Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
, West Midlands, England) is a British music executive and musician. He grew up in
Leigh Park
Leigh Park is a large suburb (population 27,500) of Havant, in Hampshire, England. It currently forms the bulk or whole of four electoral wards: Battins, Bondfields, Barncroft and Warren Park (generally referred to as 'The Warren').
Staunton C ...
, Hampshire, attending Wakeford Comprehensive (now known as
Havant Academy
Havant Academy is a mixed secondary school located in the Leigh Park area of Havant in the English county of Hampshire. The school is situated at the edge of Staunton Country Park.
Previously known as Wakeford Comprehensive School, it gained ...
). He spent his early life playing in various bands as a guitarist, before landing a job at
Arista Records
Arista Records () is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously handled by BMG Entertainmen ...
as a post boy in 1979.
Career
Early career
He was soon recruited by the Radio and Television Promotions Department at
Arista Records
Arista Records () is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously handled by BMG Entertainmen ...
Secret Affair
Secret Affair are a mod revival band, formed in 1978 and disbanded in 1982 during which period their work is predominantly best-known. They reformed in 2002 and have since then produced an album in 2012.
Career
Formed after the demise of the ...
. He then spent the next 10 years working at some of London's biggest record labels including
London Records
London Recordings (or London Records and London Music Stream) is a British record label that marketed records in the United States, Canada, and Latin America for Decca Records from 1947 to 1980 before becoming semi-independent. The London nam ...
,
Island Records
Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anoth ...
and
MCA Records
MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group.
Pre-history
MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 wit ...
where he helped to guide the careers of
Bananarama
Bananarama are an English pop duo from London, formed as a trio in 1980 by friends Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey and Keren Woodward. Fahey left the group in 1988 and was replaced by Jacquie O'Sullivan until 1991, when the trio became a duo. Thei ...
,
Bobby Brown
Robert Barisford Brown (born February 5, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter and dancer. Brown, alongside frequent collaborator Teddy Riley, is noted as one of the pioneers of new jack swing: a fusion of hip hop and R&B. Brown started h ...
,
Communards
The Communards () were members and supporters of the short-lived 1871 Paris Commune formed in the wake of the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War.
After the suppression of the Commune by the French Army in May 1871, 43,000 Communards ...
,
Fine Young Cannibals
Fine Young Cannibals (FYC) was a British pop rock band formed in Birmingham, England, in 1984, by bassist David Steele (musician), David Steele, guitarist Andy Cox (both formerly of The Beat (British band), The Beat), and singer Roland Gift (fo ...
,
Kim Wilde
Kim Wilde (born Kim Smith, 18 November 1960) is an English pop singer, DJ and television presenter. She first saw success in 1981 with her debut single "Kids in America", which peaked at No. 2 in the UK. In 1983, she received the Brit Award f ...
and
Run DMC
Run-DMC (also spelled Run-D.M.C.) was an American hip hop group from Hollis, Queens, New York City, founded in 1983 by Joseph Simmons, Darryl McDaniels, and Jason Mizell. Run-DMC is regarded as one of the most influential acts in the history of ...
.
Recording career
In 1989 he embarked on a recording career under the name Graham Stokes, then under the pseudonym Graystoke and finally as lead guitarist with the band Broken Wings. Broken Wings released their eponymous debut album in 1996. Stokes also wrote songs for other artists during this time including a
Top 40
In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...
hit
Hit means to strike someone or something.
Hit or HIT may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities
* Hit, a fictional character from ''Dragon Ball Super''
* Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization in ...
for the Irish
boyband
A boy band is loosely defined as a vocal group consisting of young male singers, usually in their teenage years or in their twenties at the time of formation. Generally, boy bands perform love songs marketed towards girls and young women. Many ...
, Reel, and their debut single, "Lift Me Up".
2000 to 2009
In 2000, Stokes set up his first
record label
A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...
called GSM Records. He signed the five-piece girl band
Girls@Play
Girls@Play were a British five-piece girl group, consisting of Vicky Dowdall, Lisa-Jay White, Rita Simons, Lynsey Shaw and Shelley Nash.Mike Stock of
Stock Aitken Waterman
Stock Aitken Waterman (abbreviated as SAW) are an English songwriting and record production trio consisting of Mike Stock, Matt Aitken, and Pete Waterman. The trio had great success from the mid-1980s through the early 1990s. SAW is considered ...
fame, with whom Stokes had worked in the 1980s with
Bananarama
Bananarama are an English pop duo from London, formed as a trio in 1980 by friends Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey and Keren Woodward. Fahey left the group in 1988 and was replaced by Jacquie O'Sullivan until 1991, when the trio became a duo. Thei ...
