Barry Clayman
“I think I’m 42. I think someone forged my birth certificate.”
Linda and Barry with long-term client Shirley Bassey, Linda’s late father, Harry; and Barry’s mother, Mary
Linda and Barry with long-time friend Cliff Richard
Barry and The Walker Brothers in Tokyo in the mid 1960s
Julio Iglesias is just one of the many artists whose career has benefited through Barry’s influence
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expected to be hanging out with him until five or six o’clock in the morning, because he didn’t sleep that well. And then you’d have to get to the office the next morning and Frank could sleep until the afternoon.” Half of the modern business – Phil Bowdery, Barry Dickins, John Giddings, Rod Smallwood – came through MAM or a related concern, such as the Apollo chain of theatres, which MAM built up from the 1970s on an initial tip from Barry, and where Paul Latham got his first job. “I am happy to say we are still very good friends with all of them,” says Barry. Chrysalis took over MAM in 1984, giving Barry the opportunity to sit on the board alongside Sir George Martin, who enjoyed the story of his near miss with the Fab Four. But by 1986, having had enough of corporate life, he was out on his own again as Barry Clayman Concerts (BCC), whose most extravagant success took only a couple of years to arrive. “Every promoter in the UK wanted to promote Michael Jackson,” he says. “We spent three weeks in LA doing that deal and it was on, off, on, off. It wasn’t until the final, final meeting that it got agreed, and to be honest, I wasn’t even sure then. I didn’t meet Michael until we actually did the tour.” BCC sold the Bad tour across Europe and promoted it in the UK, where the itinerary took in seven Wembley Stadium dates plus one each at Cardiff Arms Park, Roundhay Park, Milton Keynes Bowl and Aintree in three visits during July, August and September 1988. Ticket applications for the first five Wembley dates exceeded 1.2m, and the combined run at the stadium broke an attendance record (504,000) that stood until Take That in 2011. Barry remains the only UK promoter Jackson ever had – he was also responsible for the Dangerous tour in 1992 and HIStory in 1997. He recalls with amusement midnight trips to Madame Tussauds, Hamleys and Tower Records, all of which happily opened their doors so Michael could shop unbothered. He found the star “very easy-going. I mean, there wasn’t a lot of conversation. I have never been one to hang around artists, and with Jackson, that definitely wouldn’t have been the right move. But he was always very polite. And the best thing I have ever seen onstage, without a doubt.” Prince, who racked up 24 Wembley Arena shows for BCC on three visits in the 1990s wins Barry’s follow-up prize – “A genius,” he says – and he commends many others. “They don’t come any better than Tom Jones,” he says. “Incredible artist, unbelievable voice and a really decent human being. As a promoter, you don’t have to be in love with the artist. My first reaction is: can they sell tickets? How many tickets can they sell? You are gambling your money, that’s what you are going to care about. But if they are also nice people, it is just even more pleasant.” Neil Diamond remains a firm friend, and a lowmaintenance kind of star. “I remember going out to see him on tour, and at the next show I was there again and Neil said, ‘Barry, what are you doing here?’ I said, ‘I’m here because you’re here.’ And he said, ‘you really don’t need to do that.’ But some artists, you really do.”
IQ Magazine July 2016