Brian Brolly
Encyclopedia
Brian Brolly was an English
showbusiness entrepreneur. He was the managing director of Paul
and Linda McCartney
's MPL Communications
, and then of Andrew Lloyd Webber
's Really Useful Theatre Company
. He was a co-founder of the radio stations Jazz FM
and Classic FM
.
Brolly was born in London
. His father, Tom Brolly, was born in Belfast
but played football for Millwall FC and Crystal Palace FC, and played four times for Northern Ireland. Brolly was educated at St Dunstan's College
, and did National Service
in the Royal Ulster Rifles
. He played rugby for London Irish
, and worked in television from the 1957. He became a vice-president of MCA Television
at the age of 26. He married his wife, Gillian, in 1963. He worked on the production of films including A Countess from Hong Kong
(1967) — Charlie Chaplin
's last film — and the BBC
television drama series Colditz
(1972-74).
In 1969, Brolly met the young Andrew Lloyd Webber
and Tim Rice
and encouraged them to develop their musical
Jesus Christ Superstar
(1972-80). Given the controversial topic, he encouraged them to release an album of the music first. The double album
proved to be a great success, as was the musical when it opened on Broadway
in 1971. He assisted Paul and Linda McCartney setting up MPL Communications in 1973, becoming its managing director. He also assisted them with the management of Wings
, and produced records including Band on the Run
and Mull of Kintyre
.
He left MPL Communications in 1978 to become managing director of Lloyd Webber's Really Useful Group
. He also took a 30% interest in the company. At RUG, he developed the West End
musicals Cats
(1981-2002), Starlight Express
(1984-92) and The Phantom of the Opera
(1986-present), all of which have had extended runs on Broadway
and elsewhere. He sold half of his interest when RUG was floated on the stock exchange in 1986. He left in 1988, by which time RUG was producing books, television and films. Brolly took an £800,000 payoff and sold his remaining 14% stake in the business to Robert Maxwell
for £14 million.
In addition to continuing to produce hit shows, such as The Importance of Being Earnest
with Simon Callow, Brolly went on to start Jazz FM in 1990 and Classic FM in 1992, the latter in collaboration with GWR Group. He retained substantial stakes in them until his death. He was also was involved with the US leisure concept company LARC Inc, which designs theme parks such as Alton Towers
. He set up a theatrical production firm called Producers Four with fellow entertainment mogul . In 2004, Producers Four launched the Broadway musical Brooklyn
. He also invested in the Angelina Ballerina
children's books and in Tim Waterstone
's Daisy & Tom children's shops.
He died of a heart attack
on 28 October, 2006. He was survived by his wife and their two sons.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
showbusiness entrepreneur. He was the managing director of Paul
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
and Linda McCartney
Linda McCartney
Linda Louise McCartney, Lady McCartney was an American photographer, musician and animal rights activist. Her father and mother were Lee Eastman and Louise Sara Lindner Eastman....
's MPL Communications
MPL Communications
MPL Communications is the holding company for the business interests of Sir Paul McCartney. In addition to handling McCartney's post-Beatles work, MPL is also one of the world's largest privately owned music publishers through its acquisition of numerous other publishing companies...
, and then of Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber is an English composer of musical theatre.Lloyd Webber has achieved great popular success in musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 13 musicals, a song cycle, a set of...
's Really Useful Theatre Company
Really Useful Group
The Really Useful Group Ltd. is an international company set up in 1977 by Andrew Lloyd Webber. It is involved in theatre, film, television, video and concert productions, merchandising, magazine publishing, records and music publishing...
. He was a co-founder of the radio stations Jazz FM
102.2 Jazz FM
102.2 Jazz FM was a local jazz and soul music station for London run by GMG Radio. The station was based and broadcast from Castlereagh Street in London to around 15.5 million people within the broadcasting area...
and Classic FM
Classic FM (UK)
Classic FM, one of the United Kingdom's three Independent National Radio stations, broadcasts classical music in a popular and accessible style.-Overview:...
