Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Don't idolise Idol creator

Pop Idol creator Simon Fuller is the most successful British music manager of all time, according Billboard, with his acts selling 116 million units in the US alone. He’s managed The Spice Girls and Annie Lennox, has been responsible for more than 500 number-one singles globally, and more than 240 number-one albums.

According to Billboard, that makes him more important than Peter Grant (Led Zeppelin, Bad Company) and Beatles manager Brian Epstein. I suppose you could throw in Andrew Loog-Oldham (who managed the Stones in their formative years as well as Wham!) and Malcolm McLaren. They certainly had a strong and lasting impact on popular culture, even if they didn't accumulate massive fortunes.

The fact that Fuller created the Pop Idol franchise is NOT good, peoples. It homogenizes music and stifles creativity, just continuing the downward spiral of rock and roll. For this alone he deserves to have his fingernails ripped out with pliers while being bombarded with a loop of Barry Manilow music.

No comments: