John Mostyn (music manager)

Last updated
John Mostyn
Origin Cheshire, England (Based in Birmingham)
Website Mostyn.net

John Mostyn is a prominent music industry figure in the West Midlands, most notable for managing The Beat and later, Fine Young Cannibals. [1]

Contents

Mostyn discovered Detroit based group Inner City, who under his direction had the hits 'Big Fun' and 'Good Life'. [2]

Arguably, Mostyn's most notable success was with Fine Young Cannibals, whom he managed after The Beat separated. With Mostyn as manager the band enjoyed huge success, including a Billboard number 1 album with their album The Raw & the Cooked , which has been certified Platinum 11 times around the world. The band initially had great difficulty securing a recording contract. As described in an interview [3] with John Mostyn : -

"We'd gone, in three months, from every record company rejecting them to every record company wanting them; that's what managers do."

Mostyn is also credited with launching Ocean Colour Scene, via his own Phffft label. [4]

Though not originally from Birmingham [5] Mostyn has spent most of his professional life in Birmingham. [2] He has had considerable influence in the area's music industry, reportedly bringing over £30 million into the local economy. [1] Mostyn was also involved in the launch of 2 Tone Records, as referenced in his biography at mostyn.net : -

"Gerry Dammers of the then unheard of ‘Specials’ bought a copy of their first single to John and announced that he was concerned that they would be able to sell their first pressing of a thousand. John immediately booked the band on a national tour and Chrysalis records picked up the band and the ‘Two Tone’ label. The Two Tone explosion was under way." [6]

Mostyn has recently been working as tour manager for James Hunter.

Mostyn is now running Bob Lamb's (ex-UB40 producer) studio in Birmingham, now known as Highbury Studio. [7] The studio has been used in the past by such notable acts as Duran Duran, Ocean Colour Scene and Stephen Duffy. [8] Currently it hosts some of Birmingham's finest artists such as Ruby Turner, Alternative Dubstep Orchestra, and Goodnight Lenin. [9]

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References

  1. 1 2 "Home - 4Talent". Channel4.com. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  2. 1 2 [ dead link ]
  3. ↑ "Birmingham Music Heritage - Ancient Music". Birminghammusicheritage.org.uk. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  4. ↑ "John Mostyn | Creative Republic - Representing the creative sector in the Birmingham region". Archived from the original on 2008-09-05. Retrieved 2008-08-17.
  5. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2008-08-17.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. ↑ "Biography « John Mostyn's Blog". Archived from the original on 2009-04-14. Retrieved 2008-08-17.
  7. ↑ "Highbury Studio Birmingham | Analogue recording studio in Birmingham". Archived from the original on 2013-06-05. Retrieved 2020-09-13.
  8. ↑ "Amazon.com: Online Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs & more". Highburystodio.com. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  9. ↑ "Highbury Studio Birmingham | Blog | Analogue recording studio in Birmingham". Archived from the original on 2013-06-18. Retrieved 2012-03-05.
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