25 Facts About Tony Defries

Anthony Defries was born on 3 September 1943 and is a British former music manager and impresario.

Tony Defries managed David Bowie's career during his elevation to global stardom, but later fell out with him in a contract dispute.

Tony Defries established a rights management organisation called MainMan and helped launch the careers of Iggy Pop, Mick Ronson, Mott the Hoople, Dana Gillespie, Lou Reed, Luther Vandross and John Cougar Mellencamp.

Tony Defries was too young to be evacuated as his mother had two young children and was expecting another, so he was placed into foster care and returned to the family after the war.

Tony Defries suffered from severe asthma and attended a school for children with special needs.

Tony Defries started his career at the age of 16 in a number of junior positions at various firms of solicitors.

Tony Defries learnt about bargaining techniques, the intricacies of master recording ownership and how to squeeze the best from every deal from Klein.

Tony Defries later worked with photographers to resolve their copyright and other issues, starting with Don Silverstein, an American photographer living and working in London, who had taken photographs of Jimi Hendrix.

Tony Defries had a reputation for renegotiating contracts and proceeded to extract Bowie from all his existing contracts: management, recording and publishing.

GEM signed an exclusive contract with Bowie in 1970 and when the Mercury contract was terminated in 1971, Tony Defries was free to sign a record deal with RCA.

Tony Defries would go on to sign Iggy Pop, Dana Gillespie and Mick Ronson with GEM.

In 1971, Tony Defries had decided that breaking Bowie in the US would require a permanent corporate presence and suggested to Myers that they open offices in New York.

Tony Defries formed the MainMan Group of Companies in 1972, with offices in New York, London and Tokyo.

Tony Defries had a zero-tolerance drug policy and no unauthorised press access policy.

Bowie and Tony Defries invited Reed to make his first UK appearance as a surprise guest at a 'Friends of the Earth, Save the Whale Benefit Concert' with Bowie and The Spiders from Mars at the Royal Festival Hall on July 8,1972.

Tony Defries arranged to fly over American journalists to see Bowie live in preparation for his upcoming US tour.

Tony Defries saw Mick Ronson as an extraordinary musical talent and believed he could have a solo career and together they devised a course to stardom, starting with concerts at the Rainbow Theatre.

At the start of their relationship, Bowie and Tony Defries became very close friends.

Tony Defries believed that David Bowie was going to be a superstar and should be marketed under a brand name "Bowie".

Bowie saw many musicians, producers and girlfriends come and go from his life, but Tony Defries' oversight remained constant.

Tony Defries gave up personal management but retained a shared control of other aspects of Bowie's catalog and career that Bowie resented.

Tony Defries taught him some of the things he learned along the way about owning things.

In 2011 Tony Defries was sued by Capitol Records for copyright infringement over misuse of Bowie material.

Tony Defries lost the lawsuit with damages and costs against him exceeding US$9 million.

Tony Defries then married Marlene Weir in London, in 1986, and their daughter Tatiana Alexandra Defries was born in 1988.