Puttin The P back in PLEBA?

[wolfeden]

Wondering what the general PLEBA population makes of this guy... how much of U2's success is owed to his business savvy (or lack thereof?) and just how much of U2's public image does he control? Is Principle Management a business juggernaut because of U2 or because of McGuinness?

I'm asking because sometimes the stuff he says in public just comes off the wrong way to me.. not that I have anything bad to say about him one way or the other for pete's sake... some of his quotes seem over-the-top to me -- is this just "how things are done" in these times when a performer's manager is rarely seen or spoken of (who manages Britney? N'Sync? Metallica? Linkin Park?)
Is he a throwback to Brian Epstein's time with the Beatles, nearly considered a 'fifth member' of the band?

I mean seriously, in these days the lads are quite capable of steering their image and careers the way they want to, but back in the day just how much influence did he have?

 

[madamadam]

He probably kept them headed in the right direction and helped get them publicity and such. Yes, these days the boys can handle their own, but Paul is still an influence to help them decide upon alot of things.

 

[HelloAngel]

This should probably be in EYKIW to faciliate "General U2 Discussion," and I think this is a really interesting topic.

 

[verte76]

The way I look at it, the guys knew where they wanted to go, and were willing to work their asses off for it, but Paul was one heck of a good guide. He's pretty important to them.

 

[kellyahern]

The way I look at it, the guys knew where they wanted to go, and were willing to work their asses off for it, but Paul was one heck of a good guide. He's pretty important to them.

I may be wrong, but didn't he have a hand in making sure that U2 owned the publishing rights to their songs? That was a pretty important decision.

 

[verte76]

I may be wrong, but didn't he have a hand in making sure that U2 owned the publishing rights to their songs? That was a pretty important decision.

Ooh, I think so. You're right, that was huge.

 

[ylimeU2]

Good idea for a topic. I was wondering the other day if anyone had ever discussed McGuinness here. First, I think he did have a lot to do with U2 getting the rights to their own songs. McGuiness, in my opinion played a big role in U2 and their success. From what I understand, he was financial support for U2 in the beginning and made some of their early "tours" possible. I don't really know all that much about him, and I don't mind admitting it. For me, the bottom line is Bono, Edge, Adam, and Larry really seem to trust him, and they seem grateful to him. He has been with them since the almost the beginning. That says more to me then anything else.

 

[wolfeden]

*nods*
A lot of what everyone's saying makes sense... and if they didn't like him, they wouldn't stay with him.

From what I've read, it seems like he worked his butt off getting them initial exposure and making sure they weren't just sold up the river with a bad contract (as prevalent today as it was then....)

God, can you imagine how awful it would be if they didn't own the rights to their stuff... *remembering the nastiness that went on with the Beatles' stuff*

There's an entire chapter about him in Eamon Dunphy's book Unforgettable Fire, I should brush up on it and come back...