Jake Riviera (born Andrew Jakeman, February 1948, in
Edgware
Edgware () is a suburban town in northern Greater London, mostly in the London Borough of Barnet but with small parts falling in the London Borough of Harrow and in the London Borough of Brent. Edgware is centred north-northwest of Charing Cros ...
,
Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...
, England) is a British music business entrepreneur, best known for his management of such performers as
Elvis Costello
Declan Patrick MacManus Order of the British Empire, OBE (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer-songwriter and record producer. He has won multiple awards in his career, including a Grammy Award in ...
and
Nick Lowe
Nicholas Drain Lowe (born 24 March 1949) is an English singer-songwriter, musician and producer. A noted figure in power pop and new wave,Dave Robinson) of the pioneering British
indie
Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Gaming
*Independent video game development, video games created without financial backing from large companies
*Indie game, any game (board ...
label,
Stiff Records
Stiff Records is a British independent record label formed in London, England, by Dave Robinson and Jake Riviera. Originally active from 1976 to 1986, the label was reactivated in 2007.
Established at the outset of the punk rock boom, Stiff ...
Northwood, London
Northwood is an affluent area in northwest London, England. It is located within the London Borough of Hillingdon on the border with Hertfordshire and from Charing Cross. Northwood was part of the ancient parish of Ruislip, Middlesex and has f ...
, and was in school bands and local groups in north-west London in the 1960s, and became road manager of pub-rock act
Chilli Willi and the Red Hot Peppers
Chilli Willi and the Red Hot Peppers were one of the main British pub rock groups of the early 1970s. Later managed by Jake Riviera, who first worked for the band as a roadie, they reached their peak as part of the "Naughty Rhythms Tour" of ...
in the early 1970s.
Assuming the role of manager, he engineered a street-level marketing campaign on behalf of the hard-gigging group by working with graphic designer
Barney Bubbles
Barney Bubbles (born Colin Fulcher; 30 July 1942 – 14 November 1983) was an English graphic artist whose work encompassed graphic design and music video direction. Bubbles, who also sketched and painted privately, is best known for his distinc ...
.
In 1975, Riviera organised 'Naughty Rhythms', a package tour featuring Chilli Willi, Dr. Feelgood, and Kokomo. When pub-rock failed to make the leap out of smaller venues, Chilli Willi split and Riviera became tour manager for Dr. Feelgood for the group's US dates in early 1976. Encountering independent local record labels, Riviera was inspired on his return to the UK to found Stiff (music business parlance for a flop) with Dave Robinson, then manager of
Graham Parker
Graham Thomas Parker (born 18 November 1950) is an English singer-songwriter, who is best known as the lead singer of the British band Graham Parker & the Rumour.
Life and career Early career (1960s–1976)
Parker was born in Hackney, East L ...
& the Rumour in mid-1976.
Riviera signed the Damned - whom he also managed - to Stiff in September 1976, ensuring that the group was the first punk act to release a record with their October 1976 single "
New Rose
"New Rose" by The Damned was the first single by a British punk rock group, released on 22 October 1976 on Stiff Records, and in 1977 in the Netherlands, Germany and France.
Written by guitarist Brian James, "New Rose" was also included on t ...
". In November 1976, Riviera arranged for Stiff to follow that with the single release of the '' Blank Generation'' EP which contained the punk anthem of the same name by
Richard Hell
Richard Lester Meyers (born October 2, 1949), better known by his stage name Richard Hell, is an American singer, songwriter, bass guitarist and writer.
Hell was in several important early punk rock bands, including Neon Boys, Television and T ...
& The Voidoids.
Riviera managed other early Stiff signings
Elvis Costello
Declan Patrick MacManus Order of the British Empire, OBE (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer-songwriter and record producer. He has won multiple awards in his career, including a Grammy Award in ...
and
Nick Lowe
Nicholas Drain Lowe (born 24 March 1949) is an English singer-songwriter, musician and producer. A noted figure in power pop and new wave,Ian Dury
Ian Robins Dury (12 May 1942 27 March 2000) was a British singer, songwriter and actor who rose to fame during the late 1970s, during the punk and new wave era of rock music. He was the lead singer and lyricist of Ian Dury and the Blockheads an ...
