Simon Napier-Bell

Simon Napier-Bell has been a music manager since the 60s. Amongst the many acts he has managed are The Yardbirds, Tyranosaurus Rex, Marc Bolan, Japan, Sinitta, Wham!, Candi Staton, Asia, Boney M, and Ultravox.

In the 1960s he was also a songwriter and wrote the lyrics for the Elvis Presley and Dusty Springfield hit 'You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me'. He also worked in films, editing Burt Bacharach’s score for 'What’s New Pussy Cat' and writing the score for Here 'We Go Round the Mulberry Bush'.

In the 1970s, he produced records for many artists including The Scaffold, Peter Sarstedt, Francoise Hardy, Forever More (an early version of The Average White Band), and John Paul Young. He also became the manager of British rock group Japan.

In the 1980s he became the manager of Wham! (comprising Andrew Ridgeley and George Michael) and spent two years negotiating with the Chinese government for Wham! to become the first Western pop or rock group to play in China.

These days Simon writes, broadcasts and lectures throughout the world on the music business. He does consultancy on entertainment business issues and marketing in Asian markets. He has written three successful books...

“Black Vinyl White Powder” - said by the Sunday Telegraph to be “One of the most authoritative, intelligent, diligently researched, conscientiously indexed, and thoroughly unpretentious disquisitions on the history of the British pop scene yet written”. And by the Times Educational Supplement, to be “compelling and authoritative”.

“I’m Coming To Take You To Lunch” - about taking Wham! to China, voted ‘Book of the Year’ by Rainbow Network.

“You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me” - about his experiences in the British music business in the Sixties, Voted No 11 in The Observer’s ‘Top 50 Music Books of All Time’. http://www.simonnapierbell.com