Steve O'Rourke ( – ) was an English

music 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-day ...

and racing driver. He is known for being the manager of

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...

, a position he held from 1968 until his death. Among his accomplishments is negotiating Pink Floyd's split with bass player and main songwriter Roger Waters.

Life and Pink Floyd manager

O'Rourke's father, Tommy O'Rourke, was a fisherman on the

Aran Islands The Aran Islands ( ; gle, Oileáin Árann, ) or The Arans (''na hÁrainneacha'' ) are a group of three islands at the mouth of Galway Bay, off the west coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, with a total area around . They constitute the histo ...

off the West of Ireland. He travelled to London for the premiere of the

Robert Flaherty Robert Joseph Flaherty, (; February 16, 1884 – July 23, 1951) was an American filmmaker who directed and produced the first commercially successful feature-length documentary film, ''Nanook of the North'' (1922). The film made his reputatio ...

documentary film, ''

Man of Aran ''Man of Aran'' is a 1934 Irish fictional documentary (ethnofiction) film shot, written and directed by Robert J. Flaherty about life on the Aran Islands off the western coast of Ireland. It portrays characters living in premodern conditions, ...

'', in which he appeared as a shark hunter. He settled in London, where Steve was born in the suburb of

Willesden Willesden () is an area of northwest London, situated 5 miles (8 km) northwest of Charing Cross. It is historically a parish in the county of Middlesex that was incorporated as the Municipal Borough of Willesden in 1933, and has forme ...

. O'Rourke trained as an accountant and went to work with Bryan Morrison Agency, which became a part of

NEMS Enterprises Brian Samuel Epstein (; 19 September 1934 – 27 August 1967) was a British music entrepreneur who managed the Beatles from 1962 until his death in 1967. Epstein was born into a family of successful retailers in Liverpool, who put him i ...

, as a junior agent and book keeper. Initially O'Rourke booked gigs for Pink Floyd, while the band was managed by

Peter Jenner Peter Julian Jenner (born 3 March 1943) is a British music manager and a record producer. Jenner, Andrew King and the original four members of Pink Floyd were partners in Blackhill Enterprises. Early career Peter Jenner is the son of Willia ...

and Andrew King. When Pink Floyd parted company with

Syd Barrett Roger Keith "Syd" Barrett (6 January 1946 – 7 July 2006) was an English singer, songwriter, and musician who co-founded the rock band Pink Floyd in 1965. Barrett was their original frontman and primary songwriter, becoming known for his ...

in 1968, King and Jenner remained with Barrett, and O'Rourke took over managing the band. In the early 1970s, O'Rourke left NEMS, and founded his own company, EMKA Productions, named after his first daughter Emma Kate. (O'Rourke subsequently fathered another daughter and three sons). O'Rourke suffered a stroke and died in Miami, Florida, in 2003. His funeral service was held on 14 November 2003 at

Chichester Cathedral Chichester Cathedral, formally known as the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity, is the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Chichester. It is located in Chichester, in West Sussex, England. It was founded as a cathedral in 1075, when the seat of the ...

in Sussex, England, where, as a tribute, Pink Floyd members

David Gilmour David Jon Gilmour ( ; born 6 March 1946) is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and member of the rock band Pink Floyd. He joined as guitarist and co-lead vocalist in 1967, shortly before the departure of founding member Syd Barrett. P ...

, Richard Wright and Nick Mason performed together in public for the first time since October 1994. They played "

Fat Old Sun "Fat Old Sun" is a song by English rock band Pink Floyd, written and sung by David Gilmour. It appears on their 1970 album ''Atom Heart Mother'', and was performed live in a greatly expanded form (often exceeding fourteen minutes), both before a ...

" and "

The Great Gig in the Sky "The Great Gig in the Sky" is the fifth track on '' The Dark Side of the Moon'', the 1973 album by the English progressive rock band Pink Floyd. The song features music by Richard Wright and non-lexical vocals by Clare Torry, being one of only ...

