Gerald Lincoln "Gerry" Bron (1 March 1933 – 18 June 2012) was an English record producer and band manager. Gerry married Penny Bron in 1982.

Early life and education

Bron was born in

Hendon Hendon is an urban area in the London Borough of Barnet, northwest London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient Manorialism, manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

, into a Jewish family, the elder brother of actress

Eleanor Bron Eleanor Bron (born 14 March 1938) is an English stage, film and television actress, and an author. Her film roles include Ahme in the Beatles musical ''Help!'' (1965), the Doctor in '' Alfie'' (1966), Margaret Spencer in '' Bedazzled'' (1967) an ...

. Their father, Sydney, shortened the family's surname to "Bron" from "Bronstein" when founding Bron's Orchestral Service, which was purported to be the largest

sheet music Sheet music is a handwritten or printed form of musical notation that uses musical symbols to indicate the pitches, rhythms, or chords of a song or instrumental musical piece. Like its analogs – printed Book, books or Pamphlet, pamphlets ...

supplier in the UK. After spending two years at

Trinity College of Music Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance is a music, dance, and musical theatre conservatoire based in South East London. It was formed in 2005 as a merger of two older institutions – Trinity College of Music and Laban Dance Centre. Trini ...

, Bron joined Bron's Orchestral Service in 1950.

Career

Bron's Orchestral Service

Bron's Orchestral Service expanded into music publishing, and began working with American publishers like

Aaron Schroeder Aaron Harold Schroeder (September 7, 1926 – December 2, 2009) was an American songwriter and music publisher. Early years Born in Brooklyn, Schroeder graduated from the school now known as the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art a ...

who were seeking representation in the UK. One of the first acts that Bron was responsible for was

Gene Pitney Gene Francis Alan Pitney (February 17, 1940 – April 5, 2006) was an American pop and country singer, songwriter, and musician. Pitney charted 16 top-40 hits in the United States, four in the top ten. In the United Kingdom, he had 22 top-40 h ...

. This business relationship led to Bron and Pitney discussing making records together and Bron began producing all the demos for the publishing company. Bron also began managing acts, including

The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band (also known as the Bonzo Dog Band or the Bonzos) was created by a group of British art-school students in the 1960s. Combining elements of music hall, trad jazz and psychedelia with surreal humour and avant-garde ar ...

Marianne Faithfull Marianne Evelyn Gabriel Faithfull (29 December 1946 – 30 January 2025) was an English singer and actress who achieved popularity in the 1960s with the release of her UK top 10 single " As Tears Go By". She became one of the leading female art ...

Manfred Mann Manfred Mann were an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. They were named after their keyboardist Manfred Mann (musician), Manfred Mann, who later led the successful 1970s group Manfred Mann's Earth Band. The group had two l ...

Colosseum The Colosseum ( ; , ultimately from Ancient Greek word "kolossos" meaning a large statue or giant) is an Ellipse, elliptical amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, just east of the Roman Forum. It is the largest ancient amphi ...

Osibisa Osibisa is a Ghanaian-Caribbean Afro rock band founded in London in the late 1960s by four expatriate West African and three London-based Caribbean musicians. Osibisa was the most successful and longest lived of the African-heritage bands in ...

, and Uriah Heep. In 1967-68 he produced Manfred Mann's hit singles "

Ha! Ha! Said the Clown "Ha! Ha! Said the Clown" is a song written by Tony Hazzard, first recorded by British pop group Manfred Mann. Hazzard claims the song "came out of the blue" though he did not demo it for weeks. Following recording a demo, he approached manager G ...

", " My Name is Jack" and " Fox On The Run". These were followed by albums produced for Colosseum and Uriah Heep.

Bronze Records

In 1971, after having produced Uriah Heep's album '' ...Very 'Eavy ...Very 'Umble'' at Lansdowne Studios in London, Bron founded

Bronze Records Bronze Records was an independent English record label founded in 1971 by record producer Gerry Bron on Oxford Street in London, eventually relocating to Chalk Farm. History Bron had been producing Uriah Heep (band), Uriah Heep for Vertigo Reco ...

, an independent record label which could serve as the band's label for future releases. The label would become home to many of the bands Bron was managing and more, including

Manfred Mann's Earth Band Manfred Mann's Earth Band are an English rock band formed by South African musician Manfred Mann (musician), Manfred Mann. Their hits include covers of Bruce Springsteen's "For You (Bruce Springsteen song), For You", "Blinded by the Light" an ...