.
Brolly was born in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. His father, Tom Brolly, was born in Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
but played football for Millwall FC and Crystal Palace FC, and played four times for Northern Ireland. Brolly was educated at St Dunstan's College
St Dunstan's College
St Dunstan's College is a co-educational independent school in London, England. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference, and was an all-boys establishment until 1994...
, and did National Service
National service
National service is a common name for mandatory government service programmes . The term became common British usage during and for some years following the Second World War. Many young people spent one or more years in such programmes...
in the Royal Ulster Rifles
Royal Ulster Rifles
The Royal Ulster Rifles was a British Army infantry regiment. It saw service in the Second Boer War, Great War, the Second World War and the Korean War, before being amalgamated into the Royal Irish Rangers in 1968.-History:...
. He played rugby for London Irish
London Irish
London Irish RFC is an English rugby union club based in Sunbury, Surrey, where the senior squad train, the youth teams and senior academy play home games, and the club maintain their administrative offices. The senior squad play home games at the Madejski Stadium in Reading and compete in the top...
, and worked in television from the 1957. He became a vice-president of MCA Television
Music Corporation of America
MCA, Inc. was an American talent agency. Initially starting in the music business, they would next become a dominant force in the film business, and later expanded into the television business...
at the age of 26. He married his wife, Gillian, in 1963. He worked on the production of films including A Countess from Hong Kong
A Countess from Hong Kong
A Countess from Hong Kong is a 1967 British comedy film and the last film directed by Charlie Chaplin. It was one of two films Chaplin directed in which he did not play a major role , and his only color film. Chaplin's cameo marked his final screen appearance...
(1967) — Charlie Chaplin
Charlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor, film director and composer best known for his work during the silent film era. He became the most famous film star in the world before the end of World War I...
's last film — and the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
television drama series Colditz
Colditz (TV series)
Colditz is a British television series co-produced by the BBC and Universal Studios and screened between 1972 and 1974.The series deals with Allied prisoners of war imprisoned at the supposedly escape-proof Colditz Castle when designated Oflag IV-C during World War II, and their many attempts to...
(1972-74).
In 1969, Brolly met the young Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber is an English composer of musical theatre.Lloyd Webber has achieved great popular success in musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 13 musicals, a song cycle, a set of...
and Tim Rice
Tim Rice
Sir Timothy Miles Bindon "Tim" Rice is an British lyricist and author.An Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, Tony Award and Grammy Award-winning lyricist, Rice is best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he wrote Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus...
and encouraged them to develop their musical
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
Jesus Christ Superstar
Jesus Christ Superstar
Jesus Christ Superstar is a rock opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber, with lyrics by Tim Rice. The musical started off as a rock opera concept recording before its first staging on Broadway in 1971...
(1972-80). Given the controversial topic, he encouraged them to release an album of the music first. The double album
Double album
A double album is an audio album which spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically records and compact discs....
proved to be a great success, as was the musical when it opened on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
in 1971. He assisted Paul and Linda McCartney setting up MPL Communications in 1973, becoming its managing director. He also assisted them with the management of Wings
Wings (band)
Wings were a British-American rock group formed in 1971 by Paul McCartney, Denny Laine and Linda McCartney that remained active until 1981....
, and produced records including Band on the Run
Band on the Run
Band on the Run is an album by Paul McCartney & Wings, released in 1973. It was Wings' third album. It became Wings' most successful album and remains the most celebrated of McCartney's post-Beatles albums...
and Mull of Kintyre
Mull of Kintyre (song)
"Mull of Kintyre" is a song written by Paul McCartney and Denny Laine and performed by Wings. The song was written in tribute to the picturesque Kintyre peninsula in Scotland, where McCartney has owned High Park Farm since 1966, and its headland or Mull of Kintyre.The song was Wings' biggest hit...
.
