{"id":189614,"date":"2024-01-08T18:48:04","date_gmt":"2024-01-08T18:48:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/?p=189614"},"modified":"2024-01-08T19:06:53","modified_gmt":"2024-01-08T19:06:53","slug":"duran-duran-aerosmith-wendy-laister","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/duran-duran-aerosmith-wendy-laister\/","title":{"rendered":"‘As time goes by, people realise what extraordinary songwriters they are.’"},"content":{"rendered":"

MBW\u2019s World\u2019s Greatest Managers series profiles the best artist managers in the global business. In this feature, we meet Wendy Laister, who has managed Duran Duran for over two decades. World\u2019s Greatest Managers is supported by Centtrip<\/a>, a specialist in intelligent treasury, payments and foreign exchange \u2013 created with the music industry and its needs in mind.<\/p>\n

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\"Music<\/figure>Wendy Laister emerged from her meeting with American Express very happy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The credit card giant had agreed to welcome her resurgent management clients, Duran Duran, to its Unstaged programme, which pairs superstar artists with stellar directors for unique concert films.<\/p>\n

Duran Duran \u2013 Simon Le Bon, John Taylor, Nick Rhodes and Roger Taylor \u2013 were happy too, and excitedly presented their director wishlist to their manager.<\/p>\n

\u201cTheir list, in order of preference, was: David Lynch, Steven Spielberg and Quentin Tarantino,\u201d Laister laughs. \u201cI remember getting off the phone thinking, \u2018Shit, how am I going to do that, then?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

But, of course, Laister got on the case and, eventually, the band\u2019s first choice, David Lynch, came on board to make the movie.<\/span><\/p>\n

Laister\u2019s remarkable powers of persuasion \u2013 which also stretched to convincing NASA to let the band fly 300 drones over the Kennedy Space Centre rocket park as part of their moon landing anniversary gig \u2013 have been in evidence throughout her relationship with Duran, making her a living, breathing representation of that old workplace slogan: Wendy Laister does the impossible at once, miracles may take a little longer.<\/span><\/p>\n

Her 21-year alliance with Duran was celebrated at the MMF\/FAC Artist & Manager Awards in November<\/a>, where they won the Artist & Manager Partnership Award and Simon Le Bon praised her \u201cgrace, intelligence, tenacity and loyalty\u201d. Incredibly, it was her first industry accolade, despite nearly 40 years in the business \u2013 first as a PR, then as a manager \u2013 that have seen her work with everyone from Aerosmith to Richard Branson and Guns N\u2019 Roses to Nelson Mandela.<\/p>\n

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Ironically, though, she never aspired to work in the music industry, despite her father, Peter Laister, being around the biz as chairman of Thorn EMI. Instead, she trained as a clinical psychologist before discovering \u201cthere was no real culture of therapy in the UK at that point\u201d and moving into big business instead.<\/p>\n

She was a graduate trainee at BP at the start of the 1980s and then joined PA Consulting, making waves at both as a then-rare female executive (\u201cThey would say, \u2018It would be helpful to have a woman in this team\u2019 \u2013 and there weren\u2019t any other choices!\u201d), just as she would later blaze a trail in the male-dominated rock manager world. But in the economic downturn, the consulting work became more about getting rid of people than getting the best out of them, and she left to join Branson\u2019s Virgin Group.<\/p>\n

It was the opposite of her previous work environments \u2013 her interview took place during someone\u2019s leaving do at Branson\u2019s club, Kensington Roof Gardens, and the boss had a penchant for maverick publicity stunts \u2013 but Laister was inspired by the risk-taking culture.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cStructurally, the company was very open and not corporate,\u201d she says. \u201cYou could have an idea in the morning and the company was small enough and Richard was brave enough that, if you could convince him it was a good idea, you could be doing it by the afternoon. It moved fast and it was fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

Laister wanted to set up an in-house PR agency, but eventually opted to do it independently \u2013 although she took Virgin Retail with her as a big-name first client at Laister Dickson, now under new management and known as LD Communications.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She hadn\u2019t intended to do press for musicians, but eventually agreed to take on a friend\u2019s management client. That friend was Jazz Summers, the client was Yazz and the rest is history.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt just exploded,\u201d Laister laughs. \u201cThe record [The Only Way Is Up<\/i>] went to No.1 and she was beautiful, so she was on the cover of every magazine. We really didn\u2019t have to do very much, it all took care of itself. But the second we launched with that and Virgin Retail, we were on the map.\u201d<\/p>\n

Laister Dickson soon became the industry\u2019s go-to agency \u2013 especially once Bernard Doherty joined \u2013 representing high-end clients such as the Rolling Stones, Janet Jackson, Rod Stewart, Guns N\u2019 Roses and huge events from the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert to two Mandela Concerts (one demanding his release, another celebrating his freedom).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cGetting to meet Mandela and work with him was an incredible experience,\u201d Laister smiles, although not all clients were quite so serene. She toured the world with Guns N\u2019 Roses, including their notorious 1992 South American tour, which culminated with Axl Rose throwing a chair at journalists from a hotel balcony.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was very challenging, but I loved working with them,\u201d she says. \u201cIt was like joining the circus, which is what I\u2019d always wanted to do!\u201d<\/p>\n

Eventually, however, she tired of the PR treadmill and accepted an offer to co-manage Aerosmith with Tim Collins in 1993. Collins fell out with the band in 1996 leaving Laister, in her words, \u201cholding the big baby\u201d.<\/p>\n

Despite her lack of management experience, she transformed the band\u2019s fortunes, helping them secure their first-ever No.1 single with I Don\u2019t Want To Miss A Thing<\/i> from the Armageddon<\/i> soundtrack and even do a deal for their own Rock \u2018n\u2019 Roller Coasters at Disney theme parks.<\/p>\n

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