Paul Charles is a Northern Irish

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

 novelist, music promoter

Promoter (entertainment)

An entertainment promoter i.e. music, wrestling, boxing etc is a person or company in the business of marketing and promoting live events such as concerts/gigs, boxing matches, sports entertainment , festivals, raves, and nightclubs.- Business model :Promoters are typically hired as independent...

, and talent agent

Talent agent

A talent agent, or booking agent, is a person who finds jobs for actors, authors, film directors, musicians, models, producers, professional athletes, writers and other people in various entertainment businesses. Having an agent is not required, but does help the artist in getting jobs...

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Charles managed his first act, The Blues by Five, when he was 15 years old, and had to list the number of his local telephone call box

Telephone booth

A telephone booth, telephone kiosk, telephone call box or telephone box is a small structure furnished with a payphone and designed for a telephone user's convenience. In the USA, Canada and Australia, "telephone booth" is used, while in the UK and the rest of the Commonwealth it is a "telephone...

 on business cards. The telephone would be answered by whoever was passing, who would then walk to Charles' house and knock on the window to let him know there was a call for him. In 1967 he moved from Northern Ireland to 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...

, planning to study Civil Engineering

Civil engineering

Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like roads, bridges, canals, dams, and buildings...

, but soon began writing for 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...

 based magazine City Week, filing live reviews of Irish groups performing in London, and returned to the music business full time. He then became manager, agent, lyricist and roadie for progressive rock

Progressive rock

Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...

 band Fruupp

Fruupp

Fruupp, who formed in early 1971, were an early 1970s progressive rock band, which originated in Northern Ireland, but developed a fan base in Britain. They released several albums, including Future Legends , Seven Secrets , The Prince of Heaven's Eyes , and Modern Masquerades...

. When the band split up Charles formed a promotion agency, Asgard, with associate Paul Fenn. The agency's first big signing was English punk

Punk rock

Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...

 band the Buzzcocks

Buzzcocks

Buzzcocks are an English punk rock band formed in Bolton in 1976, led by singer–songwriter–guitarist Pete Shelley.They are regarded as an important influence on the Manchester music scene, the independent record label movement, punk rock, power pop, pop punk and indie rock. They achieved commercial...

. Charles' clients now include Tom Waits

Tom Waits

Thomas Alan "Tom" Waits is an American singer-songwriter, composer, and actor. Waits has a distinctive voice, described by critic Daniel Durchholz as sounding "like it was soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months, and then taken outside and run over with a car."...

, Jackson Browne

Jackson Browne

Jackson Browne is an American singer-songwriter and musician who has sold over 17 million albums in the United States alone....

, Crosby, Stills & Nash and Ry Cooder

Ry Cooder

Ryland Peter "Ry" Cooder is an American guitarist, singer and composer. He is known for his slide guitar work, his interest in roots music from the United States, and, more recently, his collaborations with traditional musicians from many countries.His solo work has been eclectic, encompassing...

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Detective Inspector Christy Kennedy series

• I Love the Sound of Breaking Glass (1997)
• Last Boat to Camden Town (1997)
• Fountain of Sorrow (1998)
• The Ballad of Sean and Wilko (2000)
• The Hissing of the Silent Lonely Room (2001)
• I've Heard the Banshee Sing (2002)
• Justice Factory (2004)
• Sweetwater (2007)
• The Beautiful Sound of Silence (2008)

Non-fiction

• Pocket essentials: How to Succeed in the Music Business (2002)
• Pocket Essentials: The Beatles (2003)
• The Complete Guide To Playing Live (2004)

External links

• Paul Charles Blog