Reissue, repackage, repackage. Satiate the need!

July 7, 2009 11:14 AM

The Great Rock n Roll Swindler has died. Allen Klein, who once managed both the Rolling Stones and The Beatles, died in New York on Saturday, aged 77, after battling Alzheimer's disease.

His appeal to the Rolling Stones was as a “gangster figure” who appeared to be outside the establishment. Renegotiating the Stones’ contract with Decca, Klein told the company’s chairman that he hoped his record executives could sing, “because you’ve just lost the Stones”. Decca eventually payed a far higher price to retain their services.

John Lennon persuaded his fellow Beatles to appoint Klein as their manager because he wanted “a real shark, someone to keep the other sharks away.” Recalling his career in 2002, Klein said: “I never wanted to be a manager. It was going over the books that I loved.”

posted by punkfloyd (26 comments total)

"Though I walk in the shadow of the valley of evil, I have no fear, as I am the biggest bastard in the valley."

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posted by Sailormom at 11:20 AM on July 7 [1 favorite has favorites]

His wiki page is pretty decent, outlining his time with various bands. In 1961, he formed Allen & Betty Klein and Company, better known as ABKCO Records, which was known for the re-release and compilations of the material on their label, including the Cameo-Parkway Records library.
posted by filthy light thief at 11:23 AM on July 7

The Great Rock n Roll Swindler has died.

This post is not about Malcolm McLaren?
posted by Pollomacho at 11:30 AM on July 7 [2 favorites has favorites]

The Great Original Rock and Roll Swindler has died.
posted by punkfloyd at 11:36 AM on July 7

Certainly yesterday his publicist spoke of him as a great New York philanthropist, giving fortunes to many children's charities. He must have had fortunes available to give. -- from Mail Online, which has an interesting summary of his life, focusing on how much of a hardass/jackass he was, skimming over the fact he was dead.
posted by filthy light thief at 11:47 AM on July 7

The Great Original Rock and Roll Swindler has died.

You're kidding. There was more than one?
posted by dhartung at 12:07 PM on July 7 [1 favorite has favorites]

Well, I'll give him credit for getting rid of a lot of the leeches and hangers-on that were bleeding money from the Beatles, anyway. It's also interesting to read the Northern Songs wiki entry to see how ATV ended up getting the Beatles catalog.
posted by Halloween Jack at 12:13 PM on July 7

In 1978, Eric Idle and Neil Innes produced a mockumentary about the Beatles called "The Rutles: All You Need is Cash." It's pretty funny, especially if you know the history of the Beatles. Toward the end of the film, the band's hiring of Klein was satirized with the introduction of a gangster-like character named Ron Decline (played by John Belushi).

Check out two clips of Decline, based on Allen Klein:

"In business, his left hand never knew who his right hand was doing."

and

"Where's the money? I don't know where the money is. I've never been good with figures, you knew that. Math was never my best subject."
posted by zooropa at 12:14 PM on July 7 [1 favorite has favorites]

From an NME interview with Pete Townshend in 1978, describing the partial inspiration for "Who Are You":

"[January 1977 Pete had] been at a business meeting with his former manager Chris Stamp, his accountant and the infamous rock biz troubleshooter Allen Klein. For six months he'd been trying to get back payment for his American songwriting royalties, and it was the final meeting in a series of many.

Klein apparently produced sheets of figures, totally confused everybody, haggled over his cut for collecting the monies, and after 12 hours presented Townshend with a cheque. Townshend was emotionally drained, exasperated and infuriated by the whole ordeal.

'I said to Chris Stamp,' he recalls, '"I don't fuckin' believe all that! I don't believe that after all these years in the rock business that I've sat through all that shit, and gone through all that for six months just to get a cheque."

I felt like a piece of shit!'"

Full article can be found here (PDF download)
posted by shannonm at 12:33 PM on July 7 [1 favorite has favorites]

He deserves way more of the blame (or credit, depending on your point of view) for breaking up the Beatles than Yoko.

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posted by jonp72 at 12:44 PM on July 7

After a few days of no Alan Klein obit I was sort of hoping that his death would go unnoticed. There are plenty of worse people one earth, but he seems like a guy that was pretty hard to like.
posted by Slack-a-gogo at 12:45 PM on July 7

"Trying to find some money then you die."
posted by Slack-a-gogo at 12:46 PM on July 7

Apparently, it was a habit of Klein's to rehearse business speeches to himself in a mirror. When Belushi did this in the Rutles movie he wasnt best pleased.

trivia: Al Franken appears as a henchman in the Ron Decline scene.
posted by the cuban at 12:47 PM on July 7

Klein is also responsible for El Topo (and Tusk and The Holy Mountain) being unavailable for over two decades.

