Simon Fuller
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Simon Fuller (born May 17, 1960 in Hastings, England), one of the most successful artist managers of all time [1] is an English television producer, talent manager and creator of the Idol series, first seen as Pop Idol in the UK and over 100 other versions including American Idol, Australian Idol, Canadian Idol, Indian Idol, and World Idol. Simon Fuller is also the creator and executive producer of the US hit talent series So You Think You Can Dance and several other US and European TV shows. He is manager of David and Victoria Beckham, Claudia Schiffer, The Spice Girls, and others. He was named by Time magazine [2] (May 3, 2007) as one of the 100 Most Influential People In the World.
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[edit] Business
Simon Fuller is Chief Executive of 19 Entertainment, based in London, Los Angeles and New York City, 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). He was responsible for signing Madonna's first hit 'Holiday' to the company. When he discovered Paul Hardcastle in the mid-1980s he set out, aged 25, on his own and propelled Hardcastle to number one with his Vietnam war song, "19"
In February 2008 Simon Fuller was presented with the PGA Award by the Producers Guild of America Award in Hollywood. At the event he was praised for his creativity, entrepeneurialism and charity work by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown MP and HRH The Prince of Wales, who also thanked Fuller for his support of the Prince's charity The Prince's Trust.
[edit] Spice Girls
Simon Fuller has managed the Spice Girls through the peak of their success. The 'management svengali' (as 'affectionately' described by the British media) is widely credited with masterminding their most creative period with hits including 'Wannabe', as well bringing them a number of globally lucrative sponsorship deals with Pepsi, Polaroid, Walkers, Cadbury, Asda, Elida Faberge (Unilever) and others. He famously introduced Spice Girl Victoria Beckham (Posh Spice) to her future husband David Beckham. Under Fuller, the Spice Girls rose to chart topper status and went on to sell over 53 million records. In November 1997 the girls decided to manage themselves and they parted company with Fuller.
The group later disbanded and it was not long before Fuller was approached to manage the career of former Spice Girls Emma Bunton and Victoria Beckham.
In June 2007 Simon Fuller announced a Spice Girl world tour of 47 cities including London, Las Vegas, San Jose, Cologne, Madrid, Los Angeles, New York, Vancouver, Boston and Toronto. The tour sold out immediately and broke several records as fans clamoured to buy tickets. Various newspaper reports give the tour a value of over $110 million to Fuller and the Spice Girls. Other parts to the reunion brokered by Fuller include sponsorships, merchandising and sales of back catalogue internationally and the release of a 'Greatest Hits' release, which sold over 1.4 million copies in its first two weeks of release.
[edit] TV work
Fuller's first venture into TV took place in 1999. He auditioned over 10,000 people to form S Club 7 which became a No.1 pop group and a BBC TV show which was seen in over 100 territories around the world. The group has since split up with former members Rachel Stevens, Jon Lee and Hannah Spearritt going on to enjoy solo success in music and film, although Jo O'Meara attracted controversy during the TV series Celebrity Big Brother in 2007. An offspring of the show 'S Club Juniors' and another Fuller TV project 'I Dream' established a blue print for squeaky clean teen TV.
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, Australian Idol and Canadian Idol. plus other spin-offs. Pop Idol broke TV records when it was broadcast over two series in the UK, as well as uncovering a major new talent in Will Young. Fuller sold the show to the Fox network in the States, and American Idol quickly became a No.1 rated show. The show has made stars of its presenters Ryan Seacrest, Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell, as well as many of its performers. In Australia "Network Ten" purchased the format and to this day Australian Idol is one of the most "original" Idol shows from around the world. In Canada, the show, like in Australia has become an original format.
Now in its seventh series American Idol is claimed to be the most valuable TV format in the world with a value of over $2.5 billion, made up of revenue from sponsors, merchandising, telephone, music sales, broadcast and advertising sources. Over 34 million viewers saw Jordin Sparks win the sixth series of American Idol in May 2007 on a night where over 74 million votes were cast. According to the Sunday Times the show has made Simon Fuller the most powerful man in American TV.
In 2005 Simon Fuller, along with co-creator Nigel Lythgoe, launched So You Think You Can Dance on the Fox Channel in the USA. The show has grown over four seasons to become a regular summer hit. In 2007 Fuller has signed a deal to represent comedians Matt Lucas and David Walliams with regard to developing their award winning BBC TV show Little Britain for the United States [3], called Little Britain USA.
In October 2007 Simon Fuller launched "The Next Great American Band", a co-production between 19 and fremantle media, aired in North America on the Fox network. The show was moderately successful but did not achieve the blockbuster ratings of his other productions. In February 2008 Simon Fuller signed a deal with Apple to sponsor American Idol in North America.
[edit] Music
Simon Fuller has managed the career of Annie Lennox since the release of her multi platinum, award winning album Diva in 1991. Lennox has sold 80 million cds and has been called 'the greatest white soul singer alive' by VH1.
