In the early 1970s, when heading backstage to interview The Who at Madison Square Garden in New York, Barbara Charone was mistaken for a groupie.
In those days, jobs for women in the music industry were “few and far between,” the PR expert and new Chelsea FC director say, so the bouncer assumed she was only there “for one reason.”
Charone, a former writer for publications such as Sounds and Rolling Stone, remembers, “I arrived and said, ‘I’m on the guest list,’ and the man replied, ‘Yeah, sure you are!'” “So condescending and solely because I was female.”
Several years later, in 1974, the Chicagoan relocated to The Who’s hometown of London and discovered a similar narrative. “When I first arrived in England and began freelancing for the NME, the only other women on the publication were a freelance New York photographer, the editor’s secretary, and Pennie Smith, a British female photographer,” she explains. “Thus, there were few women present.
“The same was true of record businesses, where women were always confined to positions such as artists liaison, where they booked dinners, hotels, and travel.” Charone ultimately transitioned from music journalist to PR and media relations professional.
“There weren’t very many female managing directors or women in important positions, so [things have] completely changed,” she explains.
Charone, affectionately (and in some circles, trepidatiously) referred to in the industry as “BC,” is speaking following the publication of her memoir, Access All Areas, which reflects on her 50-year career in music as a writer, publicist, and co-director of her PR firm, MBC; as well as following her beloved Blues.
Written in lockdown, with a little encouragement from a former client and fellow recent rock autobiographer Bobby Gillespie of Primal Scream, the book has been described by Victoria Segal of The Times as an “irrepressible account of nearly five decades in the music industry that is less lurid exposé and more behind-the-scenes look at the machinery that keeps the show going.”
Barbara Ellen said in the Observer, “I would have liked to learn more about that part of being a woman, albeit a forceful one, in a man’s world.” In conclusion, “what a voice and what a read
Charone’s work has earned her multiple awards from Music Week, including Women In Music Awards. According to the journal, she is “one of the most successful and enduring figures in the music industry.”
Madonna, one of Charone’s longest-standing clients, who recently stated she would direct her biopic to prevent “misogynistic guys” from narrating her tale, is prominently featured.
In 1983, she saw the relatively unknown young vocalist from Detroit make her London debut at Koko, previously the Camden Palace, in front of one thousand people. When Madonna returned a few years later, both nights at Wembley Stadium were sold out.
“That type of ascension will never occur again,” she adds of the pop queen. “Her dominance occurred so quickly.”
It was “very exhilarating” to witness and participate in the rise of such phenomena, she says.
Charone says, “People frequently ask me if she has changed, but I don’t believe she has; she has always been very ambitious and very intelligent.” “Madonna had a sense of herself in terms of her music, her appearance, and everything else. This is typical of very outstanding artists.
“However, she is also tremendously human and wants to know, ‘was it any good?'”
One of the most “nerve-wracking” instances of Charone’s public relations career occurred when a tabloid newspaper used an improperly cropped photoshoot image of Madonna against the star’s wishes. But, unlike Primal Scream and REM, who separated from Charone, nothing has prevented her and Madonna from working closely together for 40 years.
“When working with individuals at that level, you can be a hero, but you can also be a villain… sometimes things are not your fault.”
Keith Richards, the guitarist for the Rolling Stones, commissioned Charone to write his and her first official biographies.
“I wrote, ‘When Keith Richards goes into a room, rock ‘n’ roll follows,’ which I still believe is a brilliant line,” she grins.
After Richards suggested she join the band in Canada in 1977, while they were recording a live album, Charone, who was no stranger to the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle herself, found herself in Richards’ camp during one of the “most unsteady” periods of his career. She states, “By the time my plane landed, he had been detained for heroin possession.”
“Everyone else departed after the club shows, but I stayed, and it was an amazing bonding experience. To see someone go through [that] – he might have gone to jail – was, to say the least, sobering and frightening, but it also provided me the opportunity to get to know him under extremely difficult circumstances, thereby laying the groundwork for my book… I was blessed.”
Richards was sentenced to perform a performance for the blind, which Charone describes as “perhaps the most unique penalty ever imposed.”
“The [London Evening Standard] published a cartoon depicting blind individuals with the slogan, “What did we do wrong?! It would never occur now because it would be too politically wrong.”
During the time she spent researching the Richards biography at the guitarist’s famed West Sussex mansion, Redlands, the Chicago Cubs enthusiast first became interested in football on television, and she soon began attending games at her local stadium, Stamford Bridge.
She boldly proclaims, “I’ve been a season ticket holder since the early 1980s, and I’ve always enjoyed sports and football.
Charone’s usual match-going companions have included the now deceased Depeche Mode keyboardist Andy Fletcher and Suggs, whom she represented when he sang Chelsea’s 1997 FA Cup Final song Blue Day alongside the players.
Her book reveals that she took a break from a boisterous lunch with previous owner Ken Bates to deal with the Sachsgate scandal involving another client, comedian Russell Brand. It also displays Madonna donning a Chelsea shirt on the top page of The Sun.
The club was placed up for sale in March under “extraordinary” circumstances, according to Charone, before Roman Abramovich was sanctioned for his ties to Vladimir Putin. The new consortium co-owners, seeking fan representation on the board, contacted the former executive editor of The Times (and Beatles fan) Lord Daniel Finkelstein, who suggested he be joined by his longtime associate Charone.
So, 50 years into her career, Charone once again enters a typically male-dominated area with enthusiasm and courage.
“Many people discussed putting fans on the board, but nobody executed it until they did,” she says. “Danny was going to be one of the fans, and when they requested a lady, he recommended me.
“So I met Jonathan Goldstein, and then I met Todd Boehly and the Clearlake guys [co-owners/directors], and I never dreamed it would happen, nor that I would be connected with Chelsea, so I’m incredibly happy.
I might say it’s a dream come true, but I never imagined something so incredible would occur.
