Mr Showbiz

de Stephen Dando-Collins

In the 1970s, Australian entrepreneur Robert Stigwood was the entertainment industry's most powerful tycoon. This is his largest-than-life story. Stiggy's ability to pick and promote talent was astounding. He came to renown managing the careers of the Bee Gees, Cream and Eric Clapton and Grease, and was behind the massive West End and Broadway musicals Hair and Jesus Christ Superstar. There were also great crashes, including an infamous Chuck Berry tour that failed to attract audiences and forced the Australian impresario into bankruptcy. The failure of the big-budget musical film of the Beatles' album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band also cut deep. Throughout it all, Stigwood lived it up with champagne, staff, private planes, yachts and luxury penthouses. The parties he hosted were legendary, as was his ability to party all night long and pull off a substantial business deal the next morning. Great rifts arose in almost all of his closest personal and professional relationships, but his gift for friendship and enormous talents in the entertainment business generally saw rapprochement. Not for nothing was Robert Stigwood dubbed "Mt Showbiz".