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{{short description|English record producer, talent manager, impresario and author (born 1944)}}
{{for|the United States federal judge|Andrew Oldham}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2016}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name         = Andrew Loog Oldham
| image        = Andrew Loog Oldham and Mick Jagger 1966.jpg
| caption   = Oldham (left) with [[Mick Jagger]] {{circa|1966}}
| birth_name   =
| birth_date   = {{birth date and age|1944|1|29|df=y}}
| origin       = London, England
| occupation   = {{flatlist|
* [[Record producer]]
* manager
* [[impresario]]
* author
}}
| years_active =
}}

'''Andrew Loog Oldham'''{{efn|Sources are inconsistent regarding whether the surname is Oldham or double-barrelled Loog Oldham. This article uses Oldham, based on the sources referred to in the main text, plus these:<ref>{{cite web |last=Holmes |first=Jason |title=Andrew Loog Oldham: the Man Who Gave the World The Rolling Stones |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/jason-holmes/andrew-loog-oldham-rolling-stones_b_2115730.html |website=HuffPost |publisher=HuffPost Entertainment |access-date=31 March 2023 |date=14 November 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Bowman |first=Rob |title=Andrew Loog Oldham |url=https://www.rockhall.com/inductees/andrew-loog-oldham |website=Rock & Roll Hall of Fame |access-date=31 March 2023 |date=2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Potter |first=Jordan |title=The reason why Andrew Oldham stopped working with The Rolling Stones |url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/why-andrew-oldham-left-the-rolling-stones/ |website=Far Out |publisher=Far Out Magazine |access-date=31 March 2023 |date=29 April 2022}}</ref>}} (born 29 January 1944) is an English [[record producer]], talent manager, [[impresario]] and author. He was manager and producer of [[the Rolling Stones]] from 1963 to 1967, and was noted for his flamboyant style.<ref name="AMG">{{cite web|author=Jason Ankeny |url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/andrew-loog-oldham-mn0000034759/biography |title=Andrew Loog Oldham &#124; Biography |publisher=AllMusic |date=29 January 1944 |access-date=3 February 2014}}</ref>

==Early life==
Oldham's father, Andrew Loog, was a [[United States Army Air Force]] lieutenant, a New Orleanian of German descent,<ref>{{cite book |last=Rej |first=Bent |date=2006 |title=The Rolling Stones: in the beginning |location=Great Britain |publisher=Firefly Books Ltd |page=298 |isbn=978-1-55407-230-9}}</ref> who served with the [[Eighth Air Force]]. Loog was killed in June 1943 when his [[B-17 Flying Fortress|B-17]] bomber was shot down over the [[English Channel]], and he was buried at the [[Ardennes American Cemetery and Memorial]] in [[Belgium]]. Oldham's [[Australia]]n-born mother, Celia Oldham,<ref name=Goodman>Goodman, Fred (2015), ''Allen Klein: The Man Who Bailed Out the Beatles, Made the Stones, and Transformed Rock & Roll'', Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, New York, 978-0-547-89686-1, p. 81</ref> was a nurse and [[comptometer]] operator. Oldham attended the Aylesbury School for Boys, [[Cokethorpe School]] in Oxfordshire, [[St Marylebone Grammar School]] and [[Wellingborough School]] in Northamptonshire.<ref name="Stoned">{{cite book |last=Loog Oldham |first=Andrew |title=Stoned |publisher=[[Secker & Warburg]] |year=2000 |isbn=0-09-928467-7}}</ref>

A self-proclaimed hustler, Oldham spent teenage summers swindling tourists in French towns.<ref name="Colombia"/> His interest in the pop culture of the 1960s and the [[Soho]] coffeehouse scene led to working for [[Carnaby Street]] [[Mod (subculture)|mod]] designer [[John Stephen]] and later as an assistant to then-emerging fashion designer [[Mary Quant]].{{sfn|Goodman|2015|p=83}} Oldham became a publicist for British and American musicians and for producer [[Joe Meek]].<ref name="AMG"/> Among his projects were stints publicising both [[Bob Dylan]] (on his first UK visit) and [[the Beatles]] (for [[Brian Epstein]]) in early 1963.{{sfn|Goodman|2015|pp=84, 86}}

