An interesting admission about Brian being responsible for the band's formation. I'm not sure I've ever heard Mick or Keith admitting that. And it wasn't until Bill was on the verge of getting out, and published Stone Alone, that Brian got his due, at least from Bill. Even Keith wants to revise history and give Stu the credit. I wonder if its Keith and Mick wanting it to be seen that the Stones started at Dartford Station with their mythical re-meeting, and not when Brian placed an advert for a new group.

Showbiz411's Roger Friedman reports that ALO was told his Rock Hall acceptance speech needed to be approved in advance. Also, he was only offered two tickets.

[www.showbiz411.com]

Rolling Stones' ex-manager explains Rock Hall induction boycott


Betina la Plante

By Randy Lewis
April 7, 2014

Former Rolling Stones manager and producer Andrew Loog Oldham, in response to a request for comment from The Times, has elaborated on the reasons for his decision to skip his own induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this week.

Oldham tells Pop & Hiss that the decision reflects “an equal measure of both” his feelings about how the institution has changed over the years and how his induction has been handled this year.

As outlined in a previous Pop & Hiss post, Oldham, who produced the Stones' albums and singles from 1963 to 1967, remarked recently that he objects to the way the ceremony has changed since cameras were allowed to record highlights for subsequent airing as cable TV specials.

He also confirmed previous reports that he was unhappy that he and Beatles manager Brian Epstein were being inducted jointly. English musician-producer-manager Peter Asher is scheduled to welcome both into the hall on Thursday in Brooklyn.

“I do feel,” Oldham, 70, wrote via e-mail from Frankfurt, Germany, “as much as I was initially [pleased] to be inducted, that with what the HoF/HBO has become that any manager/producer inducted, if he is not allowed to have pertinent music related to his career played -- as both Quincy Jones and Lou Adler had last year -- then he is reduced to appearing like those accountants who appear at the Oscars, Grammys, or Tonys to assure us that nothing was rigged. Both Brian and I did dreams -- the acts did the business.

“Whether Peter Asher is appropriate or not to induct me is beside the point,” he wrote. “I found it uninvitational to be told by a HoF lady worker that Peter would be inducting BOTH myself and Brian Epstein.

“I know from my inter-reactions with previous inductees that ... there has always been some spirit of discussion as to securing an appropriate, connected party to handle such a personal moment," Oldham wrote.

"[My] concern [was] that, whilst without Brian Epstein securing a recording contract for the Beatles none of us would be having this conversation, by having both Brian (whom I worked for doing PR for the Beatles until I met the Rolling Stones) and myself squeezed into one ‘British Invasion managers class of '64’ segment, that would seem to be failing to address the reason we are being inducted: our artists."

He also wrote that further communication with Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation President Joel Peresman "had a take it or leave it tone."

“I think the honor is in the work and … so with all these factors….. no input, no discussion, just an attitude of ‘show up, smile, read your speech and enjoy the evening,’ … I decided it was not for me and at the beginning of last month I wrote the HoF that I would not be attending.

“I did not go into detail, I just said ‘due to circumstances...’ . They just wrote back and asked for an address to send the trophy.

“It is a long way from the Waldorf-Astoria [hotel in New York, where the induction ceremonies began in 1986] and I do understand that the HoF has to dance to a new beat to survive but it's hardly rock 'n’ roll.

“Who knows?” Oldham wrote in conclusion. “Maybe they also forgot to tell me that Susan Boyle is flying in to sing ‘Wild Horses’.”

Asked earlier for a response to Oldham’s previous remarks, a spokeswoman for the Rock Hall said officials had no comment.

[www.latimes.com]

"Uninvitational," eh? Neologism of the week.

this sucks that Andrew Loog Oldham will not be at the barclay center on thursday night. i knew it was a long shot with his recent fractured foot .

[www.latimes.com] HOF's are for sports.. Music is not about competition or back slapping. More art less lists...



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2014-04-09 18:24 by DoomandGloom.

good man

Well said Andrew.

I guess Andrew's famous friends wouldn't induct him.

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RollingFreak
I guess Andrew's famous friends wouldn't induct him.

i hope that is not the reason

Clearly, he doesn't respect the organization that's bestowing an honor on him, so he doesn't take it as an honor - doesn't care - his prerogative. For him to complain that people aren't behavng the way they did in 1978 when good ole Phil Spector strode in with 3 bodyguards and people were smacked up and coked up and wild in that way...time marches on. Maybe if he went he would have discovered a hella after party, if that's his thing.

His prerogative entirely.

However, if he's looking for a wild and no-holds-barred party, maybe it's better that those kinds of parties aren't the norm anymore.
Haven't we already lost too many because of that kind of behavior?

(Brian, Keith Moon, Hendrix, Joplin, Morrison, John Bonham, Cobain...the list goes on.)

Why in the world would he even be inducted? He's only a step up from Klein.

