Chrysalis

Chrysalis was a pretty chauvinistic company, and I recently learned that I would have been made General Manager (I was currently a Professional Manager when the General Manager left) in circa 1974 from Tim Whitsett, who was imported from the US, except I was a woman. Funny - I was exported to the US.
I just received an email via Linkedin from a young woman who described me as an inspiration. I never felt one. Just had grown up without a mother, and my brother and father were the two main characters in my life and I never felt inequal to either of them, especially not my Dad, who tended to lean on me whenever he was having problems, so rather treat all men as if they are either my Dad or my brother.
And I was constantly supposed to be having affairs, in fact so many, I am surprised I found any time to work! Terry Connolly (whose lovely wife, Kay was pregnant at the time and in the final stages) invited me as his guest to attend a Rod Stewart concert, and I was not greeted very warmly by Chris Wright's wife, Shelly (although we later became friends), as she and the other wives thought that Terry and I were having an affair! In fact I nearly made the News of The World as being Terry Connolly's mistress, which I thought at first, was very amusing. But then realised that my Dad probably wouldn't find it so!
Backtracking for a bit, my second job in the music business was working for Bob Wise of Music Sales, the innovator of far more extensive music folios. I was his General Manager, and he treated me as a woman, an equal and one with intelligence. And to who, I shall always owe a great debt of gratitude.
There was definitely great satisfaction in compiling a music folio and ending up with a book you'd put together in your hands. Bob also didn't think that there was anything I couldn't do and off to Australia on a trip, he decided I had to negotiate newspaper stand dstribution of a David Bowie book with lyrics only, a bio and photographs (we'd had great success with one on David Cassidy with the famous semi-nude photographs by Annie Lieberwitz - we cropped the photos slightly and I had many calls from young girls wanting the rest of the photo!) with the largest UK publisher at that time, New English Library and a leading independent distributor to newsstands. Bob gave me the parameters, which were to at least cover the cost of the print run (you had to over print) and I managed to not only do this, however, also make a small profit, regardless of how well the Bowie book sold.
When I moved to LA in 1978 to establish what I eventually named The Chrysalis Music Group USA, as General Manager of several publishing companies, the main two being Rare Blue Music (ASCAP) and the other Red Admiral (BMI), I wasn't exactly treated as an equal.
Funny, because in the UK, companies such as then CBS, wanted to employ me because the equal rights for woman law passed in 1976 and male executives were scurrying around trying to find qualified women and I was one of the few.
Paul Russell, then head of the Business Affairs Department was one And who I had negotiated a deal wit; when I worked as General Manager of Elton John's and Bernie's Taupin's publishing companies; as John Reid believed that since Kiki Dee was recording "I've Got The Music In Me" (published by April Music), we should have co ownership of the copyright - Paul was really surprised when a very young looking woman came into his office to negotiate with him! Rocket acquired rights that John was happy with, and Paul's department couldn't come up with the agreement, so I composed it and that's what was used. Anyway, Paul wanted me to run Mike Batt's department and I wanted to join his department, which I recognised would teach me how to run a record company and in spite of having great admiration for Mike Batt's abilities I turned down that job.
Eventually I learned how to run a record company since I partipated in various UK record company meetings and later the majority at Chrysalis Records Inc.
Terry Ellis was rather a snob, and even though I ran his publishing companies, was not invited to his Christmas parties, as I was only a General Manager. He also didn't like introducing me to people he knew such as Peter Asher, which was pretty dumb, since Peter Asher produced Linda Ronstadt and was always on the look out for songs! And he was pretty put out when Chris Wright brought me as his guest to the premier of Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. And that within the first week of my being in Los Angeles, he saw me at the party given by Jerry Moss for Abe Hoch's 40th birthday party. Terry wasn't at the party I attended when I first met Clive Davis, and nearly accidentenly pushed him in to the pool! Nor when within a few months or arriving in LA, I went to the inaugaration of a woman Judge by Chief Justice of California, Rose Bird, and at the part afterwards met Thurgood Marshall. A very impressive man, who I was totally fascinated by and listened intently to everything he said.
I clearly remember my first meeting with Terry Ellis, or TCE as he was called. He was visiting the UK, and word went around that women must wear skirts. Well, I baulked at this! Why should anyone tell me how to dress! There was a rumour that everyone in Los Angeles had to dress as well as the reception area looked.
Anyway, at the last moment, I caved in and dragged out a skirt I had made, and when I met Terry I was seated at my desk (that was actually the dining room table Terry and Chris used when they first joined together and formed a company) and never got up, so I could have been wearing jeans!
My next meeting with TCE (to start discussions on whether I was to move to the US) was at a famous hotel in Grosvenor Square (can't remember the name, but it was similar to one in the Strand and I went there first, so was late. But I was wearing a dress, and Terry was very gracious and I calmed down enough to have a good discussion with him.
The next time we met was at Midem (a music conference held annually in January in Cannes), at a dinner with Terry Connolly and Marv Goodman (Professional Manager of Chrysalis US publishing companies, and based in New York - I had met him several years earlier when I was working for Elton and had accompanied he, John, the band to New York and become instant great friends with him, which we remain to this day. Marv kept calling TCE Boss, and I said something reasonably controversial at one point and got kicked under the table by Terry Connolly. Anyway and despite this, I got the job as General Manager of the US publishing companies.
A big party was held a few months after my arrival to announce my appointment and that Chrysalis was expanding its publishing companies. I wore an outfit of satin made by the singer, Brenda Arnau. It was an off the shoulder top and the skirt was masses of heavy satin. George Christy, the Hollywood Reporter gossip columnist complimented me on my outfit, and I responded "I feel like a birthday cake without the candles". So the only time I made the Hollywood Report gossip column was that quote!
Very funny, because after the party a group of us went off to a disco to dance and when I left the club, the elastic around the waist broke, and there was no way I could hold all that satin! Fortunately, I was wearing white panty hose, so while my butt showed, it was covered!
Oh, and of course, everyone in the company thought that I was TCE's mistress, which was a curse and made people very wary of me, plus I was shy and that didn't help much either. And if anyone ever saw Terry and I in meetings, disagreeing with each other, you'd have to know we were not having an affair, and while I am sure there are many women who did admire his looks or his executive position, I didn't.
To be continued......