==The Rolling Stones==
In April 1963, a journalist friend recommended that Oldham see a young [[Rhythm & Blues|R&B]] band named [[the Rolling Stones]]. Oldham saw potential in the group being positioned as an "anti-Beatles"—a rougher group compared to the "cuddly moptop" image of the Beatles at that time.{{sfn|Rej|2006|pp=298–300}} Oldham, still a teenager, rapidly acquired a seasoned business partner ([[Eric Easton (music manager)|Eric Easton]]) and took over management of the Stones who had been informally represented by [[Giorgio Gomelsky]].<ref name="AMG" />{{sfn|Goodman|2015|pp=87–90}} Oldham had previously been business partners with [[Peter Meaden]], first manager of [[the Who]], but they had fallen out after getting into several fights.{{citation needed|date=January 2016}} Oldham signed recording rights to the Stones to [[Decca Records|Decca]], targeting [[A&R]] head [[Dick Rowe]], who had earlier declined to sign the Beatles.{{sfn|Goodman|2015|p=90}}

Among strategies devised and executed by Oldham to propel the group to success: 
*reassigning [[Ian Stewart (musician)|Ian Stewart]] from onstage keyboard player in May 1963 to studio-only play. This was to keep their public appearance as a five-man group of slender young men; Oldham said words to the effect that "the kids can't count to six" and Stewart was three to five years older than four of the five band members. (Although [[Bill Wyman]] was almost two years older than Stewart, no-one knew this at the time. Wyman, who wrote for some of the Stones' early fanzines, even dubbed himself the youngest member. His true age was not revealed until around the time of the band's highly successful 1969 American tour.). Stewart stayed on as the road manager and continued to contribute keyboard parts to the band's recordings and live performances, and remained an influence.<ref name=":0">{{cite book|title=Life|url=https://archive.org/details/life00richar|url-access=registration|last=Richards|first=Keith |publisher=Little, Brown and Company|year=2010|isbn=978-0-316-03438-8|location=USA|pages=[https://archive.org/details/life00richar/page/129 129]}}</ref>{{sfn|Goodman|2015|p=92}}
*encouraging [[Mick Jagger]] to be the front man, and to take the spotlight off leader [[Brian Jones]].
*bringing [[John Lennon]] and [[Paul McCartney]] to the recording studio, which led to their song "[[I Wanna Be Your Man]]" becoming the Rolling Stones' second single;{{sfn|Goodman|2015|p=93}}
*encouraging Mick Jagger and [[Keith Richards]] to start writing their own songs ("[[As Tears Go By (song)|As Tears Go By]]" was their first);{{sfn|Goodman|2015|p=96}} 
*promoting a "bad boy" image for the Rolling Stones, in contrast to the Beatles. Oldham generated widely reprinted headlines like "Would You Let Your Sister Go with a Rolling Stone?" and provocative album-cover notes, such as a satirical incitement to fans to mug a blind beggar for funds to buy the album: {{blockquote|text=Cast deep in your pockets for loot to buy this disc of groovies and fancy words. If you don't have bread, see that blind man, knock him on the head, steal his wallet and low and behold you have the loot, if you put in the boot, good, another one sold!|author=Andrew Loog Oldham}} This quote can be found on the top right on the back of some issues of ''[[The Rolling Stones No. 2]]'' LP.{{sfn|Goodman|2015|pp=93-94}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://vinyl-records.nl/rolling-stones/rolling-stones-vol2-vinyl-albums.html |title=ROLLING STONES NO 2 VOL 2 Album Cover Gallery & 12" LP Vinyl Discography Information #vinylrecords}}</ref>

Oldham and Eric Easton negotiated a recording contract which was very favourable to themselves. Instead of having the Stones sign directly with Decca they set up a company, [[Impact Sound]], which retained ownership of the group's master tapes, which were then leased to {{nowrap|Decca{{hsp}}{{mdash}}}}{{hsp}}an idea learned from [[Phil Spector]]. Impact Sound received a 14% royalty from Decca but paid only 6% to the Stones, out of which Oldham and Eric Easton received a 25% management fee.{{sfn|Goodman|2015|pp=86, 90}}{{sfn|Rej|2006|p=298}}

