Brian Brolly (21 October 1936 – 28 October 2006), was an English showbusiness entrepreneur. He was the managing director of Paul and

Linda McCartney Linda Louise McCartney, Lady McCartney ( Eastman; September 24, 1941 – April 17, 1998) was an American photographer, musician, animal rights activist, vegetarian cookbook author and advocate, and entrepreneur. She was the keyboardist in th ...

's MPL Communications, and then of

Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948), is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 21 musicals, ...

's Really Useful Theatre Company. He was a co-founder of the radio stations Jazz FM and Classic FM. Brolly was born in London. His father, Tom Brolly, was born in Belfast but played

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

for Millwall FC and Crystal Palace FC, and played four times for Northern Ireland. Brolly was educated at St Dunstan's College, and did National Service in the Royal Ulster Rifles. He played rugby for London Irish, and worked in television from the 1957. He became a vice-president of MCA Television at the age of 26. He married his wife, Gillian, in 1963. He worked on the production of films including '' A Countess from Hong Kong'' (1967) –

Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is consider ...

's last film – and the BBC television drama series '' Colditz'' (1972–74). In 1969, Brolly encouraged

and Tim Rice to develop their

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

Jesus Christ Superstar ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Gospels' accounts of the Passion, the work interprets the psychology of Jesus and other characters, with ...

'' (1972–80). Given the controversial topic, he encouraged them to release an album of the music first. The

double album A double album (or double record) is an audio album that spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically either records or compact disc. A double album is usually, though not always, released as such because the recording i ...

proved to be a great success, as was the musical when it opened on Broadway in 1971. He assisted Paul and Linda McCartney setting up MPL Communications in 1973, becoming its managing director. He also assisted them with the management of Wings, and produced records including ''

Band on the Run ''Band on the Run'' is the third studio album by the British–American rock band Paul McCartney and Wings, released in December 1973. It was McCartney's fifth album after leaving the Beatles in April 1970. Although sales were modest initially ...

'' and '' Mull of Kintyre''. He left MPL Communications in 1978 to become managing director of Lloyd Webber's Really Useful Group. He also took a 30% interest in the company. At RUG, he developed the

West End West End most commonly refers to: * West End of London, an area of central London, England * West End theatre, a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London, England West End may also refer to: Pl ...

musicals ''

Cats The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of t ...

'' (1981–2002), '' Starlight Express'' (1984–92) and '' The Phantom of the Opera'' (1986–present, ), all of which have had extended runs on Broadway and elsewhere. He sold half of his interest when RUG was floated on the stock exchange in 1986. He left in 1988, by which time RUG was producing books, television and films. Brolly took an £800,000 payoff and received £14 million from Robert Maxwell for his remaining 14% stake. In addition to continuing to produce hit shows, such as '' The Importance of Being Earnest'' with Simon Callow, Brolly went on to start Jazz FM in 1990 and Classic FM in 1992, the latter in collaboration with GWR Group. He was also involved with the US leisure concept company LARC Inc, which designs theme parks such as

Alton Towers Alton Towers Resort ( ) (often referred to as Alton Towers) is a theme park and resort complex in Staffordshire, England, near the village of Alton. The park is operated by Merlin Entertainments Group and incorporates a theme park, water park, ...

. He set up a theatrical production firm called Producers Four with fellow entertainment mogul Michael Jenkins. In 2004, Producers Four launched the Broadway musical '' Brooklyn''. He also invested in the Angelina Ballerina children's books and in Tim Waterstone's Daisy & Tom children's shops. He died of a heart attack on 28 October 2006. He was survived by his wife and their two sons.

External links

*
Producer Brolly dies aged 70
'' The Stage'', 7 November 2006
Obituary
'' The Times'', 9 November 2006
Obituary
'' The Daily Telegraph'', 14 November 2006
Obituary
'' The Independent'', 15 November 2006 {{DEFAULTSORT:Brolly, Brian English theatre managers and producers Royal Ulster Rifles soldiers London Irish players 1936 births 2006 deaths People educated at St Dunstan's College 20th-century English businesspeople