Amsterdam Russ Posted January 25, 2012 Posted January 25, 2012 I'm looking to find out more on record promotions exec, John Fisher. What I do know is that: * he worked for WB in the mid-60s * was a promotions man for Stax in 68, and * headed up the WEA-owned Atlantic in 1974. That's presuming that they are one and the same person! Anyone have additional info on the guy, please?
Guest Paul Posted January 25, 2012 Posted January 25, 2012 Hello Russell, It sounds like you need info on John Fruin (deceased). He was MD at Polydor UK (when they had the Stax and Atlantic licenses) and also MD of WEA UK in the 1970s. Paul
boba Posted January 26, 2012 Posted January 26, 2012 Hello Russell, It sounds like you need info on John Fruin (deceased). He was MD at Polydor UK (when they had the Stax and Atlantic licenses) and also MD of WEA UK in the 1970s. Paul I'm impressed that Paul knew exactly who you were talking about and his history!
Guest Paul Posted January 26, 2012 Posted January 26, 2012 I'm impressed that Paul knew exactly who you were talking about and his history! Hello Bob, It was an easy guess because John Fruin was a well-known executive in the UK music business and his name was often mentioned in the trade press etc. I always used to read Music Week etc. I didn't connect a "John Fisher" with Atlantic or Stax so I thought it must be John Fruin because he was MD at Polydor UK when they held the Stax and Atlantic licenses and then he was MD at WEA UK. Paul
Guest Paul Posted January 26, 2012 Posted January 26, 2012 (edited) He died in 2006... https://www.musicweek...2§ioncode=1 Edited January 26, 2012 by Paul
Ian Dewhirst Posted January 26, 2012 Posted January 26, 2012 Hello Bob, It was an easy guess because John Fruin was a well-known executive in the UK music business and his name was often mentioned in the trade press etc. I always used to read Music Week etc. I didn't connect a "John Fisher" with Atlantic or Stax so I thought it must be John Fruin because he was MD at Polydor UK when they held the Stax and Atlantic licenses and then he was MD at WEA UK. Paul He was quite a player as well. Didja hear about the cut-out scam he ran with the Warners overstocks in the mid 1970's? Ian D
Amsterdam Russ Posted January 26, 2012 Author Posted January 26, 2012 Hello Russell, It sounds like you need info on John Fruin (deceased). He was MD at Polydor UK (when they had the Stax and Atlantic licenses) and also MD of WEA UK in the 1970s. Paul Sorry Paul, your days as a soul psychic are numbered. Stick to the day job John Fisher was the name, and promoting records was his game. Before posting here I had a trawl through the Billboard archives available through Google Books and found only the details I posted at the beginning of this thread. Looking a little deeper this morning, Billboard is providing much more information. Here are a few clippings... From the other clippings I've read, he seems like a very interesting guy indeed. It's clear now that he wasn't head of Atlantic at all, but in fact head of promotions the short lived Country division of the label that based itself in Nashville. One story in Billboard mentions him falling through the window at the same place Sonny met Cher. Whether all three of them were involved in the shenanigans isn't clear. What I'm particularly interested in determining is his connection to WB in the mid/late 60s. So if anyone could shed any light on that it would be very much appreciated. Possibly he was working as a gun for hire, but any info substantiating his connection to Warners would be of great interest to me. Meanwhile, feel free to chip in with a cry of: "Oh, you mean THAT John Fisher!"
Ian Dewhirst Posted January 26, 2012 Posted January 26, 2012 Meanwhile, feel free to chip in with a cry of: "Oh, you mean THAT John Fisher!" Oh, you mean the U.S. John Fisher! Like Paul I was assuming you were talking about the UK. Actually I recently re-read the brilliant "Exploding - The Highs, Hits, Hype, Heroes & Hustlers Of The Warner Music Group" by Stan Cornyn and I don't recall the name John Fisher coming at all........ Ian D
Amsterdam Russ Posted January 26, 2012 Author Posted January 26, 2012 Actually I recently re-read the brilliant "Exploding - The Highs, Hits, Hype, Heroes & Hustlers Of The Warner Music Group" by Stan Cornyn and I don't recall the name John Fisher coming at all... Is there any significant coverage of the Loma label in there at all? A couple of years back I had an exchange of emails with Claude Nobs. He told me that one book about WB, a recent one, did indeed have material on Loma (Claude, of course, being responsible for the 7-LP anthology of the label put out by WEA UK in the late 70s). Unfortunately, I didn't find out which book he was referring to..!
Guest Paul Posted January 26, 2012 Posted January 26, 2012 ..."Oh, you mean THAT John Fisher!" Sorry Russell, I don't know anything at all about THAT John Fisher (!) I conviced myself you were getting mixed up with John Fruin because he was MD of the right companies at the right time. Radio DJs and staff from indie distributors and one-stops may be your best bet for getting info on John Fisher. I did a quick search in Billboard and he was still active in indie promotion in the late '70s and early '80s, working with country music in Nashville but that was along time ago...
Guest Paul Posted January 26, 2012 Posted January 26, 2012 He was quite a player as well. Didja hear about the cut-out scam he ran with the Warners overstocks in the mid 1970's? Ian D Hello Ian, Yes he was a hard player, he was also named (blamed?) as a key player in the 1980s chart hype scandal. He also pushed to get the UK majors into rack-jobbing in the early 1970s, getting music into supermarkets etc.
Ian Dewhirst Posted January 26, 2012 Posted January 26, 2012 Hello Ian, Yes he was a hard player, he was also named (blamed?) as a key player in the 1980s chart hype scandal. He also pushed to get the UK majors into rack-jobbing in the early 1970s, getting music into supermarkets etc. Yep. He was a traditional English playa. What brought him onto my radar was the FANTASTIC full-page Warner Music ad in Billboard which introduced the U.S. music business to their potential counterparts around the world. The one which had the most impact was John Fruin in a traditional English 3 piece pin-stripe suit with a bowler hat and a brolly doing something akin to John Cleese's 'Ministry Of Silly Walks' sketch with Big Ben in the background. Talk about nailing an easily assimillated image LOL. Brilliant. Just brilliant. I kept my eye on him after that LOL.... He was a major character. I'm gonna do a bit of research on him LOL..... He's very fondly remembered by most. Ian D
Ian Dewhirst Posted January 26, 2012 Posted January 26, 2012 Also, lest we forget, Johnny Fruin was immortalised in B.A. Robertson's massive UK Top 10 hit "Bang Bang" in the late 70's...... https://bar-six.blogspot.com/2009/09/life-was-in-ruin-she-loved-johnny-fruin.html Ian D
boba Posted January 27, 2012 Posted January 27, 2012 I just want to follow up to say that now all my faith in Paul Mooney is gone. 2
Sean Hampsey Posted January 27, 2012 Posted January 27, 2012 I just want to follow up to say that now all my faith in Paul Mooney is gone. Quite right Bob. Rookie mistake, wading in like that. Very disappointing Paul. Sean
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