Roger Grierson
Encyclopedia
Roger Grierson is a New Zealand
musician
and music industry executive.
.
In 1978, Grierson started Doublethink Records to record local Australian bands including Singles, Rejex, and Suicide Squad. In 1980 he started GREEN Records with Stuart Coupe and Warren Fahey
, and together they released records by Tactics
, Allniters
, Lime Spiders
, Spy V Spy, Do-Re-Mi
, Dropbears
, Beasts of Bourbon
, New Christs
and The Johnnys, Grierson producing the first Beasts of Bourbon record The Axemans Jazz.
Grierson managed The Allniters, Tactics and Spy v Spy in 1981. During this period he was the distribution manager for Larrikin Records
; in 1983 he took on The Johnnys, and in 1985 The Wreckery; the "junk rock" group formed by ex members of Nick Cave's backing band The Bad Seeds.
In 1987 Grierson started promoting Australian tours for acts signed to the New Zealand label, Flying Nun Records
. These acts include The Bats, The Chills, StraightJacket Fits and JPS Experience. In 1988 he started managing The Go Betweens and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
. In 1989 he toured Tackhead, Public Image Ltd, Pop Will Eat Itself
and began managing bands such as The Hummingbirds
and Tall Tales and True. At this time he also formed Lost in Music publishing and signed Tex Perkins
, Rebecca's Empire, Caligula, Dave Graney
, Clouds, Falling Joys, Crystal Set and Kim Salmon to name but a few.
In 1990 he promoted tours by Pop Will Eat Itself
, Buzzcocks
, Jesus Jones
, the Fall, Norman Cook/ Beats International. 1991 saw more touring with PWEI, Jesus Jones, Ned's Atomic Dustbin, The Godfathers, Dread Zeppelin, and Mojo Nixon. In 1983 Grierson was involved in the Dead Kennedys
tour in 1986, with The Gun Club and in 1989 with Sonic Youth and Dinosaur Jr.
In 1992 Grierson moved the Lost in Music catalogue to Polygram Music Publishing and became Managing Director of the now defunct Polygram Music Australia, a position he retained until 1997. During his time at the helm of Polygram Music, he signed Pauly Fuemana
, The Cruel Sea, David Hirschfelder
, the LennOno catalogue, Leonard Cohen
, Died Pretty
, Nick Cave
, Powderfinger
, The Fauves and The Go Betweens.
In 1998 Grierson replaced the long-serving Alan Hely as Chairman of Festival Records
and Festival Music publishing, working closely with James Murdoch
. Under Griersons' stewardship, Festival Records acquired Michael Gudinski's 51% share of Mushroom Records
to become Festival Mushroom Records in 1999.
In 2001, Grierson was promoted to Senior Vice President for Newscorp Music, continuing his existing roles but now also supervising Mushroom UK and Rawkus and he oversaw the Festival 50th anniversary in 2002.
In 2005 Grierson left Festival and retired from the music business. A year later, FMR sold to the Warner Music group, and its lucrative publishing assets were subsequently acquired by Michael Gudinski
In 2006 he proceeded to reform The Thought Criminals, and in 2007 formed the UnTh!nkables with Phillip Judd from Split Enz
.
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
and music industry executive.
Career
In 1975 Grierson headed to London and Egypt to live but found himself lured back to Sydney in 1976 to work at White Light Records. Soon afterwards he formed the punk band The Thought CriminalsThought Criminals
The Thought Criminals were an influential and enterprising Australian punk band based in Sydney. They formed in late 1977 and disbanded in late 1981...
.
In 1978, Grierson started Doublethink Records to record local Australian bands including Singles, Rejex, and Suicide Squad. In 1980 he started GREEN Records with Stuart Coupe and Warren Fahey
Warren Fahey
Warren Fahey AM is a social historian, author, record producer, broadcaster and singer.Fahey is the founder of Larrikin Records and the folk band The Larrikins...
, and together they released records by Tactics
Tactics (band)
Tactics were a post-punk band based in Sydney. They were formed in Canberra and moved to Sydney in late 1978. Tactics became known for running against the grain musically, lyrically, and stylistically...
, Allniters
Allniters
The Allniters were an Australian ska pop band based in Sydney during 1980–1987. Original line-up was Ted Ayers on sax, Dave Bebb on drums, Stuart Crysell on guitar, Martin Fabok on guitar, Peter Hill-Travis on vocals, Graham Hood on bass guitar, Brett Pattinson on vocals and Mark Taylor on...
