Derek Victor Shulman (born 11 February 1947) is a Scottish musician and singer, multi-instrumentalist, and

record executive A music executive or record executive is a person within a music company, in particular, a record label who works in senior management and makes executive decisions over the label's artists. Their role varies greatly but in essence, they can over ...

. From 1970 to 1980, he was lead vocalist for the band

Gentle Giant Gentle Giant were a British progressive rock band active between 1970 and 1980. They were known for the complexity and sophistication of their music and for the varied musical skills of the members. All of the band members were multi-instrument ...

Career

Simon Dupree and Gentle Giant

Born in the

Gorbals The Gorbals is an area in the city of Glasgow, Scotland, and former burgh, on the south bank of the River Clyde. By the late 19th century, it had become densely populated; rural migrants and immigrants were attracted by the new industries and e ...

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, Scotland, 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 A brother (: brothers or brethren) is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingl ...

Phil Shulman and Ray Shulman. Recording in the late 1960s for

Parlophone Records Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 1923 as the Parloph ...

, 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 1969. The three brothers went on to form

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

band

with guitarist Gary Green, keyboardist Kerry Minnear, and drummer Martin Smith (later replaced by

Malcolm Mortimore Malcolm Paul Mortimore (born 16 June 1953 in Wimbledon, London, Wimbledon, London, England) is an English drummer and percussionist who has played with Arthur Brown (musician), Arthur Brown, Ian Dury, Herbie Flowers, Gentle Giant, Spike Heatley, ...

, who was himself replaced by John "Pugwash" 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 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 A civilian is a person who is not a member of an armed force. It is war crime, illegal under the law of armed conflict to target civilians with military attacks, along with numerous other considerations for civilians during times of war. If a civi ...

''. Like his band members, Shulman was adept on several instruments, including saxophone, recorder, bass,

clavichord The clavichord is a stringed rectangular keyboard instrument that was used largely in the Late Middle Ages, through the Renaissance music, Renaissance, Baroque music, Baroque and Classical period (music), Classical eras. Historically, it was most ...

and their own Shulberry, an electric 3-stringed

ukulele The ukulele ( ; ); also called a uke (informally), is a member of the lute (ancient guitar) family of instruments. The ukulele is of Portuguese origin and was popularized in Hawaii. The tone and volume of the instrument vary with size and con ...

Record executive

Following his recording career, Shulman became a prominent

. Starting as an A&R representative at PolyGram Records, where he rose to the ranks of senior vice president, he signed

Bon Jovi Bon Jovi is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Sayreville, New Jersey in 1983. The band consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarists John Shanks and Phil X, percussionist Everett Bradley ...

, Dan Reed Network,

Cinderella "Cinderella", or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a Folklore, folk tale with thousands of variants that are told throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsin Press, 1988. The protagonist is a you ...

, Kingdom Come, and Enuff Z'nuff among many others. In 1988, he became president and CEO of

Atco Records ATCO Records is an American record label founded in 1955. It is owned by Warner Music Group and operates as an imprint of Atlantic Records. After several decades of dormancy and infrequent activity under alternating Warner Music labels, the com ...

, where his first signing was blues rock band

Tangier Tangier ( ; , , ) is a city in northwestern Morocco, on the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The city is the capital city, capital of the Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region, as well as the Tangier-Assilah Prefecture of Moroc ...

, followed by progressive metal band

Dream Theater Dream Theater is an American progressive metal band formed in 1985 in Boston, Massachusetts. The band comprises John Petrucci (guitar), John Myung (bass), Mike Portnoy (drums), James LaBrie (vocals) and Jordan Rudess (keyboards). Dream Theat ...

and

Pantera Pantera () is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Arlington, Texas in 1981 by the Abbott brothers (guitarist Dimebag Darrell and drummer Vinnie Paul), and currently composed of vocalist Phil Anselmo, bassist Rex Brown, an ...

. He also re-established the careers of

AC/DC AC/DC are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1973. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock and Heavy metal music, heavy metal, although the band calls it simply "rock and roll". They are cited as a formativ ...

and

Bad Company Bad Company were an English rock supergroup formed in London in 1973 by singer Paul Rodgers and drummer Simon Kirke (both ex- Free), guitarist Mick Ralphs (ex- Mott the Hoople) and bassist Boz Burrell (ex-King Crimson). Kirke was the only m ...

