ROCK’N’ROLL CONFIDENTIAL
ANDREW LAUDER
The legendary A&R man talks about the psych/pub rock/punk ’70s, The Stone Roses, and missing the Fabs’ last gig.
Taking the bull by the horns: Andrew Lauder, in his office at United Artists, London, 1977.
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THE MOJO reader knows Andrew Lauder’s works. In his decade tenure at the Liberty/UA label, he oversaw a diverse catalogue ranging from the Groundhogs and Can to pub rockers Brinsley Schwarz and Dr. Feelgood, on to The Stranglers and Buzzcocks. After he left in 1977, his later imprints included Radar and its successor F-Beat (Costello, Nick Lowe), Demon/Edsel (whose catalogue curation presaged the MOJO mindset) and Silvertone (The Stone Roses). These tales and more are told in his frabjous new memoir Happy Trails, which details a young Hartlepool music nut seeking his fortune in London in 1965. “I got very, very lucky,” says Lauder, a genial and modest presence, from his home in France. “One thing after another fell into place, in a ridiculous manner…”