Tony Secunda
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Birth name
| Anthony Michael Secunda
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Born
| (
1940-08-24
)
24 August 1940
Epsom
, Surrey, England
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Died
| 12 February 1995
(1995-02-12)
(aged 54)
Tiburon, California
, United States
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Genres
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Occupation(s)
| Manager,
music publisher
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Years active
| Early 1960s?1995
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Labels
| Various
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Musical artist
Anthony Michael Secunda
(24 August 1940 ? 12 February 1995)
[1]
[2]
was an English manager of rock groups in the 1960s and 1970s, including
the Moody Blues
,
[3]
Procol Harum
,
[3]
the Move
,
[2]
and
T. Rex
,
[2]
Motorhead
,
[4]
Steeleye Span
,
[3]
Marianne Faithfull
[3]
and the
Pretenders
.
Life and career
[
edit
]
Secunda was born in
Epsom
,
Surrey
.
[3]
According to
Carl Wayne
, the Move's vocalist, Secunda's business acumen and flair for publicity were a major factor in the group's success. "He dreamed up all the ideas, the stunts and the clothing ? sending Blackberry pies with bottles of champagne for "
Blackberry Way
", doing a photo session at the fire station in Birmingham for "
Fire Brigade
" ? and of course the
Harold Wilson
affair!"
[5]
The latter referred to Secunda's most controversial stunt, in which a
cartoon
postcard
promoting the band's 1967 single, "
Flowers in the Rain
", featured a libellous drawing of Wilson, who was the Prime Minister at the time. Wilson sued the band and management. Wilson won the case and as part of the settlement the band had to relinquish all
royalties
in respect of the
record
to a charity of Wilson's choice ? a ruling which they tried unsuccessfully to overturn after Wilson's death in 1995.
[6]
The Move were unnerved by the experience, and fired Secunda as their manager shortly afterwards.
[3]
In 1969 Secunda helped organize and finance the band Balls with
Trevor Burton
(formerly of the Move) and singer
Denny Laine
from the Moody Blues. The group was not successful.
[3]
In 1971, he became manager of
T. Rex
and helped
Marc Bolan
to set up his own record label, T. Rex Wax Co, through
EMI
.
[3]
After parting company with Bolan, he managed
Steve Peregrin Took
, Bolan's former musical partner,
[7]
Steeleye Span
,
Motorhead
, and
Marianne Faithfull
; the latter a short run experience which ended with a cash payoff, after Faithfull decided his management style was not suited to her needs.
[3]
Secunda discovered
Chrissie Hynde
and placed her on a retainer, so she could leave her day job and concentrate on writing music.
In the mid 1980s, Secunda moved to
San Anselmo
, California, where he remained active in
music publishing
and promotion, and developed an interest in the ecology and green issues.
[3]
He started a literary agency in
Tiburon, California
, publishing the biographies of bands and musicians, where he died of a heart attack on 12 February 1995, at the age of 54.
[2]
Tony is sometimes confused with his older cousin, Daniel Secunda, also active in the music business in London and New York over the same period. Daniel worked with artists such as
Judy Garland
,
Joe Cocker
,
Heads Hands and Feet
,
the Heartbreakers
amongst many others. He was a director of latter-day
Track Records
and subsequently gained rights to some Track recordings, releasing
Shakin' Stevens
,
Marc Bolan
and
Jimi Hendrix
albums on his own Media Motion label.
References
[
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]
External links
[
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]
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Studio albums
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Live albums
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Singles
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Related articles
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