Oldham produced all Rolling Stones recordings from 1963 until late 1967 despite having no previous experience as a producer. According to the Rolling Stones' website, accounts regarding the value of his musical input to the Stones recordings vary "from negligible to absolute zero". Though lacking technical expertise in the studio, it is thought that Oldham was good at seeing the "big picture" of the Rolling Stones' image and sound. He discovered [[Marianne Faithfull]] at a party, giving her Jagger and Richards' "As Tears Go By" to record. He also developed other studio talent with his [[Andrew Oldham Orchestra]],<ref name="AMG" /> in which Rolling Stones as well as London session players (including [[Steve Marriott]] on harmonica) recorded pop covers and instrumentals. As his success increased, Oldham thrived on a reputation as a garrulous, androgynous gangster who wore makeup and sunglasses and relied on his bodyguard Reg 'The Butcher' King to threaten rivals.<ref name="Stoned" />

Oldham put an advert in ''[[Melody Maker]]'' that praised [[the Righteous Brothers]]' version of "[[You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin']]" in an effort to detract attention and sales from [[Cilla Black]]'s competing version.

In 1965, Oldham hired [[Allen Klein]] as his business manager. On Oldham's behalf Klein renegotiated the Rolling Stones' contract with Decca, excluding Oldham's partner, Eric Easton.{{sfn|Goodman|2015|pp=77–81, 101–109}} However, over the following two years Oldham's relations with the Stones were strained by his drug use and inattention to the group's needs. When Jagger and Richards were arrested for drug possession in 1967, instead of devising a strategy for their legal defence and public relations, Oldham fled to the United States, leaving Klein to deal with the problem.{{sfn|Goodman|2015|pp=138–141}} Oldham was forced to resign as manager of the Rolling Stones in late 1967, and sold his rights to the group's music to Allen Klein the following year.{{sfn|Goodman|2015|pp=144–151}}

==Immediate Records==
In 1965, Oldham set up [[Immediate Records]], among the first independent labels in the UK.<ref name="AMG"/> Among the artists that he signed and/or produced or guided were [[PP Arnold]], [[Chris Farlowe]], the [[Small Faces]], [[John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers]], [[Rod Stewart]], [[the Nice]], [[Jimmy Page]], [[Nico]], [[Jeff Beck]], [[Eric Clapton]], [[Amen Corner (band)|Amen Corner]], [[the McCoys]], [[the Strangeloves]], [[Humble Pie]] and [[Duncan Browne]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.everybodymustgetstoned.net/ |title=Breaking News: The Andrew Loog Oldham Orchestra is back! |publisher=Everybodymustgetstoned.net |access-date=2 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120916043942/http://www.everybodymustgetstoned.net/ |archive-date=16 September 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

With [[Arthur Greenslade]] he was credited as the co-writer of "Headlines", the [[A-side and B-side|B-side]] of "Ride on Baby" (IM 038), by [[Chris Farlowe]], which was released in October 1966.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.discogs.com/Chris-Farlowe-Ride-On-Baby/release/491258 |title=Chris Farlowe - Ride On Baby (Vinyl) at Discogs |publisher=Discogs.com |date=27 October 1966 |access-date=2 February 2014}}</ref>

After the Small Faces disbanded in 1969, he put together [[Humble Pie (band)|Humble Pie]], featuring [[Steve Marriott]] (formerly of the Small Faces) and [[Peter Frampton]] (formerly of [[The Herd (UK band)|the Herd]]).{{citation needed|date=January 2016}}

In the 1970s and 1980s, Oldham worked primarily in the United States. He produced [[Donovan]], [[Gene Pitney]] and other artists.<ref name="AMG"/> In the mid-1980s, he made [[Colombia]] his home after marrying Esther Farfan, a Colombian model. There he briefly worked with some Colombian bands.<ref name="Colombia">{{cite web|url=https://www.ft.com/content/3d00fbd2-f73d-11e5-96db-fc683b5e52db |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/3d00fbd2-f73d-11e5-96db-fc683b5e52db |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=UK to Colombia: the man who discovered The Rolling Stones|website=Financial Times|date=8 April 2016|author=Henry Mance|access-date=24 April 2018}}</ref>

==Later career==
[[File:Alo bio 2010 Small.jpg|thumb|Oldham {{circa|2010}}]]
A recording by the [[Andrew Oldham Orchestra]] was rediscovered in the 1990s when [[the Verve]] used a string [[Music loop|loop]] based on the orchestral arrangement of the Rolling Stones song "[[The Last Time (The Rolling Stones song)|The Last Time]]" in their song "[[Bitter Sweet Symphony]]"; in the ensuing court battle, songwriting royalties for the Verve track were awarded to Allen Klein's [[ABKCO Records]], the owner of the copyright for "[[The Last Time (The Rolling Stones song)|The Last Time]]".{{sfn|Goodman|2015|pp=265-267}}

