Bernard Rhodes | |
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Birth name | Bernard Rhodes |
Born | England |
Occupation(s) | Record producer, designer, manager, songwriter |
Years active | 1960–present |
Associated acts |
The Clash Subway Sect The Specials Dexys Midnight Runners JoBoxers |
Website | bernardrhodes |
Bernard Rhodes is a fashion designer, record producer, songwriter, manager and impresario who was integral to the development of the punk rock scene in the United Kingdom during the middle 1970s. He is most associated with two of the UK's best known punk bands, the Sex Pistols and The Clash. It was Rhodes who was responsible for discovering John Lydon and arranging the audition in the King's Road for him to join the Sex Pistols. He also introduced a young Mick Jones and Paul Simonon to Joe Strummer and together with Keith Levene they formed The Clash. Rhodes was an important force behind The Clash, not only managing their business, but also handling marketing and creative direction of the band. He left the band from 1979 to 1981 to pursue other opportunities, but tensions in the band led to singer-guitarist Joe Strummer demanding (and getting) his return in 1981.
Other groups managed by Rhodes include The Specials, Dexys Midnight Runners, Subway Sect, Jo Boxers, The Lous, Black Arabs, Twenty Flight Rockers and Watts from Detroit.
Rhodes built and then operated out of his Camden studio Rehearsal Rehearsals in what is now Camden Market. The area around the studio rapidly became a well known hangout for punks and contributed to the growth of Camden as a hip area.
Since the break-up of The Clash, Rhodes has continued to be involved in fashion design and the music industry, as well as various political and social causes.
Bernard Rhodes was raised in Stepney, east London. He says he never knew his father. He was then placed in an orphanage in South London where he remained until he was 15.