Simon Fuller manages the careers of a number of hit songwriters and producers, most notably Cathy Dennis, who first met Fuller as the singer of D Mob in the 1980s. Under Fuller's guidance Cathy Dennis has become the UK's No.1 female songwriter with a string of global hits for artists including Kylie Minogue, Britney Spears and others. Fuller tells how his relationship with Cathy Dennis started in 1986 in Music Week dated 15.12.07.
In 2002 Fuller's company discovered 19 year old Amy Winehouse, produced her first award winning album and signed her to Universal Music. Winehouse left 19 Management in spring 2006 and signed to Raye Cosbert / Metropolis Music.
Simon Fuller's interests in music make him one of the most powerful figures in the global entertainment industry. His company 19 Recordings has achieved million selling acts including Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Chris Daughtry, Fantasia, Will Young, Emma Bunton and Gareth Gates, as well as stars from Germany, Australia, Canada and other territories. His label 19 Recordings has sold over 50 million copies of American Idol music since the show was first broadcast.
In 2007, 2006 and 2005 the biggest selling music acts in North America (Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood and Daughtry) were all managed by Simon Fuller.
Simon was also the creator of English Pop group S Club 7.
[edit] Fashion
In August 2006 Fuller entered the fashion business through 19RM a joint venture company with critically acclaimed fashion designer Roland Mouret, the man behind the Galaxy dress made famous by Scarlett Johansson and other Hollywood celebrities. Mouret's first 19RM collection in 2007 sold out immediately and received enthusiastic reviews. Fuller is rumoured to be working on a futuristic new interior design concept with Mouret, set for launch in 2009.
Fuller has since taken on global representation for Claudia Schiffer. He has created the Beckhams' fashion label DVB brand which includes perfume and denim ranges. The Beckham's fashion range has become one of the most successful celebrity lines in the world with a retail value in excess of $200 million.
[edit] Sport
Simon Fuller first ventured into sports management in the mid 1990s, where he guided England and Liverpool FC footballer Steve McManaman to Real Madrid. Fuller later formed joint venture partnership with David Beckham, and masterminded Beckham's $250 million move to LA Galaxy in 2007. Simon Fuller's company 1966 recently won the contract to represent the England football team player's interests. Fuller's 19 Entertainment was the first company to successfully persuade a Formula 1 racing car to promote the environment [4]. His "Earth Car" created for Honda Racing F1 competed throughout the 2007 Formula 1 season driven by British driver Jenson Button and Brazilian Rubens Barrichello and Fuller went on to win a leading Green Award in the UK for his contribution to environmental awareness.
[edit] Personal
Simon Fuller has two brothers, Kim and Mark. He married his long term girlfriend, US interior designer Natalie Swanston in May 2008. Fuller has a portfolio of real estate including properties in London, Sussex, South of France, Italy, Uruguay, New York, Los Angeles, Napa Valley and Nashville.
[edit] Awards and Citations
- 2006 Emmy: Outstanding Reality/Competition Program - Nominee
- 2005 Emmy: Outstanding Reality/Competition Program - Nominee
- 2004 Emmy: Outstanding Reality/Competition Program - Nominee
- 2003 Grammy: Album of the Year - Nominee
- 2006 Entrepreneur Of The Year, GQ Magazine
- 2007 Emmy: Governor's Award: Idol Gives Back
- 2007 100 Most Influential People In The World, Time Magazine
- 2007 Top Trend Setter, Forbes Magazine [5]
- 2007 Green Award
- 2008 Visionary Award, Producers Guild of America
[edit] References
- "The unlikely impresario" Financial Times (24.05.08) [6]
- "Briton is real winner of American Idol" The Times (23.05.08) [7]
- "Spice Girls mastermind to win Roll of Honour award." Music Week (17.05.08) [8]
- "CKX agrees to revised takeover offer" Forbes.com (28.9.07)[9]
- "More Spice Girls dates" GMTV (5.10.07) [10]
- "Simon Fuller by David Beckham" (14.5.07) Time Magazine
- "Forbes List" Forbes.com
- "Little Britain goes Stateside" (12.07.07) Broadcast Magazine
- "Spice Girls Creator launches buyout of CKX" FT.com
- "Simon Fuller GQ Entrepreneur of the Year 2006" Oct 2006 GQ
- "Simon Fuller tops Music Week Top 50 most influential people in UK music industry chart" (15.07.03) Music Week
- "Simon Fuller eyeing CKX takeover" (1.06.07)Music Week
- "The Star Maker" (28.09.02)Daily Telegraph
- "The Man Who Wants To Rule The World" (18.04.02) Evening Standard
- "Fuller Rules The US Charts" (19.06.03) Metro
- "The Idol Maker" March 2004 Blender
- "Pop Idol scores a $1bn hit in US market" 07.09.07 The Observer
- "Simon Fuller: Guiding Pop Culture" 18.06.03 BBC News
- "Bank Your Lucky Stars" 08.12.03 Sunday Times
- "The Fuller Picture" 25.08.07 Broadcast Magazine
- "Fuller is currently the most powerful man in American TV" 05.07 The Sunday Times Magazine
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