The days when the general public would actually know enough about Andrew to care whether he showed up are long gone. What a shame, because I think he deserves to be honored.

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nick
Why in the world would he even be inducted? He's only a step up from Klein.

That's a bit hard .....I get the feeling that he did not want to be inducted by Peter Asher ? Why

Quote
EJM
That's a bit hard .....I get the feeling that he did not want to be inducted by Peter Asher ? Why

It is but, an article about it? Who's more full of themselves, him or the HOF? I look at him as the butler who served Klein the catalog yet he manages to get a free pass by most.

Regardless of the Loog's non-attendance, if any NYCers here are interested in going to the ceremony, there are hundreds of tickets for less than $30 on stubhub right now.

Quote
6s7s9s
His prerogative entirely.

However, if he's looking for a wild and no-holds-barred party, maybe it's better that those kinds of parties aren't the norm anymore.
Haven't we already lost too many because of that kind of behavior?

(Brian, Keith Moon, Hendrix, Joplin, Morrison, John Bonham, Cobain...the list goes on.)

You don't have to sell me -- ALO is who said RRHoF is lame now because it's not f'rills anymore, all wild and cool
like it used to be in the good ole days dot dot dot

- swiss

Not really. What ALO is saying is that the HOF used to be an insider party to celebrate each other, and he'd be pleased to be in there with Nob Crewe and Phil Spector and other what he calls "pimpresarios." Now that it's a big show for the public, with tickets on sale, he thinks he has no place being up there. Yeah, he does think the old, less corporate days were more creative, but he's sober for years so it's no about glorifying substance abuse.

Quote
TheGreek
this sucks that Andrew Loog Oldham will not be at the barclay center on thursday night. i knew it was a long shot with his recent fractured foot .

"it's the hip and it's on the mend. thank you."

- ALO, April 9

[twitter.com]

His recent comments indicate he hadn't planned on attending prior to the broken hip.

Getty Images

Comments from Peter Asher, inducting Brian Epstein and Andrew Loog Oldham:

“Brian loved, protected and respected the Beatles,” said Peter Asher (of Peter & Gordon, and went on to produce James Taylor and Linda Ronstadt), who inducted the late manager. “He took his responsibilities extremely seriously…. His biggest fear was letting the Beatles down in any way, whatsoever.”

Asher fondly remembered the times he spent with the band socially, but noted that the Beatles lamented they had to wear suits onstage — and the Stones could wear “whatever they wanted.”

That sartorial difference was due to Loog Oldham, who “was a promotional genius,” Asher said. “Andrew also saw what the Stones could become culturally. He brilliantly positioned the dangerous Stones.”

Besides marketing smarts, Loog Oldham also steered the band’s creative side. “He encouraged — commanded — Mick and Keith to write their own songs,” Asher noted. Oldham very publicly opted not the attend the ceremony, saying that over the years the inductions had turned into “a televised spectacular.”

The manager’s music industry acumen also received a nod — specifically, his Immediate Records, which was home to Humble Pie, the Small Faces, Fleetwood Mac and many more.

“Two disparate, extraordinary and prescient managers for two different musical groups—groups parallel only in their intense ambition,” Gordon said.

“With the very greatest pride and indefatigable delight, I induct two men who helped create musical history.”

[ultimateclassicrock.com]

-----

A video from Mick Jagger praised Oldham for his casting of The Stones as bad boys.

“He always made sure we were as nasty as possible,” Jagger beamed.

[www.nydailynews.com]

Quote
nick
Why in the world would he even be inducted? He's only a step up from Klein.

I don't even see them as from the same species.

I get way too interested in the business dealings of rock and roll at times...

The ALO debacle really rubs me the wrong way. So much so that I had to write a blog post about the situation, including a few shared emails that he and I exchanged on the subject.

Recap of how he was treated by the Rock Hall Foundation:
-No input on who would introduce him.
-No Rolling Stones music to played by anyone. (or Beatles for that matter)
-A 'plus one' invitation to the ceremony.
-Take it or leave it attitude from the Foundation.

Read my blog if so inclined here:
Andrew Loog Oldham's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Fiasco

Good work Kurt!

I already posted this in the Hall of Fame thread, but it's worth another spot for Asher's lovely words about Andrew and Brian Epstein. Some great photos, too!

Quote
Kurt
I get way too interested in the business dealings of rock and roll at times...

The ALO debacle really rubs me the wrong way. So much so that I had to write a blog post about the situation, including a few shared emails that he and I exchanged on the subject.

Recap of how he was treated by the Rock Hall Foundation:
-No input on who would introduce him.
-No Rolling Stones music to played by anyone. (or Beatles for that matter)
-A 'plus one' invitation to the ceremony.
-Take it or leave it attitude from the Foundation.

Read my blog if so inclined here:
Andrew Loog Oldham's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Fiasco

Pffft, you had to look up who peter Asher is?