User:M.Settle/sandbox/Tim Hollier

Tim Hollier
Tim graduated with a degree in Fine Arts in 1968, and shortly afterwards signed to United Artists Records as a singer-songwriter. He then moved into music publishing in 1973 and created the Songwriters Workshop, a record label and music publishing company that uniquely concentrated on singer-songwriters including Peter Sarstedt.

In 1983, Tim jointly founded what was to become the largest fully independent British publishing company, Filmtrax Plc. The company grew to own such catalogues as the Abba Catalogue of Songs, Columbia Pictures Music Group, Novello and Co, and Belgian Mills. Filmtrax also financed the scores of many major British films including 'Room With A Views' and 'Withnail'.

Tim subsequently became Chairman and owner of Leasing Copyright Service Limited, still recognised as one of the most innovative music publishers of its day and now par of Music Copyright Solutions Plc. He was Chairman of the Business Development Group of British Academy of Composers and Songwriters.

In 1999, he founded Screen Music Services a music publishing company designed to represent film music composers and to finance film and television music. In 2001 he founded Music Copyright Solutions Pls, which was the first music publishing company to offer its stock on the OFEX market and is now a leading independent media music publishing company.

In 2008, Tim founded Copyright Administration Services Limited, now a leading independent world wide administration company, clients include Ealing Film Studios, The Recorded Picture Company, Metrodome Plc, Kintop Pictures, Voltage Pictures, Forecast Films and many independent film production companies. In January 2010, Tim began working with legendary songwriter Barry Mason on building up Barry's own publishing company Barry Mason Music.

In 2008, Tim was joined by co-director Simon Fawcett, and together they founded Atlantic Screen Music, which has now become one of the major independent financiers of Film Music Score in the World, with nearly 100 new films scores produced over the last 4 years.

In 2011, Tim created a unique music publishing company for the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, REMT Music, managed by CAS it is now the largest catalogue of new original military music in Europe. Over fifty percent of the music performed each year at the Tattoo (and the Tattoos performed abroad) is published by REMT Music.

In 2015, together with Co. Simon Vandeleur, Regimental Adjutant of the Coldstream Guards, Tim created the British Military Music Archive, which has now a library of over 3,000 re-mastered historic military recordings going back to 1898.

Early Life and Musical Background
Born in June 1947 in Brighton (Sussex), Tim Hollier soon re-located with his family to Seascale (West Cumberland). At school he met Rod Alexander and in 1960 they formed The Meteors together with Terry Hewitt and Keith Henderson.

In 1963 Tim went to Carlisle Art College and while studying he played with some success on the local folk club scene in a duo called Sovereigns, alongside his cousin Robbie Peckford. A couple of years later Tim moved to London to attend the London College of Graphic Design, where he met Canadian guitarist-singer Rick Cuff: the two began playing together and performed live in the capital city's venues of the time opening for well known acts, such as Jo-Ann Kelly, Roy Harper and even Paul Simon. They even recorded one song at Pye Studios in May '67 but nothing happened, anyway thanks to Charlie Crane (singer with Cryin' Shames and Gary Walker & The Rain), Tim came into contact with Simon Napier-Bell, who was working with David Hemmings' Hemdale Company, and in June '68 he signed for United Artists.

With a good budget from the label and the help of fine musicians of the calibre of John Cameron, Gerry Conway, Herbie Flowers, and David & Jonathan, Tim recorded his debut LP "Message To A Harlequin" which was issued in October 1968. The album was full of delicate and intimate atmospheres and included three outstanding compositions: the title-track, "Mr. Carroll" and "Full Fathoms Five" (with lyrics taken from a Shakespeare sonnet). All songs were co-signed by Hollier (Music) and his friend Rory Fellowes (lyrics), in his turn author of "Nina"m a lovely single issued a few weeks later on Simon Napier-Bell's own label SnB. This 7" was in a quite different style anyway, as Rory was backed by an electric band of session musicians, led by the well known trombonist and British radio personality George Chisholm with members of his band, which produced a sound fusing Trad Jazz, Blues and 'Swinging' London' beat.

Rory and Tim would collaborate again (though in a progressively diminishing measure) on Tim's subsequent LPs. "Message To...", produced by ex-Nirvana (and Napier-Bell business partner) Ray Singer, received lukewarm reviews by the UK press, with John Cameron's arrangements possibly being considered a but too heavily orchestrated. The album was nevertheless licensed for release in the USA (Imperial 12433 housed in a slightly altered cover) and even in Italy (United A. UAS 9036). At the same time Tim also played on Peter Sartstedt's first two albums (also produced by Singer), the first of which included the successful "Where Do You Go To My Lovely".

In November 1968 Tim (then managed by Terry King, who would later work with Caravan and Fuchsia and founded Kingdom Records) played on BBC Radio 1 "Night Ride" show singing a few tracks lifted from the 33, like "I Search for Small Distractions" (actually entitled "In The Light Of Sadness"), plus the new "Song To A Room". In March '69 music magazine Beat Instrumental wrote that Tim was recording his first single, but it failed to appear. In the same month Tim met American songwriter Amor Kane (who had just issued a largely overlooked 1968 LP), and they began playing gigs complete with light show, sound effects, the accompaniment of Rick Cuff and, as it happened at Wigmore Hall in May '69, whilst performing in the final number "Evolution", along with Rick and Jack the young David Bowie appeared on stage in full space suit costume and created a dance ending with his almost naked body sticker on company (a strategic move, as we will later see!) and began working with other artists without much success, then briefly moved to New England, USA, before returning to the UK to record some new tracks.

