The man behind the music
PAUL Dainty. The name might not be instantly recognisable but many Kiwis will know him by his work: bringing some of the biggest names down under.
The promoter – a softly spoken Brit with more than 40 years industry experience – has over the decades delivered us acts ranging from the Rolling Stones in the early 1970s, to Prince earlier this year. He managed to have Katy Perry swing by on her Prismatic World Tour back in 2014 and brought US comedian Billy Crystal to our shores just this week.
‘‘[Prince’s Piano and A Microphone] was one of the most outstanding shows I’ve ever seen,’’ he says. ‘‘You got goose bumps watching Prince do that show.’’
His latest challenge: wooing rock gods Guns N’ Roses – recently reformed after years apart – to Auckland’s Western Springs park. He is also working to bring Adele to Eden Park in 2017 but is coy on the details.
Raised in Walton-on-Thames in Surrey, south of London, Dainty comes from a family strongly linked to the film production business. His dream and passion was always to be involved with film, since joining the workforce at 17. That was until the studio he was part of shut down for a period of time due to financial reasons.
By the time the studio recovered his mother, a ‘‘tough mum’’, had already got him working for a big music agency in London.
As it happened, American musician Roy Orbison, who was signed with the agency, was on his way down to Australia for a tour. Dainty got picked to tag along.
‘‘Well, I was about the only person to put my hand up, cause it was about two or three days to get to Australia back in those days,’’ he says. ‘‘So I came down, and that started my love affair with Australia.’’
Back in the late 70s, the entire Australasia region was considered virgin territory for the music industry, according to Dainty. But while he managed to see the business opportunity, his bosses were less keen on starting a regional office on the other side of the world. So he took matters into his own hands. ‘‘A few of us who were brave and cavalier enough decided to opt out and start our own business,’’ he says. Constantly commuting between the UK and Australia during the 70s and 80s saw Dainty start to make a name for himself. But what really put him on the industry map was The Rolling Stones tour of 1973, something that sprang from a cold call from the band’s manager. ‘‘[The Rolling Stones] had a bad experience back in the 60s with a previous promoter, and was looking for someone new for Australia and New Zealand. I got the interview, which I passed,’’ Dainty says. It was a commercial PETER MEECHAM / FAIRFAX NZ partnership that would continue for many years, until the two most-recent tours. Dainty remains good friends with the band to this day.
Now, despite, 40 years in the industry, he’s showing no signs of stopping. With a company consistently ranked as one of the top five global promoters by Billboard magazine, he’s still looking to bring more acts to Australasia.
Katy Perry’s Prismatic World Tour managed to sell 350,000 tickets for the Australian leg, and was a phenomenal success both monetarily and theatrically speaking.
‘‘That’s what fans want to see, that theatricality,’’ Dainty says. ‘‘The artists want it, too.’’
In a world filled with social media, instant gratification, and the whole millennial attitude, Dainty says the new generation of music fans have become more transient, and less like ‘‘real fans’’ who stick around for life.
If Dainty has one regret, it is that he is yet to organise a worldclass act at Eden Park. He tried to get Neil Diamond’s Hot August Night about 15 years ago, but hit a brick wall.
‘‘It’s still a major mystery to me why this spectacular stadium isn’t being utilised at least a few times a year by a major artist,’’ he says.
Dainty’s wish is still to see the place light up before he has to retire.
‘ That’s what fans want to see, that theatricality.’ PAUL DAINTY