Legends Behind the Music
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Do you see a man who excels in his work? He will stand before kings; He will not stand before unknown men.” – Prov. 22:29
“It was an ecstasy because it was an adventure; it was an adventure because it was an opportunity. The goodness of the fairy tale was not affected by the fact that there might be more dragons than princesses; it was good to be in a fairy tale.” – GK Chesterton
A lot of crew members are part of a new data base called Crew Space. I noticed that some of the people listed have put in some names of references of people I have known for years and have a lot of respect for, one that caught my eye the other day was Gerry Stickells, production and tour manager for Jimi Hendrix. Stickells was one of the early innovating production managers and influenced the whole shape of gigging in the early years. He famously dealt with any logistic problems with great confidence and is admired by everyone he does business with to this day. The one-time small-town apprentice mechanic would become Jimi Hendrix tour manager before there was even such a thing, and then go on to define the role for generations to follow. His work with Queen is legendary, as is his work in South America, a market that he largely helped open for rock acts in the 1980s. In 1977, he partnered with Chris Lamb and formed GLS Productions which, to this day, continues to set the bar in live concert production. Past and current clients include Elton John, Rod Stewart, Fleetwood Mac, Michael Jackson, ABBA, Paul McCartney and Madonna, among many others. Stickells was born in 1942 in the small town of Lydd, Kent, in southern England, one of 10 children. He left school at 15 and became an apprentice mechanic at a local garage. By the early 1960s, his talent for keeping a van running made him the de facto driver for local bands. In November 1966 he got a curious call from musician friend Noel Redding. Redding was going to play with an American guitarist named Jimi Hendrix who had arrived in the country a few months earlier, and they needed a roadie. The catch was that all their gear was stuck in customs at Heathrow Airport, and if Stickells could get it out, he could have the gig. “I had never really even been to the airport before” Stickells says of the odd opportunity, “I had no idea what Jimi would become.” For the next 4 years Jimi would take the music world by storm until it all came crashing down on September 18, 1970, when Stickells got an ominous call from a London character with the unfortunately accurate moniker Hendrix had been found dead in a basement flat, and they needed someone to identify the body. Stickells obliged in what was not only one of the saddest tasks of his life, but also the of pop music history as well. He flew the body of his friend and rock icon back to Seattle where Hendrix is buried today. Stickells would run Hendrix’s Electric Lady Studios for two more years before gravitating toward the West Coast with the rest of the live concert scene. Then he returned to the road with Three Dog Night, where he caught the attention of John Reid, who managed both Elton John and Queen at that time. There is no way to overstate Gerry’s influence and importance to the live event industry. To realize he did it in the dark days of Hendrix time is even more impressive. There were no riggers, no accountants, and the venues bands played in were not set up for rock roll. Everyone was doing everything blind, and the contributions Gerry made really were astounding. “I’ve known him for 30 years, and he always been the same person,” says Pat Morrow, who is best known for his long association with Journey. “There is no bigger gentleman in the business, and everyone who has ever known or worked with him will tell you the same thing” Morrow says. In 1991, tragedy struck again when news came of Freddie Mercury’s death. As a member of the Queen family, it was yet another difficult time for Stickells. But he rose to the occasion and organized the Freddie Tribute in 1992. For the rest of the 1990s, he kept busy working with many top acts, including McCartney. Stickells worked on McCartney’s successful 2003 tour and was with him in Moscow for a show when Stickells suffered a small seizure. “Facing the prospect of Russian medical care, he opted to stay in the hotel and subsequently rallied not only for the show, but for the rest of the tour”, his wife, Sylvia says. But in 2004, he returned home to L.A., only to learn that the problem was a nonmalignant brain tumor. Shortly afterward, he under-went the first of two delicate and life-threatening neurosurgeries. “This was a very difficult period for him”, says Sylvia, “but even so, he was able to function as a site coordinator for Chris Lamb on Madonna’s tour that year”. Most recently, he has been a consultant to Neimeyer in 2006 on the Stones concerts in Brazil. Reflecting on his long career, Stickells says: “things were a lot looser in the 1970’s, people just wanted to play. These days shows are choreographed down to every note. You can make a good case that today a lot of problems in the business now are because it lacks spontaneity. If Hendrix went on three hours late, everyone was cool with it. If he wanted to mix up the set list at the last minute, it was great. Once, before he went on stage, he heard some of the Beatles were in the audience, and moments before he went on he quickly taught himself Sergeant Peppers Lonely Heart Club Band which had just come out, played it for Noel and Mitch Mitchell backstage once, and then they went out and opened with it. McCartney couldn’t believe it. You wouldn’t do something like that now, it would throw off the entire crew & production”. Gerry’s integrity and honesty attracted fantastic loyalty from the band, management, and most of all, this crew. “He always had everyone’s respect for understanding the human elements involved in a production, there never has been, nor will there ever be anybody better”, Morrow says.