,
Wreckless Eric
Eric Goulden (born 18 May 1954), known as Wreckless Eric, is an English rock/ new wave singer-songwriter, best known for his 1977 single " Whole Wide World" on Stiff Records. More than two decades after its release, the song was included in ''Mo ...
and the veteran music hall star
Max Wall
Max Wall (12 March 1908 – 21 May 1990) was an English actor and comedian whose performing career covered music hall, films, television and theatre.
Early years
Wall was born Maxwell George Lorimer, son of the successful music hall entert ...
.
In late 1977 Riviera left Stiff, taking with him clients Costello and Lowe to the newly launched label
Radar Records
Radar Records was a UK-based record label formed in late 1977 by Martin Davis (managing director) who had previously worked at United Artists Records, and Andrew Lauder, who had previously been head of A&R at the UK divisions of Liberty Recor ...
, set up by former UA Records executives Martin Davies and Andrew Lauder.
Costello and Lowe scored successes with, respectively, such albums as ''
This Year's Model
''This Year's Model'' is the second studio album by the English singer-songwriter Elvis Costello, released on 17March 1978 through Radar Records. After being backed by Clover for his debut album '' My Aim Is True'' (1977), Costello formed t ...
'' and ''
Jesus of Cool
''Jesus of Cool'' is the solo debut album by British singer-songwriter Nick Lowe. Produced by Lowe, it was released in March 1978 by Radar Records in the UK.
In the United States, the album was reconfigured by Columbia Records and retitled ''P ...
'' (released as ''Pure Pop For Now People'' in the US), before joining Riviera at his and Lauder's next label launch,
F-Beat Records
F-Beat Records was a record label set up by Jake Riviera in 1979. Its first release, " I Can't Stand Up for Falling Down" by Elvis Costello & the Attractions, reached number 4 in the UK charts, the highest singles chart position the label attained ...
, in 1980. As at Radar, Bubbles was F-Beat's art-director.
F-Beat also released new music by contemporary artists such as Lowe's wife
Carlene Carter
Carlene Carter (born Rebecca Carlene Smith; September 26, 1955) is an American country music singer and songwriter. She is the daughter of June Carter Cash and her first husband, Carl Smith.
As of 2020, since 1978, Carter has recorded 12 album ...
,
Clive Langer
Clive Langer (born 19 June 1954 in Hampstead, London, England) is an English record producer and songwriter, active from the mid-1970s onwards.
He usually works with Alan Winstanley. He composed the music for the films ''Still Crazy'' and ''Br ...
& the Boxes and
Blanket of Secrecy
Blanket of Secrecy (BoS) was a short-lived English new wave band formed in 1982. The band was notable for the fact that its band members, true to their band name, were never officially identified at the time - only the pseudonyms Tinker, Tail ...
, while Riviera, Lauder and Costello pioneered appreciation of archive music by reissuing music by a range of artists on their
Demon
A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in religion, occultism, literature, fiction, mythology, and folklore; as well as in media such as comics, video games, movies, ani ...
and
Edsel
Edsel is a discontinued division and brand of automobiles that was marketed by the Ford Motor Company from the 1958 to the 1960 model years. Deriving its name from Edsel Ford, son of company founder Henry Ford, Edsels were developed in an effort ...
imprints, including classic albums by
Al Green
Albert Leornes Greene (born April 13, 1946), better known as Al Green, is an American singer, songwriter, pastor and record producer best known for recording a series of soul hit singles in the early 1970s, including " Take Me to the River", ...
, the
Pretty Things
The Pretty Things were an English band formed in September 1963 in Sidcup, Kent. They took their name from Willie Dixon's 1955 song "Pretty Thing". A pure rhythm and blues band in their early years, with several singles charting in the Unite ...
and
the Merseybeats
The Merseybeats (also related vocal duo The Merseys) are an English beat band that emerged from the Liverpool Merseybeat scene in the early 1960s, performing at the Cavern Club along with the Beatles, Gerry and the Pacemakers, and other simila ...
.
Riviera's management of British pop/rock group Squeeze resulted in Elvis Costello producing the 1981 album '' East Side Story'', which featured the hit single " Tempted".
F-Beat folded in the mid-1980s, by which time Demon had developed into a large specialist label with several offshoots. It was acquired by Crimson productions in 1998 and now lays claim to being Britain's biggest independent music group. Riviera worked with Costello until 1993. Nick Lowe is currently managed by 2 Jakes Management, which, despite the name, has nothing to do with Riviera.