 |
Nigel Martin-Smith | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Manchester, England |
| Occupation(s) | Band manager |
| Website | www |
Nigel Martin-Smith is a Manchester-based English musical band manager. He helped form the 1990s British boy band Take That.
|
Nigel Martin-Smith | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Manchester, England |
| Occupation(s) | Band manager |
| Website | www |
Nigel Martin-Smith is a Manchester-based English musical band manager. He helped form the 1990s British boy band Take That.
Martin-Smith entered the entertainment industry in the early 1980s working as a casting agent from offices in Manchester's Royal Exchange. From there, he challenged the "London-centric" attitude of many in the business, championing the cause of local talent and establishing many actors in film and television. His first success in the music industry was the artist Damian who had a UK top 10 hit with a cover of "The Time Warp" in 1989. He also ran the Film Artist Agency at Half Moon Chambers in Manchester.
In 1989 following the success of US boyband New Kids on the Block, Martin-Smith decided to create a British version of NKOTB with a similar "chosen" formula of singers and dancers. In 1990, he assembled Gary Barlow, a 19-year-old from Cheshire who had been singing and playing the piano on the northern club circuit for five years; Mark Owen, an 18-year-old Manchester United trialist; Howard Donald, a 21-year-old vehicle painter who also DJ'd, danced and modelled; and Jason Orange, a 19-year-old painter and decorator from Manchester who had danced on Pete Waterman's television programme The Hit Man and Her . Martin-Smith put out an advertisement for another singer, and chose 16-year-old bodypopper Robbie Williams from Stoke-on-Trent.
Take That sold 19 million records (9 million albums and 10 million singles) between 1990 and 1996. Between the band's first single release in 1991 and their break-up in 1996, the BBC described Take That as "the most successful British band since The Beatles in the UK, beloved of young and old alike". [1] Take That's dance-oriented pop tunes and ballads dominated the UK charts in the first half of the 1990s, spawning two of the best selling albums of the decade with Everything Changes in 1993 and their Greatest Hits in 1996.
In 1995, Williams left the band. [2] After his departure, the third Take That album Nobody Else was re-issued in some markets excluding some vocals by Williams, most notably a new recording of "Love Ain't Here Anymore". Williams did not perform any lead vocals on this album, and band members later blamed this on his "lack of interest and commitment" in the recording of the album.[ citation needed ] The rest of the band finally split in 1996.
In 1995 Gay Times listed Martin-Smith as one of the most influential gay people in music. [3]
In 2007 Martin-Smith was parodied (along with the members of Take That) in the Channel 4 spoof documentary series Star Stories . [4]
Robbie Williams left Take That in 1995 under a strict performance and confidentiality agreement. In 1997, Martin-Smith sued Williams for unpaid commission in relation to a Take That management contract. Williams responded by saying that Martin-Smith had been in breach of his fiduciary duties as the group's manager. The court found in Martin-Smith's favour and determined that Williams had indeed violated the terms of the contract. Williams appealed against the decision but lost again. [5]
On Williams' 2006 album Rudebox , Williams originally detailed in the track "The 90s" about how he fantasised about gouging out Martin-Smith's eyes out during his time with Take That. The lyrics prompted Martin-Smith to instigate legal action against Williams and EMI prior to the album's release. EMI instructed Williams to rewrite the song and remove the offending lyrics. [6] [7] However, since promotional copies of the album had already been dispatched to the media and the lyrics had been made public knowledge, Martin-Smith proceeded with his lawsuit against Williams and EMI and won £300,000 in the High Court for defamation of character. Williams and EMI were also forced to issue a public apology to Martin-Smith. [8]
Martin-Smith entered into a consultancy deal with Virgin Records and managed the come back of Scottish singer Lulu. Around this time, Martin-Smith made a huge investment in his Manchester-based talent agencies moving into purpose-built studios and offices and employing leading agents to oversee his roster of artistes. The NMSM Talent Group now incorporates:
Nemesis Agency (of which Martin-Smith was the sole director) was sold in a pre-pack deal after entering administration in June 2013. [12] [13]
In 2005, Martin-Smith was contracted to work on the re-launch of Take That which saw him co-produce a TV documentary about the group, manage the release of their Ultimate Collection compilation album, and launch their sell-out UK tour. However, Martin-Smith was removed from the position once the documentary was over and just before the tour as, according to Mark Owen, he "wasn't needed." Martin-Smith later said: “I can’t believe what a success the comeback has been. I thought they would do the tour and that would be it. But now they could tour every year and pack stadiums.” [14]
