Rock’s best kept secret: Tony King on life with John Lennon, Elton John and Freddie Mercury



Tony King (centre) with Elton John and John Lennon, en way to Boston successful 1974. Photograph: Courtesy of Sam EmersonTony King (centre) with Elton John and John Lennon, en way to Boston successful 1974. Photograph: Courtesy of Sam Emerson

He held Mercury’s manus successful wellness facility, retrieved Lennon from a cocaine escapade with David Bowie, and became upbraided by mode of Keith Richards for smoking a joint. Now the Zelig of the opus planetary is looking little back

Tue 17 Jan 2023 05.00 ESTLast changed connected Tue 17 Jan 2023 07.02 EST

On the partition of Tony King’s level successful northbound London, determination whitethorn beryllium a beauteous sed Andy Warhol people of Marilyn Monroe. There’s immoderate different inscription connected the back, successful a scrawl instantly acquainted to everyone with a passing expertise of the Beatles: “To Tony with love, from 1 successful each your problems, emotion John.”

An abashed Lennon gave it to him aft a peculiarly raucous nighttime successful Los Angeles successful the mid-Nineteen Seventies: drunk and furious aft an altercation with Phil Spector astatine immoderate signifier successful the signaling of what became his 1975 medium Rock ’n’ Roll, Lennon had smashed up the location successful which helium turned into staying. King, who turned into fundamentally handling him astatine that point, arrived to find windows broken, golden information shattered and the vocalist attempting to resistance a thenar histrion retired of the ground. He intervened and ended up pinning Lennon to the floor: “I by nary means knew you were truthful strong, pricey,” Lennon quipped.

The full endeavor of the Warhol people could beryllium precise Tony King. It’s a superb small portion of history, with an fantastic communicative attached to it, nevertheless discreetly hidden: you request to bash distant with the representation from the partition and flip it implicit to observe the full story. Now successful his 80s, King is astir apt stone records’s nice-stored secret: a Zelig-like find whose assemblage wrong the euphony manufacture connects the Beatles and the Rolling Stones to Elton John, Freddie Mercury and the overdue Seventies zenith of disco. He became determination erstwhile the Beatles recorded All You Need Is Love and met the Maharishi (he wasn’t inspired with the latter). He spent a spot of the 1960s trying to enactment for the Rolling Stones’ supervisor, Andrew Loog Oldham, from a level utilized by divers set contributors arsenic a clang pad. Once, helium turned into upbraided by mode of Keith Richards for smoking a associated with the guitarist’s past accomplice: unthinkable arsenic this present appears, Richards archetypal of each disapproved of medicine.

King astatine his London flat. Photograph: Antonio Olmos/The Guardian

An retired homosexual antheral earlier than the 1967 Sexual Offences Act decriminalised homosexuality – “I knew nary different manner, to beryllium honest” – it changed into King who advocated his buddy Freddie Mercury to archer his accomplice, Mary Austin, that helium was homosexual. Meanwhile, King’s unabashed flamboyance had a profound effect connected Elton John, who, aft they archetypal met, go a suffering singer-songwriter fixed to dressing down: “Tony would person attracted attraction successful the halfway of a Martian invasion,” John yet recalled. “I wanted to beryllium that stylish and chiseled and outrageous.”

In the precocious Nineteen Seventies, helium turned into astatine the dancefloors of New York’s legendary play instrumentality – the Paradise Garage, 12 West, Studio 50 4 – moving successful what helium calls “homo promo”: wrong the disco technology, papers labels sought retired guys who understood the music’s queer roots to beforehand caller releases to DJs. In the 1980s and 90s, helium toured the assemblage with the Rolling Stones, and labored arsenic Elton John’s inventive director. By each and sundry’s standards, his has been a packed beingness – arsenic you mightiness expect, King has testimonies for miles – yet his sanction seldom seems wrong the popular civilization records books. “I’ve continually been hardly underneath the radar,” helium says. “To beryllium sincere with you, I accidental it’s rather chic to beryllium successful the heritage, it’s a pleasant vicinity to enactment yourself. So I’ve perpetually favoured that position, to unrecorded somewhat low-key and with a spot of luck person a spot of integrity astir what I do.”

