Roger Davies is an Australian artist manager, business manager, and music producer in the global music industry. Davies was born in 1952, and his career spans more than half a century.
He has managed multiple pop and rock performers, including Sherbet (1970–1979), Olivia Newton-John (1979–1986), Tina Turner (1981–2010), Dalbello (1984), James Reyne (1986–1990), Tony Joe White (1989–2000), Janet Jackson (1989–2002), Joe Cocker (1991 to 2014), Sade (1991–present), M People (1997–2000), Cher (1999–present), and Pink (2001–2024).
Biography
Roger Davies was born in 1952 and grew up in Melbourne, Australia. He attended Brighton Grammar School. In 1970, aged 18, Davies left his economics and politics university course to become a roadie for a progressive rock band, Company Caine.
The following year, he relocated to Sydney, Australia, and worked for a booking agency, Consolidated Rock, which was set up by Michael Browning and Michael Gudinski.
At age 20, in October 1972, along with a fellow workmate, Michael Chugg, he set up Sunrise booking agency. Among their clients included Sherbet.
Sherbet (1970 – 1979)
Davies became the talent manager for the pop-rock group Sherbet, where he was impressed by the group's attitude: their "willingness to work anywhere, anytime, whatever it took." According to musicologist Ian McFarlane, "Under the direction of astute manager Roger Davies, the band also pioneered the concept of the national rock tour by undertaking arduous, cross-country treks to play in the far-flung corners of the continent. Sherbet's carefully cultivated image tended to alienate the 'serious' music fan, although the band's ability to deliver well-crafted pop music has never been in doubt."
Unusual for the time, Sherbet, under Davies' direction, established its own record label, publishing company, and merchandising company. With no previous management experience, Davies proceeded along the path he perceived successful English bands to have taken. Starting their own record label was a major achievement, and for a band to also have a merchandising company put them ahead of their time.
Sherbet evolved from a soul-based covers band into a teen-oriented pop-rock outfit, that relied mostly on original material. They had 11 singles peak in the Australian top ten. Note: Used for Australian Singles and Albums charting from 1974 until Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) created their own charts in mid-1988. In 1992, Kent back calculated chart positions for 1970–1974. From 1975, Davies and Sherbet turned their attention to the international market. The single "Howzat" (1976) was inspired by the sport of cricket, which went to No. 1 in Australia and New Zealand. It was a top-10 hit in several European countries, including No. 4 on the UK Singles Chart. It had less chart success in the United States, where it reached No. 61 on the Billboard Hot 100. Nevertheless, its success led to an extensive international tour from 1976 to 1977.
Sherbet's foray into the US market began in 1977 with their album Photoplay, later retitled Magazine for the American market; however, it failed to chart in the US. Sherbet then signed with RSO Records and changed their name to Highway, but it had no US charting with their subsequent album, Highway 1 (1978). In mid-1979, the group disbanded and returned to Australia; nonetheless, Davies remained in America. Later on, in 1980, the band reformed as the Sherbs.
Olivia Newton-John (1979 – 1986)
In 1978, in Los Angeles, Roger Davies became the manager for Steve Kipner (ex–Steve and the Board, Tin Tin), a singer-songwriter, who had been in Australia during the 1960s. Davies also worked for Olivia Newton-John's then-manager, Lee Kramer. Kipner had co-written the track "Physical" for Tina Turner, another of Kramer's clients, who thought it "too obvious" and rejected it. Davies and Kramer heard Kipner's demo and offered it to Newton-John. Olivia Newton-John recorded "Physical" but felt the lyrics were "too risqué to release." In 1979, Davies took over Newton-John's management following her split with Lee Kramer.
In September 1981, "Physical" was released and provided Newton-John with an international hit. Supported by a ground-breaking video, it stayed at the top of the US charts for 10 weeks. Davies helped continue Newton-John's commercial success during the early 1980s, including her studio albums Physical (October 1981) and Soul Kiss (October 1985), and on the road with her North American Physical Tour (1982).
In April 2018, the Australian television biopic Olivia Newton-John: Hopelessly Devoted To You featured Delta Goodrem as Olivia Newton and Gyton Grantley as manager Roger Davies.
Tina Turner (1980 – 2010)
In 1980, Roger Davies' employer Lee Kramer became the manager of Tina Turner. Turner had divorced her husband, Ike, in March 1978, and by 1979 was without a record contract. To support herself, Turner had worked on the club circuit.
It was on the set of Olivia Newton-John's pre-recorded ABC TV Special "Hollywood Nights" in March 1980 that Davies first met Tina Turner, a performing guest on Olivia's show, which was broadcast on 14 April 1980. Later on, Tina invited Davies and Kramer to her performances at the Venetian Room at the famous Fairmont Hotel, San Francisco, in May, where "She said 'I want to get out of here and play rock venues'." Turner asked Lee Kramer to be her manager, and Roger Davies reluctantly went along with the plan. By 1981, Roger Davies was Turner's manager. Davies used his industry contacts to put together a comeback, advised Turner to drop the cabaret ensemble, and they remodeled the show into a grittier rock'n'roll showcase.
Turner's return to popularity began in the United Kingdom with a cover version of The Temptations "Ball of Confusion" (1982), and was followed by a cover of Al Green's "Let's Stay Together" (1983), which was a hit in Europe. Her major breakthrough came with "What's Love Got to Do with It" (June 1984), a track written by Terry Britten (ex–The Twilights) and Graham Lyle. Turner disliked the song and originally turned it down; however, despite her reservations, it provided her with her first Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit in September 1984.
