Tony Pope (Frankie Goes To Hollywood)
BEGINNINGS
Garry Blackburn, a friend of mine, asked me to help him manage a band called Buzz. I said I didn’t think I’d be any good because I hated the business and the people in it. Eventually, I said I’d give it six months. That was five years ago. I met Frankie round about the time of ‘Relax’ and they asked me to manage them.
BIGGEST COUP
Three number one singles and a number one album. Having the second biggest single of 1984 after ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’. Also, getting the band to play live and convincing people that they were very good and could play. There was a lot of pressure not to do it in case the bubble burst.
MISCELLANEOUS
Financial considerations aren’t my main driving force. If I didn’t like Frankie’s music, or them as people, I wouldn’t manage them even if it would make me a multimillionaire. Frankie is my life, they’re in my blood.
The manager is always the bad guy though; you need to be very thick-skinned. It’s a thankless task and you have to do your own back-slapping.
I feel no ego whatsoever and people sometimes say that’s my downfall. In any case, I’ve never ever felt any yearning to be up on stage. I’m basically just a cog in the mechanism and I don’t know many egotistical cogs.
I’m Frankie’s personal manager as well as their business manager. I don’t know whether other managers would fill in their bass player’s American Express application form.