Ed Bicknell is a British music manager and drummer, best known for managing rock band

Dire Straits Dire Straits were a British rock band formed in London in 1977 by Mark Knopfler (lead vocals and lead guitar), David Knopfler (rhythm guitar and backing vocals), John Illsley (bass guitar and backing vocals) and Pick Withers (drums and percuss ...

, Mark Knopfler, Gerry Rafferty, Bryan Ferry, Scott Walker and The Blue Nile.

Career

Ed Bicknell was Chairman of

Hull University , mottoeng = Bearing the Torch f learning, established = 1927 – University College Hull1954 – university status , type = Public , endowment = £18.8 million (2016) , budget = £190 million ...

entertainment’s committee from October 1967 to June 1969, when he first got a taste for the music industry. He also ran the folk and jazz and blues societies across the same period. During that time he promoted shows by Jimi Hendrix, The Who, The Moody Blues, Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Family, Ralph Mctell, Bert Jansch, The Kinks, Jethro Tull, John Mayall, Pink Floyd and numerous others.

London

Moving to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, he played in several bands as drummer, and then became an agent at John Sherry Enterprises, and later NEMS, representing among others

Wishbone Ash Wishbone Ash are a British rock band who achieved success in the early and mid-1970s. Their popular albums included ''Wishbone Ash'' (1970), ''Pilgrimage'' (1971), '' Argus'' (1972), ''Wishbone Four'' (1973), ''There's the Rub'' (1974), and '' ...

, Jose Feliciano, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Man, The Ramones, Talking Heads, Richie Havens and War. Whilst working at NEMS in December 1977, he got a call from

Phonogram Phonogram may refer to: * A sound recording – see Geneva Phonograms Convention * ''Phonogram'' (comics), a comic book by Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie * Phonogram (linguistics), a grapheme which represents a phoneme or a combination of phone ...

A&R man John Stainze who had just signed a new band,

, to the

Vertigo Vertigo is a condition where a person has the sensation of movement or of surrounding objects moving when they are not. Often it feels like a spinning or swaying movement. This may be associated with nausea, vomiting, sweating, or difficulties w ...

label. In January 1978 Ed became their manager, and continued to manage

Mark Knopfler Mark Freuder Knopfler (born 12 August 1949) is a British singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. Born in Scotland and raised in England, he was the lead guitarist, singer and songwriter of the rock band Dire Straits. He pursued a s ...

as a solo performer for several years after the dissolution of

in 1993. He played drums in

The Notting Hillbillies The Notting Hillbillies were a country rock project formed by British singer-songwriter Mark Knopfler in May 1986. The group consisted of Knopfler (guitar and vocals), Steve Phillips (guitar and vocals), Brendan Croker (guitar and vocals), Guy F ...

formed in 1990 by

. They recorded one album, '' Missing...Presumed Having a Good Time,'' toured the UK and performed two residencies at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club in London. In 2000 he stood down as Mark’s manager on an amicable basis. In 1997,

The Blue Nile The Blue Nile was a Scottish band which originated in Glasgow. The group's early music was built heavily on synthesizers and electronic instrumentation and percussion, although later works featured guitar more prominently. Following early champ ...

appointed Ed as a full-time manager for the first time in their career. He extricated the group from their deal with Warner Bros. He also attempted to persuade the band to change their recording habits, but had little success. Bicknell parted ways with the band in 2004, later stating that "in terms of the modern recording world the history of

was the most screwed-up I had ever encountered" After two years as "Head of International Music" during which time he set up the music department, Bicknell left the London office of

William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was a British textile designer, poet, artist, novelist, architectural conservationist, printer, translator and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts Movement. He ...

Endeavor in April 2010. In recent years, he has often appeared on radio and television to discuss music industry issues and has carried out over 80 “interviews“ of leading music industry figures and artists at conferences and educational establishments.

References

External links

Official biography
1948 births Living people English businesspeople English music managers Musicians from Yorkshire The Notting Hillbillies members {{england-business-bio-stub