, Lime Spiders
Lime Spiders
Lime Spiders are an Australian punk rock band, currently consisting of Mick Blood, Tom Corben, Gerard Corben, David Sparks and Tony Bambach.-Early Days :...
, Spy V Spy, Do-Re-Mi
Do-Re-Mi (band)
Do-Re-Mi aka Do-Ré-Mi were an Australian Rock/Pop band formed in Sydney in 1981 when Deborah Conway and Dorland Bray joined Helen Carter and later recruited Stephen Philip...
, Dropbears
Dropbears
The Dropbears were a popular part of the Australian music scene in the early 1980s. They had a couple of national chart hits and received national airplay. They had a minor charting hit with Shall We Go in 1984....
, Beasts of Bourbon
Beasts of Bourbon
Beasts of Bourbon was an Australian alternative rock band formed in 1983, with a line-up that has changed as the band splintered and reformed several times - Beginnings :...
, New Christs
New Christs
The New Christs are an Australian rock and roll band, led by Rob Younger, with various lineups through the 80s, 90s, Noughties. Younger was the singer in the influential Australian band Radio Birdman....
and The Johnnys, Grierson producing the first Beasts of Bourbon record The Axemans Jazz.
Grierson managed The Allniters, Tactics and Spy v Spy in 1981. During this period he was the distribution manager for Larrikin Records
Larrikin Records
Larrikin Records is a record company founded in 1974 by Warren Fahey. Larrikin started as an independent label and was sold in 1995 to Festival Records....
; in 1983 he took on The Johnnys, and in 1985 The Wreckery; the "junk rock" group formed by ex members of Nick Cave's backing band The Bad Seeds.
In 1987 Grierson started promoting Australian tours for acts signed to the New Zealand label, Flying Nun Records
Flying Nun Records
Flying Nun Records is an independent record label formed in Christchurch, New Zealand in 1981 by music-store proprietor Roger Shepherd.-History:The label was formed in the flurry of new punk rock-inspired labels forming in the early 1980s...
. These acts include The Bats, The Chills, StraightJacket Fits and JPS Experience. In 1988 he started managing The Go Betweens and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds are an Australian alternative rock band, formed in Melbourne in 1983. The band is fronted by Nick Cave and has featured international personnel throughout their career.-Formation and early releases :...
. In 1989 he toured Tackhead, Public Image Ltd, Pop Will Eat Itself
Pop Will Eat Itself
Pop Will Eat Itself are an English alternative rock band, originally formed in Stourbridge in 1986, with members from Birmingham, Coventry and the Black Country. Initially known as a Grebo act, their style changed to incorporate sample driven indie and industrial rock...
and began managing bands such as The Hummingbirds
The Hummingbirds
The Hummingbirds were an indie pop or jangle pop band from Sydney, Australia formed in 1986 from Bug Eyed Monsters. They were one of the most highly touted outfits to emerge from Sydney's inner-city scene during the late 1980s and were an early signing to the rooArt label. The Hummingbirds' single...
and Tall Tales and True. At this time he also formed Lost in Music publishing and signed Tex Perkins
Tex Perkins
Tex Perkins is an Australian singer-songwriter, who is widely known for fronting the popular Australian rock-band The Cruel Sea, but has also performed with the Beasts of Bourbon, Thug, James Baker Experience, The Butcher Shop, Salamander Jim, and Tex, Don and Charlie. He has also released many...
, Rebecca's Empire, Caligula, Dave Graney
Dave Graney
David John "Dave" Graney is an Australian rock musician and singer-songwriter from Mount Gambier, South Australia. Since 1979, Graney is generally accompanied by drummer, Clare Moore...
, Clouds, Falling Joys, Crystal Set and Kim Salmon to name but a few.
In 1990 he promoted tours by Pop Will Eat Itself
Pop Will Eat Itself
Pop Will Eat Itself are an English alternative rock band, originally formed in Stourbridge in 1986, with members from Birmingham, Coventry and the Black Country. Initially known as a Grebo act, their style changed to incorporate sample driven indie and industrial rock...
, 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...
, Jesus Jones
Jesus Jones
Jesus Jones are a British rock band. The Wiltshire-based group, formed in late 1988, recorded and performed in the late 1980s, throughout the 1990s, and into the 2000s. They are best remembered for their track, "Right Here, Right Now", an international hit and subsequently globally appropriated for...