It took galore years of cajoling with the assistance of pals for King to constitute a memoir, a task helium successful the extremity started retired each done lockdown. The ensuing ebook, The Tastemaker, is amazing: a funny, transferring, peculiarly captivating saga that sees him postgraduate from an Elvis-obsessed teen successful Sussex to a process astatine grounds statement Decca and thence into the oculus of the swinging 60s storm. It each seems to hap close away: 1 infinitesimal King is operating successful a record store successful Worthing, the adjacent he’s chaperoning the Ronettes astir London and leaping retired of a taxi astatine the behest of Roy Orbison to emblem down a passing automobile the vocalist has decided helium wants to store for. “You alert by utilizing the spot of your pants, don’t you?” helium says. “I usually loved showbiz, truthful it seemed earthy to maine – it was a satellite I’d perpetually been arsenic an alternate keen on.”

Tony King (status, 3rd left) with the Ronettes, Phil Spector (seated) and George Harrison successful 1964. Photograph: From the writer’s collection

The antithetic striking origin astir his communicative is however plentifulness popular stars look to person appreciated and trusted him. He person go friends with the Beatles aft supplying them with singles by mode of the American R&B artists they cherished. After switching jobs to paintings with Oldham – who lured King by mode of gambling him the Stones’ consequent single, (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction – helium struck up a lifelong relationship with Charlie Watts. This aft Watts’ archetypal valuation that helium had “by nary means disposable anybody arsenic homosexual arsenic that caller antheral wrong the workplace”.

“I deliberation I changed into perpetually precise straightforward, a instantly speaker,” King says. “I wasn’t an creator but I understood the artists, I became of their camp. I presume I had an innate know-how of what artists needed, and I didn’t enactment up with bullshit.”

To that quit, helium grew to go the Beatles down erstwhile they requested him to enactment astatine the recently shaped Apple Records: “I conception it was being tally by means of a load of cowboys – satisfactory cowboys, nevertheless they weren’t record organisation quality beings. It turned into excessively ethereal-fairy for me.” He sooner oregon aboriginal changed his thoughts portion Ringo Starr assured him that the bureau had crook retired to beryllium “a bully woody greater organised”. Newly hooked up arsenic the pinnacle of A&R, helium observed that organised was a comparative term. “It became truthful mad, Apple,” helium says. “The unspeakable workplace lad needed to bash Ringo’s purchasing each Friday. There would beryllium a batch of these remainder country rolls stacked successful the foyer adjacent arsenic they counted them out, ensuring they’d were fixed the due fig for Ringo. But the huffy facet of it turned into lovely. We had an Apple darts squad and we’d undertaking 1 of a benignant study agencies. Keith Moon showed up looking to play, but helium was truthful nether the power of alcohol, the workplace boys needed to sphere him up truthful helium ought to propulsion a dart.”

We had an Apple darts squad and Keith Moon showed up. He go truthful nether the power of alcohol, the bureau boys had to sphere him arsenic overmuch arsenic propulsion a dart

Eventually, King moved to LA to enactment with Lennon, wherever his obligations progressive dressing up due to the fact that the Queen for a TV concern advertizing and selling the medium Mind Games. Lennon became wrong the midst of his “misplaced weekend”, a notoriously boozy sojourn whilst helium turned into concisely separated from Yoko Ono. In King’s telling, it wasn’t thing similar arsenic tumultuous arsenic it’s usually depicted – arsenic helium points out, it was an epoch wherein Lennon made a No 1 album, Walls and Bridges. But determination has been truely an constituent of chaos: King needed to usher Lennon retired of a show by Frankie Valli aft helium started retired suggesting loudly that the Four Seasons frontman request to “show america your dick”; helium besides retrieved Lennon from a lavatory cubicle successful which helium changed into doing cocaine with David Bowie. But, for the astir element, helium says, Lennon changed into a pride. “I knew him wrong the Sixties and helium could beryllium precise slicing. I turned into intimidated by means of him. I went to LA looking up to this sharp-tongued Liverpudlian, and arsenic an alternate I got this sincerely smooth, susceptible guy. I couldn’t spot it.”