In 2008 Nigel Martin-Smith, formed a new vocal group after auditioning boys from the North West. The initial line up consisted of Lewis Conroy, Dean Kelly, Jayme Kontzle and Craig Worsley. The band was initially called ASBRO, a play on words related to an ASBO (Anti Social Behaviour Order), and were described by Danny McFadden in The Guardian as the new East 17. [15]
Martin-Smith stated in an interview that, in seeking members for the band, he, "wanted them to be ‘streetwise’ as well as having bags of personality, a good voice and looking good in front of a camera." [16]
In early 2010, Martin-Smith auditioned for a fifth member, which resulted in the addition of Kris Evans to the group. At this point Lewis Conroy left the line up and the group became a four piece consisting of Evans, Kelly, Kontzle and Worsley. [17]
In 2011, due to the negative associations linked to the name ASBRO, the group became known as The Mend. Of the change, Dean Kelly stated in an interview, 'We loved the name Asbro, but we felt it was holding us back because there was negative feedback about it. We thought ‘we need to mend this’, hence how we came up with The Mend.' Jayme Kontzle added of the name change, "No record label has seen us as The Mend so it’s like a new start for us. It also stands for The Manchester End." [18]
They stated during their first appearance on Britain's Got Talent in early 2012 that they had been together for three years.
In 2000 Martin-Smith opened the first of his commercial entertainment venues in Manchester's gay village, a nightclub called Essential. [19] He then opened a second venue in 2004 called "Queer" – a cafe bar by day and a bar/club by night on Canal Street and finally "Boyz" – an underground pop bar club also on Canal Street, all of which have since closed down. [20]
Robert Peter Williams is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, launching a solo career in 1996. His debut studio album, Life thru a Lens, was released in 1997, and included his signature song "Angels". His second album, I've Been Expecting You, featured the songs "Millennium" and "She's the One", his first number one singles. His discography includes seven UK No. 1 singles, and all but one of his 14 studio albums have reached No. 1 in the UK. Six of his albums are among the top 100 biggest-selling albums in the UK, with two of them in the top 60, and he gained a Guinness World Record in 2006 for selling 1.6 million tickets in a single day during his Close Encounters Tour.
Take That are an English pop group formed in Manchester in 1990. The group currently consists of Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen. The original line-up also featured Jason Orange and Robbie Williams. Barlow is the group's lead singer and primary songwriter, with Owen and Williams initially providing backing vocals and Donald and Orange serving primarily as dancers.
Adam Peter Rickitt is an English actor and singer. He portrayed the role of Nick Tilsley in the British soap opera Coronation Street from 1997 to 1999, and again from 2002 to 2004. He later joined the New Zealand soap Shortland Street for a three-year stint in the 2000s. From 2017 to 2020, he appeared in the Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks, and from 2023, he is set to join the BBC soap Doctors.
Howard Paul Donald is an English singer, songwriter, drummer, pianist, dancer and record producer. He is a member of English pop-group Take That. Donald was also judge on the German reality talent show Got to Dance from 2013 to 2014, during a Take That-hiatus.
Jason Thomas Orange is an English former singer and songwriter. He is best known for being a member of the pop group Take That from the band's creation in 1990 until their hiatus in 1996, and again from their reunion in 2005 until he retired from entertainment in 2014.
"Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" is a song written by Paul McCartney, credited to Lennon–McCartney, released in 1967 on the album of the same name by the Beatles. The song appears twice on the album: as the opening track, and as "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)", the penultimate track. As the title song, the lyrics introduce the fictional band that performs on the album.
The discography of Robbie Williams, an English singer-songwriter, consists of twelve studio albums, one live album, ten compilation albums, one extended play, ten video albums, fifty-nine singles, six promotional singles and fifty-six music videos. Williams originally found success in the male pop group Take That, which he joined in 1990 following a successful audition: they released a series of UK number-one singles, including "Pray", "Relight My Fire", "Babe" and "Back for Good". Williams left Take That in 1995 to pursue a solo career; the group disbanded the following year.
Maxton Gig Beesley Jr. is an English actor and musician. His television and film credits include The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling (1997), The Match (1999), Hotel (2001), Bodies (2004-2006), The Last Enemy (2008), Survivors (2008–2010), Mad Dogs (2011-2013), Suits (2013), Empire (2015-2016), Ordinary Lies (2015), Jamestown (2017-2019), The Outsider (2020), Operation Fortune (2022), The Midwich Cuckoos (2022), and most recently Hijack (2023) for Apple TV.