", with Dick Parry playing the saxophone as he followed the coffin. David Gilmour's 2006 solo album ''

On an Island ''On an Island'' is the third solo studio album by Pink Floyd member David Gilmour. It was released in the UK on 6 March 2006, Gilmour's 60th birthday, and in the US the following day. It was his first solo album in 22 years since '' Abou ...

'' was dedicated to O'Rourke's memory (as well as memories of tour manager Tony Howard and arranger/orchestrator

Michael Kamen Michael Arnold Kamen (April 15, 1948 – November 18, 2003) was an American composer (especially of film scores), orchestral arranger, orchestral conductor, songwriter, and session musician. Biography Early life Michael Arnold Kamen was born in ...

). Nick Mason's book '' Inside Out: A Personal History of Pink Floyd'' was also dedicated to O'Rourke.

Racing career

O'Rourke also built a highly successful parallel career as an enthusiastic gentleman racing driver – a lifelong passion which he shared with the Floyd's drummer Nick Mason and, to a lesser extent, with David Gilmour. He adored

historic racing Historic motorsport or vintage motorsport, is motorsport with vehicles limited to a particular era. Only safety precautions are modernized in these hobbyist races. A historical event can be of various types of motorsport disciplines, from road ...

with cars of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. His ambition to compete at the Le Mans 24 Hours was realised in 1979 when he finished twelfth in his

Ferrari 512 BB The Ferrari Berlinetta Boxer (BB) is series of sports cars produced by Ferrari in Italy between 1973 and 1984. The BB was designed by Leonardo Fioravanti at Pininfarina. The first BB model, the 365 GT4 BB, replaced the front engined Daytona and ...

. He returned to Le Mans in 1980, but after a tire exploded at nearly on the

Mulsanne Straight The Mulsanne Straight (''Ligne Droite des Hunaudières'' in French) is the name used in English for a formerly long straight of the Circuit de la Sarthe around which the 24 Hours of Le Mans auto race takes place. Since 1990, the straight is int ...

, O'Rourke bought the spare tail of a retired sister Ferrari in the pit lane to finish. His car completed the race wearing green forward bodywork and a red tail. In 1981 he founded

EMKA Racing EMKA Racing was a British racing team founded in 1980 by Steve O'Rourke, manager of the band Pink Floyd. The team occasionally ran under the name of EMKA Productions, the name of O'Rourke's management company. The team's name comes from O'Rourke' ...

and began competition in a BMW M1 with Derek Bell. For Le Mans he was joined by David Hobbs and

Eddie Jordan Edmund Patrick Jordan, OBE (born 30 March 1948), also known as EJ, is an Irish businessman, television personality and former motorsport team owner. Born in Dublin, Jordan worked first at the Bank of Ireland. He won the Irish Kart Championship ...

. O'Rourke left the circuit on the night of the race to oversee a

concert in London, then flew back the next morning and jumped straight into the car for another two-hour driving stint. In 1982 he contested two rounds of the

British Formula One Championship The British Formula One Championship, often abbreviated to British F1, was a Formula One motor racing championship held in the United Kingdom. It was often referred to as the Aurora AFX Formula One series due to the Aurora company's sponsorship o ...

. His team later became supported by

Aston Martin Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC is an English manufacturer of luxury sports cars and grand tourers. Its predecessor was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford. Steered from 1947 by David Brown, it became associated with ...

and he assisted in the construction of a

Group C Group C was a category of sports car racing introduced by the FIA in 1982 and continuing until 1993, with ''Group A'' for touring cars and ''Group B'' for GTs. It was designed to replace both Group 5 special production cars (closed top touri ...

sportscar for Le Mans in 1983. The car saw success by 1985, when it briefly led the 24-Hours in the hands of co-driver

Tiff Needell Timothy "Tiff" Needell (born 29 October 1951 in Havant, Hampshire) is a British racing driver and television presenter. He is a presenter of '' Lovecars'', and formerly served as co-presenter of ''Top Gear'' and ''Fifth Gear''. Biography Need ...

and finished ahead of the works-backed

Jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus '' Panthera'' native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the largest cat species in the Americas and the th ...

s, to O'Rourke's great amusement. However, the team folded soon after when Aston Martin left the project. In 1991 he and

co-drove a Jaguar C-Type in the PanAmerican retro race through

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, surviving a dramatic crash with only a broken leg. The events were covered in ''

La Carrera Panamericana ''La Carrera Panamericana'' is a 1992 video of the Carrera Panamericana automobile race in Mexico. The film was directed by Ian McArthur, and included a soundtrack entirely of music by the band Pink Floyd, as the band's guitarist David Gilmo ...

