Robert White

What is your background and experience in the music industry?

I qualified as a solicitor in 1966. In 1969 I had returned from a year in North America and was in a standard job with George Wimpey, the industrial building company when I saw an advertisement by EMI Records looking for a lawyer. I telephoned for an interview and was told that the list was closed. Off the top of my head I said that I had just got back from San Francisco where I had worked in a record company. This was not true. I had never worked in the music business. I was asked to go for an interview and got the job without being asked about the US record company.

I worked at EMI for two years and then took up the job as business affairs manager at CBS (now Sony). I was the first business affairs person in the UK. After 2 years at CBS I was asked to join Island Records and after 3 years there I was seduced by money to work for Arista Records. While there I persuaded the company to take an interest in an unknown band called ‘Simple Minds’ who were eventually signed to the company. I left the company to join Bruce Findlay and formed Schoolhouse Management to manage the band and some other bands in 1979.

We had great success with the management company before Simple Minds sacked us in 1991. Since then I have carried on business advising artists on their careers and negotiating agreements for them.

What is your connection to the North East?

My brother lived in Gosforth. When I started with the management project I did not know if it would be successful so I got as close to Scotland as I could so I could continue as an English lawyer in order to earn money. Berwick upon Tweed was closest and it has a very good rail service to Edinburgh and London.

What are you listening to at this exact moment? What are your favourite records released in the last 5 years?

Radio 4 news programme. The soundtrack of the film “Juno”, I love the first track.

What are your favourite records released in the last 20 years?REM albums, Eddi Reader’s “Peacetime”, Faure’s Requiem, Elgar’s 1st Symphony.

Which projects are you currently working on outside of Generator? Lots of legal work for musicians.

What is your favourite live music venue in the North East? The Barrels Alehouse in Berwick upon Tweed.

Favourite Live Music venue in the UK? The old Marquee in Soho, London but otherwise, The Barrels

Best live music show that you’ve ever seen? I was at the Lyceum show in London when the Bob Marley Live album was made. If you listen carefully you can hear me cheering and clapping.

What was the defining moment that made you want to work in music? Seeing the EMI advert and hoping that I might meet The Beatles.

Best place to discover new artists? Live performances followed by a good demo.