Derek Shulman

Derek Shulman
Shulman with Gentle Giant, performing at Yale University
Background information
Birth name	Derek Victor Shulman
Born	11 February 1947 (1947-02-11) (age 64) Glasgow, Scotland United Kingdom
Genres	pop, progressive rock,
Occupations	Musician, Music executive, songwriter, record producer
Instruments	Vocals, saxophone, recorder, bass, Shulberry
Years active	1970 -
Associated acts	Simon Dupree and the Big Sound, Gentle Giant

Derek Shulman (born Derek Victor Shulman, 11 February 1947, in The Gorbals, Glasgow, Scotland) is a British musician and singer, multi-instrumentalist, and record executive. From 1970 to 1980, he was lead vocalist for the band Gentle Giant.^[1]

Career

Shulman began his recording career as the singer of British pop band Simon Dupree and the Big Sound, with Pete O'Flaherty, Eric Hine, Tony Ransley, and his brothers Phil Shulman and Ray Shulman. Recording in the late 1960s for Parlophone Records, the band struggled with creative difficulties after experiencing some commercial success with several top 40 hits, including the top 10 hit "Kites". The band finally dissolved in 1970.

The three brothers went on to form progressive rock band Gentle Giant with guitarist Gary Green, keyboardist Kerry Minnear, and drummer Martin Smith (later replaced by Malcolm Mortimore, who was himself replaced by John Weathers). In Gentle Giant, Shulman became known as a dynamic frontman in the live environment and recorded twelve albums with the band over ten years. While the band secured a loyal following of fairly devout fans, they never experienced wide commercial success and, with their popularity waning slightly in the late 1970s, they disbanded after the release of the 1980 album Civilian. Like his band members, Shulman was quite adept on several instruments, including saxophone, recorder, bass and their own Shulberry

Record executive

Following his recording career, Shulman became a prominent record executive.^[1] Starting as an A&R representative at PolyGram Records, where he rose to the ranks of Senior Vice President, he signed Bon Jovi, Dan Reed Network, Cinderella, and Kingdom Come, among many others. in 1988 he became President and C.E.O of Atco Records (where he signed the progressive metal band Dream Theater as well as Pantera). He also re-established the careers of AC/DC and Bad Company both of whom sold multi-platinum albums under his watch. He then went on to become President of Roadrunner Records overseeing signings like Slipknot and Nickelback. In March 2010 Derek Shulman established a new venture with international music impresario Leonardo Pavkovic called 2PLUS Music & Entertainment.

Discography

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Elder, Bruce. "Biography: Gentle Giant". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p4353/biography. Retrieved 13 June 2010. 

External links

• [1] Shulman interview October 27, 2009 - Part One.
• [2] Shulman interview October 27, 2009 - Part Two.
• [3] Shulman interview June 30, 2009 - Outsight Radio Hours.

Persondata
Name	Shulman, Derek
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	11 February 1947
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Date of death
Place of death