COMMENT
Business Buzz
with Harry Pearson
You ’ ve met the best new businesspeople – now meet the worst !
How it ’ s done - winners celebrate at the Best New Tees Business Awards .
Award-winning columnist Harry Pearson on the washerupper who would have gone bust even if he ’ d invented water ...
Many years ago , when I lived down in London and had a proper job , I got to know a charming , elderly and down-at-heel Old Etonian who spent his days washing up in a smart Notting Hill restaurant .
From comments he made , it was clear he ’ d once been quite a figure on the 1960s ’ music scene . Yet despite all the opportunities of Swinging London , he ’ d managed to miss out on becoming rich and famous , which was how he ’ d ended up cleaning dishes for a living .
One night , he told me how , in 1963 , he ’ d visited the terraced house of a Sheffield steelworker he ’ d heard was a decent singer and was looking for representation .
“ He didn ’ t have a band or anything , so he just put on a Ray Charles record and sang over the top of it . It was absolutely bloody amazing , made your hair stand on end ,” the washer-upper recalled .
“ But , like an idiot , I said to him I ’ d have to go away and think about it and , of course , when I telephoned him two days later , somebody had already signed him up .
“ And that ,” he said , with a rueful shrug , “ was how I failed to become the manager of Joe Cocker .”
For those of you too young to know about such things , I should add that Joe Cocker went on to record 40 albums , appear at Woodstock and be named one of the 100 greatest singers of all time by Rolling Stone magazine .
The washer-up said he considered this , “ the second greatest failure of my life ”.
With some trepidation , I asked what was top of his list . He sighed .
“ Well ,” he said , “ in 1962 , this smart young fellow from Merseyside approached me – I ’ d been doing various jobs promoting clubs and so forth – and asked me if I ’ d be interested in handling the merchandising for this young band he managed …”
A bulb lit up in my skull .
“ It was Brian Epstein !” I said . “ And the band were The
Beatles . And you said you weren ’ t interested ! Wow !” The washer-up shook his head . “ If only that were the truth ,” he said . “ Of course , you are right – it was the Fab Four . I could see they were tremendous and would be very successful . So , I told Epstein , yes , I ’ d be delighted to do it .” There was a pause while he let this sink in .
“ I set up a company and I ran it until 1966 , at which point … I went bankrupt .” He looked at me with a mixture of sadness and pride . “ I went bust doing the merchandising for the most popular group in the history of pop music ,” he said . “ I think you ’ ll agree that is quite an achievement .” He had , he said , tried to be an entrepreneur . “ But I just haven ’ t got the mind for it . I often feel that if
I ’ d invented water , I ’ d have lost money on it .”
As someone who nurses similar feelings about his mercantile abilities , I am full of admiration for the courage and skill of all those who entered the Best New Tees Business Awards .
The range of ideas – from life insurance to raw dog food , via vegan pick ‘ n ’ mix , eco-friendly gifts , brewing , scenery making and sustainable fashion – was amazing to behold .
Though I was naturally gratified that no one has yet hit upon my own fantastic money-spinning idea – a food van that sells bowls of sauce and a chunk of bread to mop it up with . Stop rolling your eyes and think about it – I mean , isn ’ t that the best bit of any meal ?
Since my own business skills are so low they could crawl under a slug , I ’ m hoping someday someone out there will go and make a rip-roaring success of this brilliant idea .
It ’ s not quite Joe Cocker and The Beatles , but it will give me a story to tell , at least . And I ’ ll be first in the queue .
Harry Pearson ’ s latest book The Farther Corner – A Sentimental Return to North-East Football is out now . The voice of business in the Tees region | 147