuit.[11] Reid retired from management in 1999.[6] In 2005 and 2006, Reid was a judge on the Australian version of The X Factor alongside Mark Holden and Kate Ceberano.[12]

Reid was portrayed by Aidan Gillen in the 2018 Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, and by Richard Madden in the 2019 Elton John biopic Rocketman. Both actors are known for their roles in the series Game of Thrones.[13]

Personal life

In 1998, Reid sold his art collection, estimated to have been worth £2 million.[14]

References

  1. "For 28 years John Reid and Elton John were closer than husband and wife". Daily Record (Scotland). 13 May 1998.
  2. Boggan, Steve (14 March 1998). "Hacker stole secrets of stars from dustbins". The Independent.
  3. Perrone, Pierre (12 May 1998). "Arts: Sorry seems to be the hardest word". The Independent.
  4. "Leaked letter 'enraged' Sir Elton". BBC News. 4 December 2000.
  5. O'Neill, Sean (17 November 2000). "Ex-manager hears singer talk of 'betrayal'". The Daily Telegraph.
  6. "Turning raw talent into TV stars". The Age. 14 May 2005.
  7. Drayton, Joanne. Hudson & Halls : the food of love. Dunedin, New Zealand. ISBN 1-988531-26-8. OCLC 1036733710.
  8. Baragwanath, Judith (7 September 2002). "Punch and Judy". The New Zealand Listener.
  9. du Chateau, Carroll (November 1987). ""La Baragwanath: The Confessions of a Café Queen"". Metro magazine.
  10. Norman, Philip, 1953- (2001). Sir Elton (New ed.). London: Pan. ISBN 0-330-37734-5. OCLC 45337745.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  11. "Lord of dance appears to fall flat on his ego". The Irish Times. 21 October 1998.
  12. "Elton John and John Reid's Relationship Imploded After What We See in Rocketman". Esquire. 30 May 2019.
  13. Pond, Steve (16 May 2019). "Film Review: Elton John Gets a Musical Fantasy That Sometimes Achieves Liftoff". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  14. Lister, David (30 November 1998). "John Reid, guru to Elton John, sells art collection to 'simplify his life'". The Independent.
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