Spring 1970 saw the release of his first 7", the evocative "In This Room". On April 4th, Tim played on the BBC programme "Country Meets Folk" and ten days later he embarked on his first US tour. While in England he opened for acts as different as Joe Cocker, Third Ear Band and Nick Drake, often helped on stage by Rod Alexandre, Tim Kraemer, Colin Craig, and Phil & Steve Miller (from Delivery).

In July 1970 Tim's second and self-produced album, simply entitled "Tim Hollier", was finally issued and showed the fruits of his collaboration with Kane: the LP featured a few live tracks plus cover versions of Kane's "Maybe You Will Stay", from Amory's debut LP, and of the adventurous "Llanstephan Hill" and "Evolution", both lifted from Kane's "Just To Be There" album, which was issued at the same time.

Hollier and Kane partly used the same backing musicians, in particular the good percussionist Ned Balen (who played with Shackey Vick, Mick Softly and Mick Greenwood) and Rick Cuff designed both covers artworks. "Tim Hollier" inexplicably failed to sell, a criminally neglected gem whose rarity has prevented it for many years from receiving the crease if vastly deserves. On August 15th 1970, on the same day as the new single "Sky Sail" has been scheduled for release, Tim played again on the "Country Meets Folk" BBC programme and in September returned to the USA, while a Belgian tour was announced for November, together with the recording of a new album. In the meantime Tim had appeared on various shows for Grampian, Border and Tyne Tees television, as well as BBC's Late Night and Disco 2.

The third and final "proper" Tim Hollier LP was issued in March 1971, once again arranged by John Cameron. Here Tim sang three Rick Cuff penned songs, of which "Tenderly Stooping Low" was particularly noteworthy. Cameron's orchestrations were at times too mellow, but songs like "And I Wait For That" (co-written by photographer Jeremy Taunton) and "Time Has A Way Of Losing You" ( with lyrics by Rory Fellowes) still stand out. Amory Kane, Tim Kraemer, Harold McNair, Tony Carr and Bill LeSage played on this album, the last track of which was the impressive "While London's Days Increase" (lyrics by Rory Fellowes).

After a second, and final, single was issued in July 1971, which included a cover of Gordon Lightfoot's "The Circle Is Small", Tim Hollier's recording career halted for a while.

Work in The Music Business
On January 14th 1972, Tim played at London's Queen Elizabeth Hall together with David McWilliams and Peter Starstedt. TV and Radio work would be Tim's main interest for the next few years: he composed hundreds of jingles and occasionally recorded a few proper songs, such as those for the Yorkshire TV Documentary "Story of Mill Reef - Something to Brighten The Morning", the soundtrack of which would get a vinyl release on the York label in October 1974. This album featured six new songs by Tim, three of which has a spoken introduction by Albert Finney.

Towards the end of the decade Tim formed 'Soft Rock', a pop-folk outfit also featuring Jamie Jauncey Chris Cooksey and Linda Taylor. The group would record a lone single and now scarce album "Ice Cream, Blue Jeans and Diamonds", featuring "The Dreamer", a nice song co-written with old pal Rod Alexandre, who also played lead guitar on that track.

Following "Soft Rock's' demise, Hollier founded The Songwriters Workshop label, who's roaster comprised artists ranging from The Edgar Broughton Band and Ed Welch to Juice on The Loose. He then founded Peach River Records, which has artists such as David Knopfler, Julie Andrews, and old friend Peter Sartstedt, before turning to music publishing.

Hollier founded the Filmtrax Company, which after becoming one of the worlds largest independent music publishers would be sold to EMI in 1990. Tim, after being on the main board of British Academy of Composers and Songwriters, nowadays runs his new company - Music Copyright Solution Plc - and more recently has co-founded with ex-Stones manager Andrew Wilkinson, Kingstreet Media Group and at last his very own Spargo Productions.

Film Music Publishing
The Atlantic Screen Group of Companies is a music publishing, production and media investment company concentrating on the acquisition ,financing, supervision and publishing of major film scores. Over the last three years the company has had considerable success with over $100 million of highly successful films, including "2 Guns", "Lone Survivor" and "Escape Plan", and continues to do so with films being currently released, such as "Triple 9", "Forsaken", "The Surprise", and "Lost City Of Z".

Copyright Administration Services Limited is the 100% owned subsidiary of Atlantic, concentrating on the administration of music copyrights, not only of major film clients such as Voltage, Kintop and Ealing films, but many composer/publishers, including Barry Mason (composer of "Delilah", "Love Grows", and "The Last Waltz"), Metropolis Music Publishing, The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo and The British Military Music Archive.

The Company was founded by senior music and film industry executives, who have managed or owned music catalogues of some of the largest media groups in the world, including Columbia Pictures Music, Belwin Mills, Merchant Ivory, Al Gallico, Endemol, Handmade Films, Chorion, Millimage and Pathe. Also among the catalogues administered over the past years are Abba, Bob Marley and Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac, giving the Atlantic Group an unrivaled expertise amongst all of the world's independent music companies.

Other titles include:

*Atomic Blonde *The Zookeeper's Wife *Dredd *Walking With Dinosaurs "The 3D Movie" *Hummingbird *The Host *Broken City *Capsule *On The Road *Dom Hemmingway *Ain't Them Bodies Saints *Alex Cross *Cell *Empire State *Great Expectations *Heist *Hirokin *Last Days On Mars *Paranoia *Welcome To The Punch *Vehicle 19 *Perfect Sense *Dancing On The Edge