''—a film about the race, which included a soundtrack of previously released tracks and new tracks from

. In 1991 he resurrected EMKA Racing and begin varied participation in the

British GT Championship The British GT Championship is a sports car racing series based predominantly in the United Kingdom. The series was originally created by the British Racing Drivers' Club in 1993 and, for its first two seasons, was known as the National Sports GT ...

BPR Global GT Series The BPR Global GT Series (sometimes referred to as the BPR Global GT Endurance Series or simply abbreviated as BPR.) was a grand tourer-based sports car racing series which ran from 1994 to 1996 before becoming the FIA GT Championship in 1997. The ...

and

FIA GT Championship The FIA GT Championship was a sports car racing series organized by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation (SRO) at the behest of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The championship was mostly concentrated in Europe, but throughout ...

. He earned the British GT GT2 class drivers championship with co-driver

Tim Sugden Tim Sugden (born 26 April 1964, in Bradford) is a British racing driver. He is both driver and manager for his own racing team, Tim Sugden Motorsport. Early career Sugden started racing in karting, where he became British champion. He soon mo ...

in 1997, then again in the GT1 class in 1998. However O'Rourke's greatest racing success came while co-driving a

McLaren F1 GTR The McLaren F1 GTR is the racing variant of the McLaren F1 sports car first produced in 1995 for grand touring style racing, such as the BPR Global GT Series, FIA GT Championship, JGTC, and British GT Championship. It was powered by the natur ...

at Le Mans with Tim Sugden and Bill Auberlen to finish fourth overall. Having saved money by refusing the costly update pack for the McLaren, O'Rourke typically spent as much again on a huge party for all concerned in the EMKA team's success. From 2000 O'Rourke concentrated on the

driving an until he was forced to retire from driving for health reasons; he then presided over the drivers Tim Sugden, Martin Short and factory Porsche driver

Emmanuel Collard Emmanuel Collard (born 3 April 1971) is a French professional racing driver. He is a former member of the Porsche Junioren factory team, but also drives for other marques. Born in Arpajon, Essonne, Collard is the winner of the Le Mans Serie ...

as they won at

Pergusa Pergusa is an Italian village of Sicily. It is a ''frazione'' of Enna, the administrative seat of the same-named province. Geography Pergusa lies in hills about 10 km south of Enna. Pergusa is reached by the '' Enna- Gela Road'', which all ...

and

Anderstorp Anderstorp () is a locality situated in Gislaved Municipality, Jönköping County, Sweden with 4,965 inhabitants in 2010. Scandinavian Raceway, which hosted the Swedish Grand Prix Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is ...

. Porsche responded by offering racing assistance to the EMKA factory for the 2004 season, to the delight of O'Rourke. O'Rourke's death soon after the end of the 2003 season led to the shutdown of EMKA Racing.

Other artists

Other artists managed by O'Rourke include: * Chris Thomas, record producer * Kokomo, band * Heath Lefke,

production manager In the cinema of the United States, a unit production manager (UPM) is the Directors Guild of America–approved title for the top below-the-line staff position, responsible for the administration of a feature film or television production. Non- ...

References

External links

Steve O'Rourke obituary, ''The Telegraph''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Orourke, Steve English music managers 1940 births 2003 deaths 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers British GT Championship drivers People from Willesden World Sportscar Championship drivers English people of Irish descent English racing drivers English Formula One drivers British Formula One Championship drivers Pink Floyd 20th-century English businesspeople