. The first single "Airhead" released in February 2001 reached No. 18 in the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
, whilst their second single, "Respectable", released in October 2001 reached No. 29. When the label was sold on to the original investors, Stokes once again teamed up with Mike Stock to run his new label Better the Devil Records. They signed
Fast Food Rockers
Fast Food Rockers were a British pop music, pop group known briefly for their novelty music. The band met at a fast-food convention in Folkestone in the summer of 2003.
Career
Their most successful hit was their 2003 release "Fast Food Song", w ...
a British pop trio whose debut single, "The Fast Food Song", reached No. 2 in the UK Singles Chart in June 2003. They went on to have two further Top 30 records.
In 2004, Stokes went on to launch his own record label
Shell Records
Shell may refer to:
Architecture and design
* Shell (structure), a thin structure
** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses
** Thin-shell structure
Science Biology
* Seashell, a hard out ...
Sandra McCracken
Sandra Marie McCracken Work ID: 886831052 ISWC: T9140398330 (born June 16, 1977) is an independent singer-songwriter. She currently resides in Nashville, Tennessee. Drawing from folk, gospel, and hymn traditions, her music often weaves together ...
.
Conehead UK
In 2009, Stokes launched new independent record label Conehead UK. In July 2009,
Peter Andre
Peter Andre (born Peter James Andrea, 27 February 1973) is an English-Australian singer and television personality of Australian descent.
Andre gained popularity as a singer, best known for his singles "Mysterious Girl" and " Flava". He is als ...
signed to the label, and his album, ''
Revelation
In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing of some form of truth or knowledge through communication with a deity or other supernatural entity or entities.
Background
Inspiration – such as that bestowed by God on the ...
'' released by Conehead reached No. 3 in the
UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...
. Andre's second album with the label, ''
Accelerate
In mechanics, acceleration is the rate of change of the velocity of an object with respect to time. Accelerations are vector quantities (in that they have magnitude and direction). The orientation of an object's acceleration is given by the ...
'' was released in October 2010, and went on to reach No. 10 in the UK Albums Chart in its first week. In 2009, Stokes struck a deal for Conehead with Swedish company Bonnier, who had acquired the rights to new albums from BWO. He then went on to sign to Conehead Another Level's
Dane Bowers
Dane Leon Bowers is a British singer, songwriter, DJ and producer. He was a part of pop boy band Another Level between 1997 and 2000 when he performed on seven Top 10 singles, before taking up solo projects with True Steppers and Victoria Beckh ...
, the critically acclaimed Ella Chi, London singer/songwriters The Rise, Anthony Goldsbrough and Michael Gazzard, Canadian band
In-Flight Safety
In-Flight Safety is a Canadian indie rock band formed in 2003. In-Flight Safety was nominated for a 2007 Juno Award for Video of the Year for "Coast Is Clear". They are currently based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The group consists of vocalist ...
and Finnish musician and keyboardist with
Sunrise Avenue
Sunrise Avenue was a Finnish rock band originally formed in 2002 in Helsinki, Finland. In the early days, the band was called Sunrise and the name was changed to Sunrise Avenue in 2003. Their style varies from rock and pop-rock to rock ballads. ...
; Osmo.
In 2011, Conehead announced four new major signings. Former ''
X Factor
''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...
'' finalist Rhydian signed to Conehead in early 2011 and released the album ''
Waves
Waves most often refers to:
*Waves, oscillations accompanied by a transfer of energy that travel through space or mass.
* Wind waves, surface waves that occur on the free surface of bodies of water.
Waves may also refer to:
Music
* Waves (ban ...
'' on 1 August 2011. Engelbert Humperdinck signed with Conehead in June and released a new studio album in 2012. In July,
Julian Lennon
Julian Charles John Lennon (born John Charles Julian Lennon; 8 April 1963) is an English musician. He is the son of Beatles member John Lennon and his first wife, Cynthia, and he is named after his paternal grandmother, Julia Lennon. Julian in ...
Stacey Solomon
Stacey Chanelle Clare Solomon-Swash (born 4 October 1989) is an English singer and television personality. She finished in third place on the sixth series of ''The X Factor'' in 2009, and won the tenth series of '' I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Ou ...
also joined the roster, and her first album with Conehead was released in 2015.