Meanwhile, Ono emerges from The Tastemaker arsenic an implicit hoot, a hilarious eccentric who encourages King to instrumentality magic mushrooms earlier a concern gathering with a way endeavor executive. “Oh my God, I took disconnected midway via lunch,” helium laughs. “I was flying. And Yoko leans passim the table and says” – his dependable drops to a conspiratorial susurration – ‘Good, aren’t they?’”

The e-book is packed with vibrant, poant descriptions of LA and New York successful the Nineteen Seventies, dispatches from backstage connected Rolling Stones mega-excursions and an impossibly starry assisting forged: everyone from Kenny Everett to Joni Mitchell to Donald Trump, who threatens to hijack a Stones property league astatine his casino, inflicting the band’s roadies to instrumentality up “with screwdrivers and hammers and what person you ever” that allows you to halt him.

‘Indomitable spirit’ … King with Freddie Mercury successful 1981. Photograph: Courtesy of Tony King

The maximum effectual a portion of the publication has thing to bash with tune, though. King’s depiction of beingness and demise successful New York during the Aids epidemic is simply a surprising, haunting study: the decease pal helium sees successful aesculapian institution, looking saggy owed to the information the nurses are truthful frightened of catching the upset that they bash not privation to trim his hairsbreadth oregon fingernails; different unwell buddy, who breaks down successful King’s kitchen, sobbing that helium doesn’t privation to die. “I was virtually residing connected Ground Zero. You could spot it successful the streets of Greenwich Village, individuals who had been death. You could archer with the assistance of the colour successful their pores and skin, successful the lawsuit that they person been being helped down the street, if they had a walking stick: that’s a idiosyncratic who is death. You had been surrounded via death. It’s intolerable to supply an mentation for to radical simply however devastating it turned into, and the interest and rejection that went with it.”

Of each the quality beings helium knew who died, helium says Freddie Mercury go the bravest. “So courageous. Shopping till the end, buying for up paintings successful Christie’s auctions. I utilized to prevarication connected the furniture adjacent to him and clasp his hand, which turned into stone-cold, similar a bone. They’d present successful the creation enactment he’d offered and prop them up astatine the cease of the mattress for him to study. I stated, ‘Fred, wherefore are you doing this?’ And helium stated, ‘What other person I got to do? I can’t exit, I can’t depart the bed, nevertheless arsenic a minimum I tin spell shopping.’ He had this extraordinary, indomitable spirit.”

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By the clip King recovered helium had gotten smaller HIV himself, tablets person been disposable that meant the sickness was not a nonaccomplishment of beingness sentence. Nevertheless, helium ended up successful rehab aft a breakdown that appears to had been introduced astir by means of seeing specified a batch of pals die: “I’d simply suffered a batch grief. Survivor’s guilt.”

He recovered and ended his assemblage moving with Elton John, overseeing his medium sleeves and operating astatine the staging of his Las Vegas show and ongoing farewell tour. Now retired, helium says that penning The Tastemaker became a atypical enjoy, tinged with disappointment and remorse: a fig of the characters successful it are agelong past; it ends with the dying of Charlie Watts. Then erstwhile more, King done what helium acceptable retired to do.

“I knew arsenic a teen I turned into by nary means going to beryllium a celeb, nevertheless I cherished placing retired with stars, the glamour of it all. I appreciated operating for well-known humans and assisting them to execute things they had been acceptable connected doing. After 1 of the Rolling Stones excursions, I got a paper from Mick that conscionable said: ‘Thanks for preserving it proper.’”

He smiles. “That summed it up for me: retaining it right.”

The Tastemaker by utilizing Tony King volition beryllium published by means of Faber & Faber connected 2 February, £20. To bid a duplicate for £17.40 and assistance to assistance the Guardian, sojourn the guardianbookshop.Com. A shipping terms whitethorn besides apply.