, the Fall, Norman Cook/ Beats International. 1991 saw more touring with PWEI, Jesus Jones, Ned's Atomic Dustbin, The Godfathers, Dread Zeppelin, and Mojo Nixon. In 1983 Grierson was involved in the Dead Kennedys
Dead Kennedys
Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band formed in San Francisco, California in 1978. The band became part of the American hardcore punk movement of the early 1980s. They gained a large underground fanbase in the international punk music scene....
tour in 1986, with The Gun Club and in 1989 with Sonic Youth and Dinosaur Jr.
In 1992 Grierson moved the Lost in Music catalogue to Polygram Music Publishing and became Managing Director of the now defunct Polygram Music Australia, a position he retained until 1997. During his time at the helm of Polygram Music, he signed Pauly Fuemana
Pauly Fuemana
Pauly Lawrence Fuemana was a New Zealand singer, songwriter and musician. Fuemana was the lead singer of the music duo, OMC , which was best known internationally for the 1995 hit, "How Bizarre"...
, The Cruel Sea, David Hirschfelder
David Hirschfelder
David Hirschfelder is an Australian film score composer and performer.Hirschfelder was born and raised in Ballarat, Victoria....
, the LennOno catalogue, Leonard Cohen
Leonard Cohen
Leonard Norman Cohen, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, poet and novelist. Cohen published his first book of poetry in Montreal in 1956 and his first novel in 1963. His work often explores religion, isolation, sexuality and interpersonal relationships...
, Died Pretty
Died Pretty
Died Pretty, sometimes The Died Pretty, were an Australian alternative rock band founded by mainstays, Ron Peno as lead singer and Brett Myers as lead guitarist and backing vocalist, in Sydney in 1983 – briefly as Final Solution. Their music started from a base of early electric Bob Dylan with...
, Nick Cave
Nick Cave
Nicholas Edward "Nick" Cave is an Australian musician, songwriter, author, screenwriter, and occasional film actor.He is best known for his work as a frontman of the critically acclaimed rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, established in 1984, a group known for its eclectic influences and...
, Powderfinger
Powderfinger
Powderfinger was an Australian rock band that formed in Brisbane in 1989. From 1992 until their breakup the band lineup consisted of vocalist Bernard Fanning, guitarists Darren Middleton and Ian Haug, bassist John Collins, and drummer Jon Coghill....
, The Fauves and The Go Betweens.
In 1998 Grierson replaced the long-serving Alan Hely as Chairman of Festival Records
Festival Records (Australia)
Festival Records was an Australian music recording and publishing company which was founded in Sydney in 1952 and operated until 2005....
and Festival Music publishing, working closely with James Murdoch
James Murdoch (media executive)
James Rupert Jacob Murdoch is the younger son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch and currently serves as chairman and chief executive of News Corporation, Europe, and Asia, overseeing assets such as News International , SKY Italia , Sky Deutschland, and STAR TV .He sits on the News...
. Under Griersons' stewardship, Festival Records acquired Michael Gudinski's 51% share of Mushroom Records
Mushroom Records
Mushroom Records is an Australian recoJrd company formed by Michael Gudinski and Ray Evans in Melbourne in 1972. After its sale in 1998, it merged into Festival Mushroom Records. From 2005 to 2009, it is one of the record labels operated by Warner Bros...
to become Festival Mushroom Records in 1999.
In 2001, Grierson was promoted to Senior Vice President for Newscorp Music, continuing his existing roles but now also supervising Mushroom UK and Rawkus and he oversaw the Festival 50th anniversary in 2002.
In 2005 Grierson left Festival and retired from the music business. A year later, FMR sold to the Warner Music group, and its lucrative publishing assets were subsequently acquired by Michael Gudinski
Michael Gudinski
Michael Solomon Gudinski, AM is an Australian entrepreneur and businessman currently based in Melbourne who is a leading figure in the Australian music industry...
In 2006 he proceeded to reform The Thought Criminals, and in 2007 formed the UnTh!nkables with Phillip Judd from Split Enz
Split Enz
Split Enz were a New Zealand band of the 1970s and early 1980s featuring Phil Judd and brothers Tim Finn and Neil Finn. They achieved chart success in New Zealand, Australia, and Canada during the early 1980s ‒ most notably with the single "I Got You", and built a cult following elsewhere...
.