Bernardo Moya interviews Harvey Goldsmith to find out how he came to know the greatest rock artists in the world and what skills you need to promote them.
last 50 years down to being in the Scouts! "We used to go to camp and we were trained
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how to look after people, to think about security, to look at first aid, your responsibilities and the things you had to do. My thought process came from that early training," he says, recalling how he would make copious lists of all the things that could go wrong to pre-empt them. So, woggles and uniforms were the unlikely influence behind one of the world's greatest rock band promoters. It all started early for Harvey. At University in
Brighton he took over the Student Union canteen on Friday night and ran his own club. "Within about a month," he says, "you couldn’t get in." He realised there was a real need for live entertainment. Within a short time Harvey was booking bands at
12 universities in the South, had promoted the young Eric Clapton and had his own club in Brighton. Then as an exchange student he did a Greyhound bus road-trip around the US. On the way he won $900 in a casino in Las Vegas, befriended The Grateful Dead in San Francisco and arranged to sell posters in Europe for the rival Avalon and Fillmore clubs. "The artwork was amazing," he says. These
early experiences are great examples of his flexible and entrepreneurial mindset. He clearly sees
hen Harvey Goldsmith was growing up, his house was awash with music. But he puts his ability to organise some of the most impressive musical events of the
opportunities and follows his instincts. From his early years of promoting Eric Clapton, clubbing, hanging out with The Grateful Dead through to organising tours for the likes of Manfred Mann and The New Seekers, he has simply been willing to go for it. The list of his achievements in the world of rock
music, include organising the massive Live Aid concert in 1985 which raised £116 million for the starving in Africa and the later Live 8 concert in 2005 that saw rock music played on TV across the world for 17 hours. So how did he build such mega success? What stands out is Harvey's brilliant skill at
networking. "Most people when they grow up stay within their peer group. I used to flit from one group to another and befriended a number of groups. I don’t know why, but I just did. I kind of enjoyed it." Enjoyment rather than money is at the heart of his
motivation. "I never really thought about the money," he says. "My theory was that if I picked the right act, put on a great event, sold the tickets, it’s going to work and at the end of the day... Money was never ever my prime mover." He also learned from his own and others'
mistakes. When he was young he attended an overpriced Ray Charles gig in which Ray Charles appeared for only 35 minutes. He angrily left, promising himself never to let that happen again. "So, I learnt how to look after people," he says. He was also prepared to take risks. "I had a good eye and ear for talent and the other thing that➺
WATCH HARVEY GOLDSMITH EXPLAIN HOW HE REACHED THE TOP IN MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT - USE IN THE VIDEO THING