Oldham co-wrote a biography of [[ABBA]] in the 1990s<ref>{{cite book|title=ABBA: The Name of the Game: Andrew Oldham, Tony Calder, Colin Irwin: 9780330346887: Amazon.com: Books |isbn=0330346881 |last1=Oldham |first1=Andrew |last2=Calder |first2=Tony |last3=Irwin |first3=Colin |year=1996 }}</ref> and three autobiographies: ''Stoned'' (1998), ''2Stoned'' (2001), and ''Rolling Stoned'' (2011) in which he and other music figures recount his days as a manager, producer and impresario.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gegensatzpress.com/andrew-loog-oldham.html |title=Rolling Stoned, by Andrew Loog Oldham |publisher=Gegensatzpress.com |date=13 July 2012 |access-date=2 February 2014}}</ref> He was inducted into [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]] in 2014.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://rockhall.com/inductees/andrew-loog-oldham |title=Andrew Loog Oldham: inducted in 2014 &#124; The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum |publisher=Rockhall.com |access-date=15 May 2014}}</ref>

In 2005, Oldham thanked the [[Scientology]]-linked drug rehab organisation [[Narconon]] for saving his life from his [[cocaine]] addiction.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.theguardian.com/society/2005/mar/27/drugsandalcohol.drugs1 | title=Scientologists will 'purify' drug addicts - for £15,000 | work = [[The Guardian]] | date = 27 March 2005 | access-date=7 June 2015}}</ref> In the same year he was recruited by [[Steven Van Zandt]] to host a radio show on Van Zandt's ''[[Underground Garage]]'' radio channel heard in [[North America]] on [[Sirius Satellite Radio]]. Oldham had a three-hour show on weekdays and a four-hour weekend show. In 2006 he collaborated with renowned [[Argentine]] musician [[Charly García]] for his album ''Kill Gil'', which was eventually released in a slightly reworked form in 2010. In 2008, he worked on the production of a new album by [[Argentine rock]] band [[Los Ratones Paranoicos]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.losratonesweb.com.ar/ |title=Archived copy |access-date=25 May 2017 |archive-date=17 December 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081217170357/http://www.losratonesweb.com.ar/ |url-status=bot: unknown}}</ref>  

In 2014, Oldham overheard Canadian artist [[Ché Aimee Dorval]] singing backup on a friend's track he was helping to produce, and he subsequently signed her to his label.<ref>{{cite web|title=About Ché|website=Ché Aimee Dorval website|url=http://www.cheaimeedorval.com/about-che/|access-date=20 January 2015}}</ref> In September 2014, Oldham's label released Dorval's second studio EP, ''Volume One''. She was also given two covers to sing on his 2013 album of Rolling Stones songs entitled ''Andrew Oldham Orchestra and Friends play the Rolling Stones Songbook Vol. 2''. Dorval sang "As Tears Go By" and "[[Under My Thumb]]".

In 2020, he began his first lectures as a visiting Scholar at [[Thompson Rivers University]] in British Columbia, Canada.<ref>{{cite web|last=Meissner|first=Dirk|date=2019-12-16|title=Kamloops university to host former Rolling Stones manager for rock history course|url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/vancouver/article/kamloops-university-to-host-former-rolling-stones-manager-for-rock-history-course/|access-date=2021-06-20|website=British Columbia}}</ref>

=="Andrew's Blues"==
The song "Andrew's Blues", sung by the Rolling Stones and appearing on the bootleg ''Black Box'' collection CD1,<ref>{{cite web|author=Stansted Montfichet |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/black-box-mw0001081820 |title=Black Box - The Rolling Stones &#124; Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=2 February 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.discogs.com/Rolling-Stones-Black-Box/release/2631126 |title=Rolling Stones* - Black Box (CD) at Discogs |publisher=Discogs.com |access-date=2 February 2014}}</ref> is a humorous if scathing evocation of Oldham.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.burbler.com/the-rolling-stones-andrews-blues-aka-song-for-andrew-lyrics.html |title=The Rolling Stones - ANDREW'S BLUES (AKA SONG FOR ANDREW) lyrics |publisher=Burbler.com |date=1 November 1999 |access-date=2 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120315175747/http://www.burbler.com/the-rolling-stones-andrews-blues-aka-song-for-andrew-lyrics.html |archive-date=15 March 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Personal life==

