Darcus Beese

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(born 1969) is a British music executive and the former president and Chief Executive Officer of

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 ...

from his appointment in 2018 till his departure on 3 February 2021. During his time at the label, he signed several top musicians including Amy Winehouse and

Jessie J Jessica Ellen Cornish (born 27 March 1988), known professionally as Jessie J, is an English singer. Born and raised in London, she began her career on stage, aged 11, with a role in the West End musical '' Whistle Down the Wind''. She studied ...

."Darcus Beese OBE , Honorary Fellow"
Falmouth University, 2013. Beese, who has been described by '' Music Week'' as "one of the great A&R people of his or any other generation",Sutherland, Mark (24 May 2018)
"The Big Interview: Island Records' Darcus Beese"
'' Music Week''. subsequently joined

Warner Music UK Warner Music Group's labels include the following. Flagship labels *Atlantic Records *Elektra Records *Parlophone Records *Warner Records Atlantic Records Group * 1st & 15th Entertainment * All Money In * Artist Partners Group * Asylum Reco ...

as executive vice-president.

Background

Darcus Beese grew up in

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

, London — the son of

Barbara Beese Barbara Beese (; born 2 January 1946) is a British activist, writer, and former member of the British Black Panthers. She is most notable as one of the Black activists known as the Mangrove Nine, charged in 1970 with inciting a riot, following a p ...

and Darcus Howe — and has said: "The music in my household growing up was definitely a mixture of reggae, soul and calypso. My father was from Trinidad and my mother was of

mixed heritage Mixed race people are people of more than one race (human categorization), race or ethnicity. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mixed race people in a variety of contexts, including ''multiethnic'', ''polyeth ...

. So, yeah, my upbringing musically ranged from soca to reggae." Leaving school early, Beese worked in a hairdressing salon before eventually being employed in 1993 as a tea boy in the promotions department at Island Records, where he progressed upwards through various jobs, including A&R Director, and in 2008 co-president of the label, until in July 2013 he became president of Island Records. Among his key signings have been Amy Winehouse,

, Taio Cruz, Florence & The Machine, Mumford & Sons, Dizzee Rascal, and Rizzle Kicks. In May 2018 it was announced by Universal Music Group (UMG) that Beese was to become President of Island Records USA, taking over from David Massey, and relocating to New York City."Darcus Beese Named President of Island Records"
Universal Music Group, 24 May 2018. Describing Beese as someone who "has impeccable creative instincts and takes a long-term view of artist development", the Chairman and CEO of UMG, Sir Lucian Grainge, said: "Few in the music industry have Darcus's track record of creative and commercial success.... I'm excited to support him in signing, developing and breaking many more artists." In February 2021 it was announced that Beese was leaving the label and returning to the UK "for personal reasons and to pursue new career opportunities". It was announced in June 2021 that he would be joining

as executive vice-president and launching a new joint-venture label.

Awards

In 2013, Beese was made an Honorary Fellow of Falmouth University. In 2014, Beese was honoured as an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE) in the

Queen's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning British monarch's official birthday by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are present ...

list for services to the UK music industry. In 2016, he was named European Executive Of The Year by MUSEXPO Europe. In 2011 and 2015, '' The Guardian'' named Beese to their list of the most important people in the British music industry.

References

External links

* Ash Houghton
"Behind the Music: Darcus Beese OBE (Island Records)"
SBTV. * Mark Sutherland
"Beese Here Now: Darcus Beese - The Music Week Interview"
''Music Week'', 4 February 2021. {{DEFAULTSORT:Beese, Darcus Living people 1969 births Black British men British music industry executives British people of Trinidad and Tobago descent Island Records Officers of the Order of the British Empire