Seymour Stein, the record executive who launched the careers of Madonna, The Ramones and Talking Heads, has died aged 80.
In his decades long career Stein is credited with discovering and signing some of the most talented musicians as well as introducing a swathe of British artists to American audiences. He is credited with bringing US success to everyone from Depeche Mode, to The Pretenders, The Cure, Aphex Twin and many others.
Stein co-founded Sire Records and nurtured acts who spanned many genres including punk, new wave and pure unadulterated pop. Borin in Brooklyn in 1942 he started working as a writer for Billboard magazine when he was just thirteen years old. In the 1960’s he worked for King records, the home of soul artist James Brown.
In 1966 he formed his own company Sire Records alongside producer Richard Gottehrer. At first they found success bringing British acts to the Us market. In 1978 they sold their company to Warner Bros Records, and Sire became a subsidiary company.
Their roster included The Ramones, Talking Heads and the Pretenders. As well as many British acts including The Undertones, The Smiths, The Cure, and Echo and The Bunnymen. Later k.d. lang, Seal and Ice T would feature on the label.
Seymour Stein famously signed Madonna, initially just three singles and the option of an album. Madonna’s original deal was signed while Stein was in hospital waiting to have cardiac surgery.
Stein continued working with the record label until his retirement in 2018, fifty-one years after the company was founded. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005.
In his autobiography Ice T wrote that Stein would never edit his musical output but had told him he was opposed to homophobia in rap songs. Stein was married to music promoter Linda Stein, with whom he shared two daughters, the couple amicably divorced in the late 1970s. Stein revealed that he was gay in 2017.
He died in California, aged 80, after battling cancer.
OIP Staff
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