Simon Fuller
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Simon Fuller (born 17th May 1960 in Hastings) is an English record and television producer who is best known as the manager of the Spice Girls and S Club 7, as well as the creator of the Idol series, first seen as Pop Idol and over 50 other versions including American Idol, Canadian Idol, and World Idol.
Fuller is Chief Executive of 19 Entertainment, which he founded in 1985. Prior to forming 19 Entertainment, from 1981 to 1985, Mr. Fuller worked at Chrysalis, in publishing (Chrysalis Limited) and A&R (Chrysalis Records). When he discovered Paul Hardcastle in the mid-1980s he set out on his own and propelled Hardcastle to number one with his Vietnam war song, "19". After this success, he decided to name his management company 19 Management. He also managed Annie Lennox, originally from the 1980s pop group Eurythmics.
Fuller did not create the Spice Girls but he managed them through the peak of their success. The 'PR svengali' (as 'affectionately' described by the British media) also ventured into sports management in the mid 1990s, where he guided footballer Steve McManaman to Real Madrid and then later managed to land superstar David Beckham as well. The latter had famously married one of the Spice Girls - "Posh Spice" (Victoria). Under Fuller, the Spice Girls rose to chart toppers status, this despite the increasing number of disputes concerning the alleged financially domineering aspects of Fuller's management. However, the situation deteriorated by the end of the 1990s and Fuller was fired by the girls in November 1997.
Fuller was not gone long before he was approached to manage former Spice Girls Emma Bunton and Victoria Beckham in the launch of their new solo careers. Fuller also hoped to create his own Spice Girls in 21st Century Girls; however, that group failed to achieve the level of success he envisioned.
Nonetheless, Fuller decided to create a mixed-gender pop group with a twist. He elected to wield considerably greater power in management in order to prevent mutiny, and thus merged the roles of both manager and creator when he created S Club 7
In 1998 Fuller came up with an idea that would prove to be one of the definitive television and music brands of the 2000s when he created the television show formats of Pop Idol, American Idol, World Idol and other spin-offs.
Since January 2000, Fuller has been involved in Popworld Limited, a multi-artist pop brand and online portal, as an investor and director. Fuller is also at work on an Internet portal called I Love, where songs will be available for downloading onto wireless devices.
In March 2005, Fuller sold his company, 19 Entertainment, to Robert Sillerman's CKX, Inc. in a cash and stock deal worth £100 million ($192 million). Fuller will remain in his role as 19's CEO and has become a director of CKX.
In August 2006 Fuller announced that he was developing a TV fashion show for Victoria Beckham, and was also planning a TV sitcom based around Emma Bunton. He has also been approached by comedians Matt Lucas and David Walliams with regard to developing Little Britain for the United States [1].
On October 1st 2006, ITV's licence to produce Pop Idol in the UK ran out and Fuller, along with co-producers FremantleMedia and 19 Television, began talking to UK broadcasters about reviving the show in a revamped format on a different channel. Sky One and Five have both expressed interest in buying the show, but ITV also wish to keep the show and run it during the summer, instead of the flop series Love Island.