Davies then booked Turner at The Ritz in New York City for a series of three gigs on 27, 28 and 29 January in 1983. One night saw the attendance of David Bowie and Capitol Records, and it was reviewed as "a hip-shaking, knee-swinging rendition of a rock song, she pauses for a deep, sweeping, bow, delivered with a diva's hauteur".
The single "Private Dancer", penned by Mark Knopfler, was released 29 May 1984, and become an international hit. The related album Private Dancer earned Turner three Grammy Awards in 1985, re-establishing her as one of the world's top rock performers. At the age of 45, Turner undertook the role of "Aunty Entity" alongside Mel Gibson in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, filmed in the Australian summer in 1984–1985.
In 1993, What's Love Got to Do with It, a biopic about Turner by Kurt Loder, was filmed with Angela Bassett in the lead role, and Australian singer-actor James Reyne (former lead singer of Australian Crawl) portrayed Davies.McFarlane, 'James Reyne' entry. Archived from the original on 6 August 2004. Retrieved 16 October 2015. Davies was also satirically portrayed by Alec Baldwin in a sketch on Saturday Night Live when Turner guested on the program on 22 February 1997.
After a successful solo career, on 1 October 2008, Turner returned to the world stage at the age of 69 to celebrate her 50th anniversary in music with 90 live dates. The tour was captured by director David Mallet at the GelreDome in Arnhem, Netherlands, on 21 March 2009, and released by EMI later that year as Tina Live. Turner retired from performing live following the tour's conclusion on 5 May 2009, at the Sheffield Arena, England. Tina Turner died in Switzerland on 24 May 2023.
Dalbello (1984)
Roger Davies became the manager of Canadian singer-songwriter Dalbello (aka Lisa Dal Bello) after she had released her fourth album, whomanfoursays (1984). On that album, Dalbello had worked with Mick Ronson (David Bowie) as producer and musician. Davies preferred to work with other UK-based producers after a previous negative meeting with Ronson at an interview for production work for Tina Turner. According to Sam Lederman (Ronson's then-manager), "We met with Tina and Roger all day but Mick got tongue-tied, he just couldn't explain what he wanted to do."
Dalbello started to record with Rupert Hine producing,"'Renaissance' rock star puts on his thinking cap". Toronto Star, 5 September 1986. but Davies "vetoed the project and suggested that she look for another producer who might be more commercial." Dalbello provided demo versions of new material, which she had self-produced under an anagrammatic pseudonym, Bill da' Salleo. This was a ruse which convinced Davies and the label, A&R, to approve Bill da' Salleo as the producer for an album. Eventually Davies was told that Dalbello herself had self-produced the album, and Davies "began to question the strength of the album's production and commercial viability." The project was delayed, but it was finally released as she in 1987 on EMI and supported by the music video "Tango". The album included her biggest Canadian chart hits, "Tango" and "Black on Black".
James Reyne (1986 – 1990)
While managing Tina Turner, Davies was also the manager of Australian-based singer-songwriter James Reyne, known for his work in the rock band Australian Crawl. The eponymous album James Reyne was released on 1987 Capitol Records, with Olivia Newton-John credited on guest vocals. Hard Reyne was the follow-up album released 29 May 1989, also on Capitol Records.
Reyne later played the part of Roger Davies in the movie of Tina Turner's life-story, the semi-autobiographical 1993 film What's Love Got To Do With It. Years later, the American artist Pink saw the film and asked her record label to "arrange a meeting with the guy who managed Tina", as she wanted him to manage her. In 2001, Davies became Pink's manager.
Tony Joe White (1989 – 2000)
In 1989, Davies was approached by multiple artists for management, and, with Tina Turner's career consolidated, Davies agreed to manage blues singer and songwriter Tony Joe White from Louisiana, who worked with Tina Turner on the four songs he had written for her on the 1989 Foreign Affair album. Davies negotiated a record contract with Polydor for White and co-produced three albums: 1991's Closer to the Truth, 1993's The Path of a Decent Groove, and 1995's Lake Placid Blues. White is also credited on Joe Cocker's 1996 album Organic for the songs "Heart Full of Rain" and "High Lonesome Blue".
Janet Jackson (1989 – 2002)
Davies was approached by US lawyer Don Passman to manage Janet Jackson, who at the time was a successful MTV artist being managed by her father. As Tina Turner had moved to Europe and was wanting to slow down, Davies agreed to manage Janet Jackson, confident he could take her to a new level.
The first project they worked on was Jackson's fourth album, 1989's Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 album and tour. The record on A&M Records was ambitious, with a social slant, very different from what Jackson had done before. It reached No. 1 on the US Billboard 200 and was certified six times platinum, eventually selling 14 million copies worldwide. It was certified as the best-selling album of the year in 1990, winning multiple music awards, and the corresponding video won a Grammy at the 32nd Annual Grammy Awards for Best Music Video, Long Form.
Billboard confirmed the album "launched an unprecedented seven singles to the top five of the Billboard Hot 100 in 1989–91. Four of those titles — "Miss You Much," "Escapade," "Black Cat" and "Love Will Never Do (Without You)" — hit number one, while "Rhythm Nation" and "Come Back to Me" reached the runner-up rank".