In August 1964 he was quoted in the London ''[[Evening Post]]'' saying that he wanted 'to settle down and marry a girl called Sheila'.<ref>Maureen Cleave, "Mr Oldham has second thoughts about quitting" London ''Evening Post'' 12 August 1964 p. 9</ref> This took place the following month, when he and Sheila Klein were married in Glasgow on the 16 September. They had known each other for over two years. Oldham told [[Maureen Cleave]] 'I don't know that she has any special qualities, but she's just right for me.'<ref>Maureen Cleave, 'Rolling Stones' manager marries in secret' London ''Evening Standard'' 16 September 1964 p. 17.</ref>

Oldham has two sons,<ref>{{cite web | url=https://glennobrien.com/a-nice-old-chat-with-andrew-loog-oldham/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150203060545/https://glennobrien.com/a-nice-old-chat-with-andrew-loog-oldham/ | archive-date=3 February 2015 | title=Glenn O Brien }}</ref> the elder from his marriage to Sheila Klein,<ref>{{Cite book |title=2Stoned |last=Loog Oldham |first=Andrew |publisher=Random House |year=2012 |isbn=9781446448335 |pages=293, 380}}</ref> and the younger from his marriage to Esther Farfan.<ref>{{Cite news |url= https://www.dn.se/kultur-noje/mannen-bakom-rolling-stones/ |title=Mannen bakom Rolling Stones |date=August 2, 2007 |access-date=2024-01-23 |website=Dagens Nyheter |author=Staff |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240123053906/https://www.dn.se/kultur-noje/mannen-bakom-rolling-stones/ |archive-date=23 January 2024}}</ref>

==Bibliography==
* ''Stoned: A Memoir of London in The 1960's''. 
* ''2Stoned''. 
* ''Stone Free''. 
* ''Rolling Stoned''. 
* ''On Hustling: Trailblazers, Hustlers and Revolutionaries: People Who Changed Their Worlds'' 
* ''ABBA: The Name of the Game'' (Andrew Loog Oldham - co-writer)
* ''Motown: The Sound Of Young America''. Adam White, Barney Ales (foreword by Andrew Loog Oldham)
* ''Exposed: The Faces of Rock N' Roll''. Mick Rock (afterword by Andrew Loog Oldham)
* ''Immediate: The Rise and Fall of the UK's First Independent Record Label''. Simon Spence (introduction by Andrew Loog Oldham)
* ''The Stones: 65-67''. Gered Mankowitz (foreword by Andrew Loog Oldham)
* ''Satisfaction: The Rolling Stones Photographs Of Gered Mankowitz''. Gered Mankowitz (foreword by Andrew Loog Oldham)
* ''Goin’ Home with the Rolling Stones ’66: Photographs by Gered Mankowitz''. Gered Mankowitz (foreword by Andrew Loog Oldham)
* ''Bob Crewe: Sight and Sound: Compositions in Art and Music''. Donald Albrecht, Jessica May, Andrew Loog Oldham, Peter Plagens

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
* {{cite book |last=Goodman |first=Fred |year=2015 |title=Allen Klein: The Man Who Bailed Out the Beatles, Made the Stones, and Transformed Rock & Roll |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt |location=New York |isbn=978-0-547-89686-1 }}<!--used in many refs above-->

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120205003455/http://www.bside-rock.com/The-Rolling-Stones-Songbook.html Review of The Rolling Stones Songbook {{in lang|fr}}]
* [https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/b3jw/ Small Faces - Immediate]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120315175747/http://www.burbler.com/the-rolling-stones-andrews-blues-aka-song-for-andrew-lyrics.html Lyrics of "Andrew's Blues"]

{{2014 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oldham, Andrew Loog}}
[[Category:1944 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People educated at Wellingborough School]]
[[Category:People educated at Cokethorpe School]]
[[Category:English record producers]]
[[Category:British expatriates in Colombia]]
[[Category:English people of American descent]]
[[Category:English people of Australian descent]]
[[Category:English people of Dutch descent]]
[[Category:English music managers]]
[[Category:The Beatles]]
[[Category:The Rolling Stones]]