He left MPL Communications in 1978 to become managing director of Lloyd Webber's Really Useful Group
Really Useful Group
The Really Useful Group Ltd. is an international company set up in 1977 by Andrew Lloyd Webber. It is involved in theatre, film, television, video and concert productions, merchandising, magazine publishing, records and music publishing...
. He also took a 30% interest in the company. At RUG, he developed the West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
musicals Cats
Cats (musical)
Cats is a musical composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot...
(1981-2002), Starlight Express
Starlight Express
Starlight Express is a rock musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber , Richard Stilgoe and Arlene Phillips , with later revisions by Don Black and David Yazbek . The story follows a child's dream in which his toy train set comes to life; famously the actors perform wearing roller skates...
(1984-92) and The Phantom of the Opera
The Phantom of the Opera (1986 musical)
The Phantom of the Opera is a musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on the French novel Le Fantôme de l'Opéra by Gaston Leroux.The music was composed by Lloyd Webber, and most lyrics were written by Charles Hart, with additional lyrics by Richard Stilgoe. Alan Jay Lerner was an early collaborator,...
(1986-present), all of which have had extended runs on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
and elsewhere. He sold half of his interest when RUG was floated on the stock exchange in 1986. He left in 1988, by which time RUG was producing books, television and films. Brolly took an £800,000 payoff and sold his remaining 14% stake in the business to Robert Maxwell
Robert Maxwell
Ian Robert Maxwell MC was a Czechoslovakian-born British media proprietor and former Member of Parliament , who rose from poverty to build an extensive publishing empire...
for £14 million.
In addition to continuing to produce hit shows, such as The Importance of Being Earnest
The Importance of Being Earnest
The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People is a play by Oscar Wilde. First performed on 14 February 1895 at St. James's Theatre in London, it is a farcical comedy in which the protagonists maintain fictitious personae in order to escape burdensome social obligations...
with Simon Callow, Brolly went on to start Jazz FM in 1990 and Classic FM in 1992, the latter in collaboration with GWR Group. He retained substantial stakes in them until his death. He was also was involved with the US leisure concept company LARC Inc, which designs theme parks such as Alton Towers
Alton Towers
Alton Towers is a theme park and resort located in Staffordshire, England. It attracts around 2.7 million visitors per year making it the most visited theme park in the United Kingdom. Alton Towers is also the 9th most visited theme park in Europe...
. He set up a theatrical production firm called Producers Four with fellow entertainment mogul . In 2004, Producers Four launched the Broadway musical Brooklyn
Brooklyn (musical)
Brooklyn the Musical is a musical with a book, lyrics, and music by Mark Schoenfeld and Barri McPherson.-Synopsis:Using the play within a play structure, Brooklyn focuses on a group of five ragtag homeless musicians known as the City Weeds...
. He also invested in the Angelina Ballerina
Angelina Ballerina
Angelina Ballerina is a fictional mouse, created by author Katharine Holabird and illustrator Helen Craig, who is featured in a popular series of children's books...
children's books and in Tim Waterstone
Tim Waterstone
Tim Waterstone is the founder of the United Kingdom bookselling retail chain Waterstone's. Waterstone's now employs 4,500 staff, is the largest specialist bookseller in Europe, with stores in the UK, Holland, Belgium and Ireland, and is the third largest bookseller in the world.- Early life and...
's Daisy & Tom children's shops.
He died of a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
on 28 October, 2006. He was survived by his wife and their two sons.
External links
- Brian Brolly
- Producer Brolly dies aged 70, The StageThe StageThe Stage is a weekly British newspaper founded in 1880, available nationally and published on Thursdays. Covering all areas of the entertainment industry but focused primarily on theatre, it contains news, reviews, opinion, features and other items of interest, mainly to those who work within the...
, 7 November 2006 - Obituary, The TimesThe TimesThe Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, 9 November 2006 - Obituary, The Daily TelegraphThe Daily TelegraphThe Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
, 14 November 2006 - Obituary, The IndependentThe IndependentThe Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
, 15 November 2006