Fact #95871

SOURCE : THE PAST TIMES PROJECT : http://www.pasttimesproject.co.uk/lsl_browse.php?subsite=ll&story=1197#comments

Ian Grant : The Town - Brighton. The venue - The Dome. The night I saw my first gig.

Wasn't too impressed with the opening acts (Crispian St Peters and The Merseybeats) but when CREAM hit the stage I was transfixed.

When THE WHO performed their set I was totally blown away. I felt I had to be involved in some way. This was the night it all started. I would have never dreamt the 30 year journey I have been on since.

In the chain of links that followed, the first was running an 'arts lab' (69-70) in my local town of Worthing, West Sussex with a bunch of likeminded people. Promoting Rock and Folk in pubs and soon in the local halls. Deep Purple, Hawkwind, Pink Fairies, Kevin Ayers, and lesser known hippie bands of the time.

By 1973 I was entering the world of management/agency for local acts and continued to promote. Atomic Rooster, KC & The Sunshine Band, Wizzard, John Peel, Jeremy Spencer (a founder member of Fleetwood Mac whom I co-managed for 5 minutes until he had another 'call from God'), Leo Sayer (Leo aka Gerry was around in the arts lab days) and others.

In 1975 I teamed up with Derek Savage & Dai Davies to form Albion Agency & Management. At inception we looked after Roogalator & Rocky Sharpe and The Razors and ran The Nashville pub in West Kensington (which became the most popular pub venue to play in 76/77) The Red Cow & The Hope & Anchor.

We booked AC/DC (first UK gig), The Police, Sex Pistols, The Damned, Pretenders, Nick Lowe, The Jam, Elvis Costello, Dave Edmunds, Rockpile, Dire Straits, XTC, Aswad, Ian Dury and The Blockheads, Dr Feelgood, 101ers (Joes band pre-Clash), and many others in their formative years.

Some played many times, but none more so than THE STRANGLERS who we took on for management and agency representation in 1976. 999 were our second management act, but I departed in 1978 with The Stranglers and set up on my own.

Our agency had represented The Jam, Frankie Miller, Neil Innes, The Vibrators, Johnny Thunders, Wilko Johnson and briefly The Ramones & The Flamin Groovies who we brought to England for their first visit in 1977.

In 1980 I quit Albion and teamed up with my long time friend Alan Edwards from Worthing days and Stranglers publicist to form Modern Management (which became Grant-Edwards) and partner Alan in Modern Publicity. Eight fabulous years followed.

Our management roster consisted of HAZEL O'CONNOR, THE SKIDS, THE MEMBERS, THE PASSIONS, SMILEY CULTURE, BIG COUNTRY, THE CULT, MAXI PRIEST AND EUROPEAN REPRESENTATION OF ALICE COOPER. Alan already had a prestigious press agent roster when I joined him.

During my era the company represented THE ROLLING STONES, MICK JAGGER, DAVID BOWIE (whom Alan manages today), BLONDIE, LUTHER VANDROSS, THE BORDERLINE(as consultants & agents when first opened), LONDON HARD ROCK CAFE, GREGORY ISAACS, HALL & OATES, EURYTHMICS, INXS, OZZIE OSBOURNE, and JOAN JETT to name only a few clients.

We also had a brief flirtation with a record label, HEDD RECORDS (through Virgin Records) and signed The Gay Bykers on Acid, Soho, Muscle Shoals & The Seers.