"Lovelight" is a song written and originally performed by Lewis Taylor for his 2002 album, Stoned, Part I. In 2006, the song was covered by British singer Robbie Williams. His version was produced by Mark Ronson and was released as the second single from his seventh solo album, Rudebox, on 13 November 2006. Williams' version reached number eight on the UK Singles Chart and became a top-10 hit in five other European countries.
"She's Madonna" is a song by British singer Robbie Williams with the duo Pet Shop Boys, from his seventh studio album, Rudebox (2006). The track was released as its third and final international single on 5 March 2007 by Chrysalis Records. The subject matter of the song is a reference to the conversation Williams had with his ex-girlfriend Tania Strecker, over the reason her former boyfriend Guy Ritchie gave, for leaving her for American singer Madonna. Williams had played the recording to Madonna shortly after writing it, receiving a positive reaction.
Take That & Party is the debut studio album by English boy band Take That. Released on 17 August 1992 on RCA Records, it reached number two on the UK Albums Chart and stayed in the UK Top 75 album chart for 73 weeks. It was their only album not to reach number one until Wonderland also peaked at number two in 2017.
"Bongo Bong" and "Je ne t'aime plus" are two pop songs originally written and performed by Manu Chao. In 2006, the songs were combined into one track and covered by British singer Robbie Williams. The track was produced by Mark Ronson, and was released as a promotional single from Williams' seventh solo album, Rudebox, in Eastern Europe in early 2007. Vocals for the song were also provided by the English pop artist Lily Allen. The track does not have a music video, but EMI Music México nevertheless released the song to radio. Promo copies were sent in the beginning of 2007 and the single was released as digital download in early February.
Take That: For the Record is a television documentary about the British boy band Take That. It was originally screened in 2005, a decade after the group had originally split up.
Nigel Hitchcock is an English jazz saxophonist.
Neil Taylor is an English guitarist, best known for his long-time affiliation with Robbie Williams and for his work with Tears for Fears.
Progress Live was the eighth concert tour by English pop group Take That. The tour, sponsored by Samsung, supported their sixth studio album, Progress as they visited major cities in the UK and Europe. It was the first tour to feature all five original members performing together in 16 years and the final tour to feature Jason Orange and Robbie Williams. In its infancy, the tour accomplished many accolades including selling 1.34 million tickets in less than 24 hours. The tour quickly became the biggest tour in the United Kingdom. They played 8 nights each at Etihad Stadium in Manchester and also Wembley Stadium in London – breaking the previous record held by Michael Jackson's Bad World Tour set in 1988. These eight nights at Wembley Stadium saw Take That break the record for the highest-grossing residency by grossing £38 million from their respective London dates alone. At the conclusion of 2011, the tour was placed on Billboard's annual, "Top 25 Tours", and appeared third worldwide, earning over $180 million with 29 shows. Each member of the band received £7,900,000 from the tour after tax.
English singer Gary Barlow has released six studio albums, eighteen singles, twenty-two music videos and five featured songs. Barlow has had fifteen number-one UK singles, eleven number-one albums and has written thirteen UK number-one singles, selling over 50 million records worldwide and over seven million concert tickets.
Rudebox is the seventh studio album by English singer-songwriter Robbie Williams, released on 23 October 2006 in the United Kingdom. It features two guest appearances from the Pet Shop Boys. The album was produced by a variety of producers including: Mark Ronson, Soul Mekanik, Pet Shop Boys and Jerry Meehan.
"Rudebox" is song by English musician Robbie Williams from his seventh studio album of the same name (2006). It interpolates the 1987 song "Boops " by Sly and Robbie. The single was released on 4 September 2006, although download purchases allowed it to reach number 30 on the UK Singles Chart on 3 September. After the release of the CD single, it ascended 26 places to number four, selling 24,821 copies.
The Mend were a British boy band consisting of members Kris Evans, Jay Kontzle and Craig Worsley. They originally auditioned for The X Factor in 2011 but failed to get any further than bootcamp, due to having a management deal. They went on to audition for Britain's Got Talent in 2012 and reached the semi-finals but, after the public vote was invoked, due to the judges' split decision, they failed to go through to the finals. They were then brought back by the judges for the final and finished in seventh place overall. They released their debut single "Where Were You" on 24 March 2013, independently.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)