Unfortunately, despite its initial success EL TOPO would vanish for over two decades. It was forcibly suppressed by the rock n’ roll impresario Allen Klein, who purchased the rights at the request of his client John Lennon; Klein would go on to produce Jodorowsky’s subsequent features THE HOLY MOUNTAIN and TUSK, which were likewise pulled from circulation after Klein and Jodorowsky had a falling-out.

Not a big fan of the man, myself.
posted by stinkycheese at 1:56 PM on July 7

He deserves way more of the blame (or credit, depending on your point of view) for breaking up the Beatles than Yoko.

I'd blame Paul more than either of them. Paul favored his father-in-law to manage the Beatles' business affairs, even though the other three (and, really, just about anyone on earth who wasn't related to Paul McCartney) thought that there might be a wee conflict of interest there. Also, from the Northern Songs link I posted above:

Allen Klein attempted to set up a deal with ATV for Apple Corps to buy ATV out. This was spoiled by attorney John Eastman (McCartney's brother-in-law, and son of his future business manager Lee Eastman) sending a letter to ATV informing them that Klein wasn't authorised to act on Apple's behalf. (This was technically true, but he was the de facto manager for Lennon, Harrison and Starr, and also had McCartney's verbal go-ahead for the deal.) ATV backed out rather than risk being pulled into litigation.

Smooth move, Macca. Kind of reduces the amount of sympathy you might have for Sir Paul after his former buddy Michael Jackson ended up buying the Beatles' catalog.
posted by Halloween Jack at 2:18 PM on July 7

Shannonm; "After a 12-hour meeting with Who management and the financial Svengali, Allen Klein, Pete Townshend was in no mood to stay sober.". Also when Pete was on Steve Jones old radio show he was asked about John and Steve being the inspiration for one of the verses and he talked about Klein during that interview as well. March 2007
posted by stuartmm at 2:29 PM on July 7

I almost flagged this post as way too thin given the heavy and complex gravity of Mr. Klein. I was aware he'd died and, lacking the commitment myself, was hoping somebody would go to the trouble of piecing something together that did his memory justice (?) - not sure that's the right word.

Anyway, thanks all for filling in various blanks. The man was definitely a major player in the trajectory of 20th century western culture, more sinner than saint I'm sure ... but he was definitely there not far from the crest of the wave.
posted by philip-random at 2:49 PM on July 7

"In business, his left hand never knew who his right hand was doing."

And the two guys on Belushi's flanks look like Tom Davis and, yes, SENATOR AL FRANKEN!!!!
posted by Mental Wimp at 3:32 PM on July 7

Sorry. the cuban beat me to it.
posted by Mental Wimp at 3:35 PM on July 7

Read someplace that just to get him out of their hair, the Beatles encouraged him to go over to the fresh meat of the Rolling Stones.

Always one album behind, poor fellows.
posted by IndigoJones at 4:15 PM on July 7

Klein is also responsible for El Topo (and Tusk and The Holy Mountain) being unavailable for over two decades.

Have you seen El Topo? Up until now, I thought it wasn't possible to say a nice thing about Klein. But supressing El Topo is a real act of humanity, right up there with funding children's hospitals.
posted by Faze at 4:25 PM on July 7

Always one album behind, poor fellows.

well, by my count, they're something like 14 albums ahead right now
posted by pyramid termite at 10:37 PM on July 7

oh, yeah, almost forgot

$
posted by pyramid termite at 10:48 PM on July 7

they're something like 14 albums ahead right now

There's a joke in there about quitting while you're ahead, but I'm not up to it right now.

Anyway, of those fourteen, how many are really worth having?
posted by IndigoJones at 7:01 AM on July 8

Faze, you may feel that way about El Topo, but The Holy Mountain is one of the greatest films ever made. Without Klein, it might not exist, so even though the guy was kind of a jerk...

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posted by Unicorn on the cob at 9:15 AM on July 8

Anyway, of those fourteen, how many are really worth having?

Stones studio albums released since the Beatles break up that are genuinely worth owning:

Sticky Fingers - Exile on Mainstreet - Goats Head Soup - It's Only Rock 'n Roll - Black and Blue - Some Girls

I always felt the cut-off for those guys (as recording artists) was 1980 and/or Keith kicking heroin. Sad but true.
posted by philip-random at 9:27 AM on July 8