Obits & Tributes

The international touring business is mourning the death of veteran promoter Colleen Ironside. An ILMC regular, Ironside was MD of Hong Kong-based pan-Asian touring and event promotion company Live Limited, which she…

Leading live music figures have paid tribute to music agent Paul Fitzgerald, who has died aged 54 following a long illness. The ex-CAA agent enjoyed a distinguished 25-plus-year career in showbusiness after…

Ed Grossman, a renowned tax consultant to international touring artists, has passed away at the age of 73. The London-born veteran was due to start chemotherapy for lung cancer this week but…

Glastonbury founder Michael Eavis has led tributes to the festival’s long-serving commercial director Robert Richards, who has died aged 65 following a short illness. Richards, who was the producer of Julien Temple’s…

Highly-respected French independent concert promoter Gérard Drouot has died at the age of 69. Drouot, who had been battling with leukaemia, began his music career in the 1970s, organising shows including the…

Renowned booking agent and X-ray co-founder Steve Strange has passed away after a short illness. A statement issued last night from X-ray reads: “We have lost a legendary figure in our personal…

Concert organiser Márton Brády, the founder and leader of ShowTime Budapest and Ticket Express, died of coronavirus complications on Saturday, March 20, at the age of 54. Born in 1966, Brády began his career…

Frontier Touring founder Michael Gudinski, for five decades one of the best-known and most-loved figures in the concert business down under, has passed away. He was 68. The sudden passing of Gudinski…

Tony Laurenson, founder and CEO of global catering group Global Infusion Group (GIG) and its well-known subsidiary Eat to the Beat, passed away last Tuesday (19 January). Laurenson spent over four decades…

Ben Kouijzer, an agent for CAA UK and formerly UTA who represented electronic acts including 808 State and Meduza, has passed aged 36 of kidney and liver failure. Kouijzer was diagnosed last…

Richard Coram, one of the Middle East’s live music pioneers and a household name in the UAE, has passed away from Covid-19. Known locally as the ‘voice of Dubai’, Coram, who arrived…

Chris Meredith, agent at ATC Live and festival director at Neverworld Music Festival, has passed away at the age of 37. Lee Denny, Neverworld founder says, “Chris had a rare and wonderful character. His…

Steve Forster, founder and managing director of VMS Live and a widely respected figure in the UK live music industry, has passed away. After a stint as a musician, DJ and roadie in…

Croatian concert promoter Jordan Rodić, responsible for bringing international greats including Sting, U2, Depeche Mode, Jamiroquai and Ennio Morricone to his home country, has died aged 43. Rodić, the CEO of Premium Events and…

Rob O’Shea, the former general manager of FlyDSA Arena in Sheffield died last week following a year-long battle with cancer. O’Shea successfully managed the arena, formerly Sheffield Arena, for over ten years. In…

Irish concert promoter and artist manager John Reynolds, the founder of Pod Concerts and a former co-manager of Boyzone, has passed away aged 52. Reynolds, one of the Republic of Ireland’s most…

David Zard, a pioneering concert promoter who was the first to bring some of the biggest names in rock music to Italy, has died aged 75. Born in Tripoli, Zard (pictured) emigrated to Italy in…

Pioneering concert promoter Shmuel Zemach, whose Zemach Productions company promoted some of the first Israeli shows by Elton John, Frank Sinatra, Metallica, Eric Clapton, Leonard Cohen, Simon & Garfunkel, Guns N’ Roses and Aerosmith, has…

Live Nation Belgium has paid tribute to its long-serving employee Marianne Dekimpe, who passed away on Friday 15 September, just over a month shy of her 50th birthday. Dekimpe worked for Live Nation for almost…

Dave Chumbley, director and booking agent at Primary Talent International, passed away on 22 August after a short illness. In a statement Primary said: “Dave was a great man, a world-class agent,…

ILMC’s long-time producer Alia Dann Swift passed away at her home in Melbourne, Australia on 24 May, 2017. Alia was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer in early April and had spent the…

Matthias Müller, founder and president of Swiss festival Baloise Session, has died aged 51 after a long illness. Matthias founded Baloise Session – then known as Rheinknie Session – in 1986 as a jazz,…

Long-time ILMC member Paul King has died following a battle with cancer. He was 63. As promoter and artist manager, King worked with acts such as Dire Straits, Julian Cope, Level 42…

Following the untimely death of Live Nation venue chief and long-time ILMC member David Vickers, Carl A H Martin and Live Nation COO Paul Latham remember a ‘diamond geezer’ renowned for his…

Martin Hopewell remembers ILMC’s favourite bar manager and long-serving team member, who passed away in June 2015. It’s not surprising that you come across first-class people when you’re organising events at 5-star…