Simon Napier-Bell first confirmed keynote speaker of Eurosonic Noorderslag

Rock manager, composer, songwriter, record producer and author Simon Napier-Bell is confirmed to be the first key note speaker of Eurosonic Noorderslag. For the first time Napier-Bell will share his extended knowledge and hilarious anecdotes about music business written down in his newest book ‘Ta-Ra-Ra-Boom-De-Ay’, which will be published in April 2014. Eurosonic Noorderslag, the European showcase festival and conference, takes place in Groningen/The Netherlands from the 15th to the 18th of January, 2014. Simon Napier-Bell’s keynote, titled ‘The Complete history of the Music Business’, is programmed on Thursday. On Saturday he will be part of the panel ‘Off The Record With A Smile’.

Simon Napier-Bell
Simon Napier-Bell has been a film composer, songwriter, record producer, and author, but most of all he is known for being a rock manager. Amongst the artists he’s managed are The Yardbirds, Marc Bolan, T Rex, Japan, Asia, CC Catch, Ultravox, Candi Staton, Boney M, and Wham!

In the 60s he co-wrote the song ‘You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me’ which went to number one sung by Dusty Springfield and was also covered in the early 70s by Elvis Presley.
He has written three best-selling books about the music industry: ‘You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me’, about the music business in the 60s; ‘Black Vinyl White Powder’, a history of the British music industry; and ‘I’m Coming To Take You To Lunch’, about taking Wham! to Communist China in the 80s, the first Western pop or rock group ever to play there.

These days he does music consultancy through his company Snap-B Music, with Dutch partner Bjorn de Water, and has a TV company in the UK, Snap-B TV. He is also a director of Papa Entertainments, a British PLC. He has just finished writing a complete history of the Music Business from its first beginnings in 1713 until today, ‘Ta-Ra-Ra-Boom-De-Ay’, to be published in April 2014.

Eurosonic Noorderslag
On Wednesday January 15, 2014 Eurosonic Noorderslag hits off with the European Music Awards programme (European Border Breakers Awards and European Festival Awards) and the Eurosonic festival. The event completes on Saturday with, among others, an innovative festival and stage production and design programme during daytime and the Noorderslag festival during the evening.

Conference registration can be purchased through www.eurosonic-noorderslag.nl. Start of ticket sales for the festival programme will be announced in the fall.