| Paul and Michael Berrow | |
| Background information | |
|---|---|
| Born | UK |
| Occupation | Record label owners, recording studio owners, band managers |
| Associated companies | Wandering Star Tritec Music |
| Associated acts | Duran Duran Meeky Rosie Kajagoogoo |
| Record Label Owners | |
Paul and Michael Berrow are British record label owners, who were once nightclub owners and the managers of Duran Duran.
In the late 1970s the father of Paul and Michael Berrow owned a number of small clubs around Birmingham and bequeathed the Rum Runner nightclub to his sons. Looking for inspiration they went on a fact finding trip to New York City and visited Studio 54. The brothers who are described as very creative came back revitalised with a mission to try and bring the excitement of the Manhattan dance scene to Birmingham's Broad Street, with the refurbished Rum Runner opening during 1979.
Duran Duran[]
When a newly-formed group of musicians called Duran Duran walked into the Rum Runner one day in early 1980 with a demo tape, there was an instant mutual appeal between the Berrows and the band. They offered Duran Duran a place to rehearse and play gigs. A few months later they signed as the managers of the band. The Berrows and the band then formed the Tritec Music Company (named after the triangular-themed bar inside the club). The label used the Rum Runner office upstairs from the club as its official address.
Michael mortgaged his house to send Duran Duran as a supporting act for Hazel O'Connor's Megahype Tour of the UK in 1980, which led to the band's signing with EMI in December that year. Five years of extraordinary success followed, during which the band and the managers grew exceedingly wealthy.
The band parted ways with the Berrows in 1986. While no reason for the split was aired publicly then, John Taylor 's 2012 autobiography, In The Pleasure Groove, revealed that anger with the Berrows' over their perceived role as bad influences in encouraging Simon Le Bon to participate in the Whitbread Round The World yacht race -- during which Simon was almost killed when his vessel, The Drum, capsized off the Cornish coast during an August 10th, 1985 practice run -- was the deciding factor leading directly to their being sacked.
Drum[]
Drum is the yacht the Berrows co-owned with Simon Le Bon, which competed in the Whitbread Round the World Race. On August 10th, 1985, Drum lost her keel in the midst of a practice race -- called the Fastnet -- when gale force winds capsized the ship with all three owners on board. Le Bon was trapped under the upturned hull with five other crew members. Thankfully, all were rescued. Drum eventually did get her chance in the Whitbread, but only after extensive salvage and refurbishment. That months-long trek, along with the perilous drama of the Fastnet, were documented in the video, Drum - The Journey Of A Lifetime.
In 2006 Paul and Michael Berrow attended a crew reunion dinner and to race the yacht once more to raise awareness for the RNLI.
Wandering Star[]
In 1992 the Berrows formed Wandering Star Media with Marcello Anciano, and bought the rights for Modesty Blaise, a highly prized newspaper script character. Within a week they had made a deal with Miramax film company, and Anciano and the Berrows produced the film My Name Is Modesty, directed by Scott Spiegel and starring Alexandra Staden. Quentin Tarantino joined the filming as an executive producer.
In 2001, the brothers started a record label and recording studio in Devon called Wandering Star Records. The record company is now located at Market Place, Blandford Forum in Dorset and have signed various bands including Meeky Rosie.
Also in 2001, Paul and Michael co-produced the movie Angel of Death (a.k.a Semana Santa), directed by Pepe Danquart, and release in France 12th June 2002. The film is about a killer, set in Seville during the masked Easter celebrations.
2008 saw another big budget action-adventure film, Solomon Kane, based on the pulp magazine character of the same name, created in 1928 by Robert E. Howard. Written and directed by M. J. Bassett. The film stars James Purefoy in the title role, and also stars Pete Postlethwaite and Max von Sydow. Von Sydow's film The Seventh Seal (1957) was also a minor inspiration for this film. Despite obtaining the rights in 1997, filming did not begin until January 2008, entirely on location in the Czech Republic. The movie was released in 2009, and received positive reviews similar to contemporaries Outlander, The 13th Warrior, Reign of Fire and King Arthur.
Home Life[]
More recently, Paul Berrow moved to the small Italian/Sicilian island of Lipari, with his wife, where they bought an idyllic beach-front home in Pecorini A Mare. Here he still works for the entertainment industry in a semi-retired capacity, and also enjoys preparing freshly caught squid, cooking, sailing, and enjoying island life. His instagram name is 'nothingbehindthemadness'.