Thank u for saving our record label
How band did deal over Joshua tree money
THE boss of a music firm has revealed how U2 surrendered royalties from their hit album to stop the recording label going bust.
Island Records president Darcus Beese praised the Dublin band for forfeiting profits from The Joshua Tree . The London firm, which also signed Amy Winehouse Mumford & Sons plus Florence and the Machine, has since gone from strength to strength. Mr Beese, who started out in the company as a tea boy, said the rockers “bankrolled” his organisation. He added: “When Island was an independent and it was just about to go down the drain, they said ‘don’t pay us our royalties this year’. They wanted to save the company.” Mr Beese was referring to 1987 when Island was unable to pay €4.4million it owed the band. U2 gave up the cash and then negotiated a stake in the music company, which they first signed with in 1980. Mr Beese, who was addressing industry experts at the Music Cork conference, also said “U2 are Island”. He added: “I’ve had the joy of being in the inner sanctum and seeing how it works and there’s a reason why I call them that. “I would compare that they are as much Island as they are U2 because they have been there almost all of the time.” Mr Beese, who signed Amy Winehouse early on in her career, admits he still feels regrets over her death. He said: “I think it’s made me super sensitive now to an artist having a bad day or having a cough and I’m like, ‘Are you alright? Are you OK?’ With Amy, I do think there was room to maybe have done more. “We tried really hard with Amy, but someone who doesn’t want to be helped, can’t be helped. “Now, I threaten to pull the plug on stuff and I have no issue pulling the plug until people get help.”