Kenneth Cooper Pitt (10 November 1922 – 25 February 2019) was a British publicist and

talent manager A talent manager (also known as an artist manager, band manager or music manager) is an individual who guides the professional career of artists in the entertainment industry. The responsibility of the talent manager is to oversee the day-to-da ...

, who managed the career of musicians including

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

in the late 1960s.

Biography

Pitt was born in

Uxbridge Uxbridge () is a suburban town in west London and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon. Situated west-northwest of Charing Cross, it is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. Uxbrid ...

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 ...

. In the 1950s, he was responsible for publicising American musicians and bands touring the UK, including

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based ...

, and

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as "rock & roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis made ...

. His first venture into management was with

Romani Romani may refer to: Ethnicities * Romani people, an ethnic group of Northern Indian origin, living dispersed in Europe, the Americas and Asia ** Romani genocide, under Nazi rule * Romani language, any of several Indo-Aryan languages of the Roma ...

street singer Danny Purches, but he had more success in the early 1960s with the band

Manfred Mann Manfred Mann were an English rock band, formed in London and active between 1962 and 1969. The group were named after their keyboardist Manfred Mann, who later led the successful 1970s group Manfred Mann's Earth Band. The band had two differen ...

, whom he persuaded to record the

Barry Barry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Barry (name), including lists of people with the given name, nickname or surname, as well as fictional characters with the given name * Dancing Barry, stage name of Barry Richards (born c. 19 ...

and

Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...

song "

Do Wah Diddy Diddy "Do Wah Diddy Diddy" is a song written by Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich and originally recorded in 1963, as "Do-Wah-Diddy", by the American vocal group the Exciters. ''Cash Box'' described the Exciters' version as "a sparkling rocker that bubble ...

". He also managed singer Crispian St. Peters and American group

Goldie and the Gingerbreads Goldie & the Gingerbreads was an all-female American rock band from 1962 to 1967. They were the first all-female rock band signed to a major record label.Lucy O'Brien. ''She Bop II: The Definitive History of Women in Rock, Pop and Soul.'' London ...

. In 1965, Pitt was approached by Ralph Horton with a view to co-managing singer David Jones, who had yet to change his name to David Bowie. Pitt agreed, and in early 1967 became Bowie's sole manager. Pitt ensured that Bowie recorded a wide range of music at that time, and on one occasion, after returning from a trip to the US, introduced Bowie to the debut album by the

Velvet Underground Weave details visible on a purple-colored velvet fabric Velvet is a type of woven tufted fabric Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabri ...

. At the same time, he sought to find Bowie work in theatre and films, produced Bowie's promotional film '' Love You till Tuesday'', and ensured that Bowie took part in two European song festivals, in Malta and Italy. Pitt managed Bowie at the time of his first hit, "

Space Oddity "Space Oddity" is a song by English singer-songwriter David Bowie. It was first released on 11 July 1969 by Philips Records as a 7-inch single, then as the opening track of his second studio album ''David Bowie''. After the commercial f ...

" in 1969, but Bowie sacked him soon afterwards in favour of Tony DeFries. Pitt gave up artist management at that time, remaining as a consultant to acts touring in the UK. He published a book, ''Bowie: The Pitt Report'', in 1985. Kenneth Pitt died at his home in

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

, England, on 25 February 2019, aged 96. "RIP Kenneth Pit"
''DavidBowie.com'', 27 February 2019. Retrieved 28 February 2019

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pitt, Kenneth 1922 births 2019 deaths People from Uxbridge English music managers LGBT people from England 20th-century English businesspeople