Andrew Loog Oldham

Andrew Loog Oldham (born 29 January 1944 in London, England) is an English record producer, talent manager, impresario and author whose influence on 1960s popular music reshaped how rock bands were marketed and controlled. As a teenager he worked as a publicist for both Bob Dylan and the Beatles, learning the art of media manipulation before he was invited to see a fledgling R&B group called the Rolling Stones in April 1963. Recognizing their potential as an "anti-Beatles" act, Oldham quickly secured a partnership with Eric Easton, negotiated a clever Impact Sound deal with Decca and installed himself as both manager and producer, a dual role that was unusual for someone with no prior studio experience. He famously removed keyboardist Ian Stewart from the stage to preserve a five-man image, promoted Mick Jagger to front‑man, and encouraged the partnership of Jagger and Keith Richards to begin writing their own material, resulting in early hits such as "As Tears Go By." Oldlam’s flamboyant publicity stunts—including lurid headlines like "Would You Let Your Sister Go with a Rolling Stone?" and satirical album‑cover copy that urged fans to "steal a blind beggar's wallet"—cemented the band’s rebellious reputation. After leaving the Stones in 1967, he founded Immediate Records, launching the careers of the Small Faces, the Nice, Humble Pie, and a young Rod Stewart, among many others. Though his later years saw a move to the United States and then Colombia, he continued producing, writing autobiographies such as Stoned and Rolling Stoned, and even lecturing at Thompson Rivers University in 2020. In 2014 Oldham was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, underscoring a career that spanned more than five decades and helped define modern rock entrepreneurship.