Chris Wright (music industry executive)
| Chris Wright | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
7 September 1944 Louth, Lincolnshire, United Kingdom |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Years active | 1964–present |
| Spouse(s) | Janice Wright |
Chris Wright (born Christopher Norman Wright 7 September 1944) is a British music, media and sport entrepreneur.
He has produced acts like Ten Years After, Jethro Tull, Procol Harum, Blondie, Ultravox and Spandau Ballet.
He was the co-founder of Chrysalis Records and Music with his business partner Terry Ellis in 1968. Wright bought Ellis out in 1985, when the Chrysalis Group went public. Chrysalis continued to compete with Richard Branson's Virgin and Chris Blackwell's Island until its eventual sale to Thorn EMI in two tranches in 1990 and 1991. Wright retained ownership of the Chrysalis Music until 2010, when the publishing company was acquired by BMG Rights Management.
In the nineties, Wright launched the Heart commercial radio brand in Birmingham and London, and the Midsomer Murders detective drama series broadcast on ITV in the UK and over 225 TV channels around the world.
Between 1996 and 2001, Wright was the owner of Queens Park Rangers FC and the majority shareholder and chairman of Wasps Rugby Club. He continued as major shareholder and non-executive chairman of Wasps until 2008.
Wright was born in Louth, Lincolnshire, the only son of the last in a long line of farmers, and grew up in Grimoldby. While attending King Edward VI Grammar School in Louth, he began submitting small articles to the Louth And District Standard newspaper and had ambitions to become a sports or political journalist. In his teens, he played table tennis.
In 1962, he went to Manchester University where he gained a BA in Politics and Modern History. While at Manchester University, he became social secretary of the Students Union and began booking groups at the University as well as at the J&J Club. He enlisted for a further year at the Manchester Business School but attended so few classes he was not awarded a diploma. He began working for the Ian Hamilton Agency, representing Anna Ford, then a folk singer in the Joan Baez mould, and later a television presenter and newsreader.
In 1966, he discovered the Jaybirds, a band from Nottingham fronted by the virtuoso guitarist Alvin Lee. They had been backing three-hit wonders The Ivy League but Wright was more interested in the blues repertoire they had developed on their own. He became their manager and moved to London where he teamed up with Terry Ellis, another social secretary turned booking agent, to form the Ellis-Wright agency. Wright masterminded the Jaybirds' transformation into Ten Years After and guided their career as one of the biggest British groups of the late sixties and early seventies. He got them a record deal with Deram, Decca label's hip subsidiary, and in 1967 they became the first British band to release an album before a single.
...
Wikipedia