Chris Blackwell
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Chris Blackwell (born June 22, 1937) is the founder of Island Records. Born in London to an Irish father and a Costa Rican-born Sephardic Jewish mother, Blackwell spent his childhood in Jamaica. Record producer Joe Boyd's memoir of the 1960s, White Bicycles, then recounts that he was sent to England to complete his education. Deciding not to go to university, he dabbled in real estate and other businesses which brought him into contact with the UK's black Jamaican population. Hearing he was returning home, people asked him to bring back local records which were then not regularly imported. Boyd goes on to explain how, after starting with vinyl he progressed to bringing in licenced master tapes and started Island Records. After a while he started signing white groups to the label, starting with the Spencer Davis Group. Island became one of the coolest independent labels of the 1960s and 1970s with bands like Traffic and Fairport Convention. Eventually Island moved into movies too but Blackwell's real coup lay in bringing Bob Marley and the Wailers to international audiences.
Each of his companies was eventually sold to Polygram. But Blackwell left with a reputation for looking after artists and as diverse as Bob Marley, U2, Steve Winwood, Melissa Etheridge, The Cranberries, Richard Thompson and PJ Harvey. Also recorded Jamaican born Sax & Flute player Harold Mcnair 1965 (Affectionate Fink) Since selling those companies, he has gone on to found Palm Pictures, a media entertainment company with music, film and DVD releases.
Blackwell is currently associated with Island Outpost, which operates or markets a group of high-end resorts in Jamaica. Goldeneye is among the most exclusive of these resorts, which is located at — and named after — the property previously owned by Ian Fleming, author of the James Bond novels.