, both of whom sold multi-platinum albums under his watch. He then went on to become president of

Roadrunner Records Roadrunner Records is a Dutch–American record label focused on Heavy metal music, heavy metal and hard rock music. Founded in the Netherlands in 1980, it is now a division of Warner Music Group and is based in New York City. Formerly seen as ...

overseeing signings like Slipknot and

Nickelback Nickelback is a Canadian Rock music, rock band formed in 1995 in Hanna, Alberta, Hanna, Alberta. Throughout its history, it has consisted of lead guitarist and lead vocalist Chad Kroeger, rhythm guitarist, keyboardist and backing vocalist Ryan ...

. He also ran the independent label

DRT Entertainment DRT Entertainment was a New York City based independent record label founded in March 2004 by Derek Shulman, Ron Urban, and Theodore "Ted" Green. The label is defunct. The label advertised itself as an "artist friendly hard rock music company f ...

from 2003 to 2009, along with Ron Urban and Theodore "Ted" Green. In March 2010, Shulman established a new venture with international music impresario Leonardo Pavkovic called 2PLUS Music & Entertainment.

Discography

Albums

;With Simon Dupree and the Big Sound *''Without Reservations'' (1967

Parlophone Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 1923 as the Parloph ...

PMC 7029 or PCS 7029) – UK #39 *''Amen'' (

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

: 1982, See for Miles/

Charly Charly may refer to: People * Charly (name) Places * Charly-sur-Marne, in the Aisne department * Charly, Cher, in the Cher department * Charly, Rhône, in the Rhône department * Charly-Oradour, in the Moselle department Other * Operation ...

CM 109) *''Part of My Past'' (

: 2004)Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 173. ;With Gentle Giant * ''

'' (1970) * '' Acquiring the Taste'' (1971) * '' Three Friends'' (1972) (#197 US) * ''

Octopus An octopus (: octopuses or octopodes) is a soft-bodied, eight-limbed mollusc of the order Octopoda (, ). The order consists of some 300 species and is grouped within the class Cephalopoda with squids, cuttlefish, and nautiloids. Like oth ...

'' (1972) (#170 US) * ''

In a Glass House ''In a Glass House'' is the fifth album by British progressive rock band Gentle Giant, released on 21 September 1973. The album is a loosely-realized concept project based on the aphorism "Those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones" ...

'' (1973) * '' The Power and the Glory'' (1974) (#78 US) * '' Free Hand'' (1975) (#48 US) * ''

Interview An interview is a structured conversation where one participant asks questions, and the other provides answers.Merriam Webster DictionaryInterview Dictionary definition, Retrieved February 16, 2016 In common parlance, the word "interview" re ...

'' (1976) (#137 US) * '' The Missing Piece'' (1977) (#81 US) * '' Giant for a Day'' (1978) * ''

'' (1980) (#203 US)

UK singles

; With Simon Dupree and the Big Sound *"I See the Light" / "It Is Finished" (1966 Parlophone R 5542) *"Reservations" / "You Need A Man" (1967 Parlophone R 5574) *"Day Time, Night Time" / "I've Seen It All Before" (1967 Parlophone R 5594) *"Kites" / "Like The Sun Like The Fire" (1967 Parlophone R 5646) – UK #9 *"For Whom the Bells Toll" / "Sleep" (1968 Parlophone R 5670) – UK #43 *"Part of My Past" / "This Story Never Ends" (1968 Parlophone R 5697) *"Thinking About My Life" / "Velvet and Lace" (1968 Parlophone R 5727) *"We Are The Moles, Part 1" / "We Are the Moles, Part 2" (1968, Parlophone R 5743, as The Moles) *"Broken Hearted Pirates" / "She Gave Me The Sun" (1969 Parlophone R 5757) *"The Eagle Flies Tonight" / "Give It All Back" (1969 Parlophone R 5816) ;With Gentle Giant * "The Power and The Glory" / "Playing the Game" (1974) * "I'm Turning Around" / "Just the Same" (1977) * "Two Weeks in Spain" / "Free Hand" (1977) * "Thank You" / "Spooky Boogie" (1978) * "Words From the Wise" / "No Stranger" (1978)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Shulman, Derek Living people 1947 births Musicians from Glasgow People from Gorbals 20th-century Scottish male singers Scottish rock singers Jewish British musicians Jewish rock musicians Scottish Jews British multi-instrumentalists Scottish expatriate musicians in the United States Simon Dupree and the Big Sound members Gentle Giant members