, Osibisa,

Paladin The Paladins, also called the Twelve Peers (), are twelve legendary knights, the foremost members of Charlemagne's court in the 8th century. They first appear in the medieval (12th century) ''chanson de geste'' cycle of the Matter of France, wh ...

The Real Kids The Real Kids were an American rock band from Boston, Massachusetts, United States, led by guitarist, singer and songwriter John Felice. Career Felice (born 1955) grew up in Natick, Massachusetts, as a neighbor and friend of Jonathan Richman, ...

Sally Oldfield Sally Patricia Oldfield (born 3 August 1947) is an English singer-songwriter. She is the sister of composers Mike and Terry Oldfield. Early life Born in Dublin, Ireland, Oldfield was raised in the Roman Catholic faith of her mother, Maureen ...

Motörhead Motörhead () were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1975 by bassist and lead vocalist Lemmy Kilmister, guitarist Larry Wallis and drummer Lucas Fox. Kilmister was the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band a ...

, The Damned,

Girlschool Girlschool are a British rock band that formed in the new wave of British heavy metal scene in 1978. Frequently associated with contemporaries Motörhead, they are the longest-running all-female rock band, still active after more than 40 ...

, Bronz and

Hawkwind Hawkwind are an English rock band known as one of the earliest space rock groups. Since their formation in November 1969, Hawkwind have gone through many incarnations and have incorporated many different styles into their music, including hard ...

. In the mid-1970s, Bron's record label issued an album by

, along with a single, "Blue Angel", which became a hit in the UK and Australia.

Roundhouse Recording Studios

In 1975, Bron founded a recording studio next door to the famed Roundhouse performance venue in London, appropriately naming it Roundhouse Recording Studios.

Selected album production credits

* Uriah Heep **'' ...Very 'Eavy ...Very 'Umble'' **''

Salisbury Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...

'' **'' Look at Yourself'' **'' Demons & Wizards'' **'' The Magician's Birthday'' **'' Sweet Freedom'' **'' Wonderworld'' **'' Return to Fantasy'' **''

Firefly The Lampyridae are a family of elateroid beetles with more than 2,000 described species, many of which are light-emitting. They are soft-bodied beetles commonly called fireflies, lightning bugs, or glowworms for their conspicuous production ...

'' **'' Innocent Victim'' **''

Fallen Angel Fallen angels are angels who were expelled from Heaven. The literal term "fallen angel" does not appear in any Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic religious texts, but is used to describe angels cast out of heaven. Such angels are often described ...

'' **''

Conquest Conquest involves the annexation or control of another entity's territory through war or Coercion (international relations), coercion. Historically, conquests occurred frequently in the international system, and there were limited normative or ...

'' *

Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band (also known as the Bonzo Dog Band or the Bonzos) was created by a group of British Art school, art-school students in the 1960s. Combining elements of music hall, trad jazz and psychedelic music, psychedelia with sur ...

**''

Gorilla Gorillas are primarily herbivorous, terrestrial great apes that inhabit the tropical forests of equatorial Africa. The genus ''Gorilla'' is divided into two species: the eastern gorilla and the western gorilla, and either four or five su ...

'' **'' The Doughnut In Granny's Greenhouse'' *

Kim Mitchell Joseph Kim Mitchell (born July 10, 1952) is a Canadian rock musician. He was the lead singer and guitarist for the band Max Webster before going on to a solo career. His 1984 single, " Go for Soda", was his only charted song on the US ''Billbo ...

**'' Akimbo Alogo''

Selected single production credits

**"

" **" My Name is Jack" **" Fox On The Run" **"Ragamuffin Man" *

**"

Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart "Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart" is a song written by Roger Greenaway and Roger Cook. Originally recorded by Gene Pitney in 1967, the latter's version of the song reached No. 5 on the UK Singles Chart in December 1967, but failed to cha ...

" * Juicy Lucy **" Who Do You Love?" *

Richard Barnes Richard Barnes may refer to: *Richard Barnes (bishop) (1532–1587), Bishop of Durham * Richard Barnes (Newfoundland politician) (1805–1846), Newfoundland businessman and politician * Richard Hawksworth Barnes (1831–1904), English coffee growe ...

**"Take To The Mountains" **"Go North" *

12 inch remix and radio single for "Go For Soda" from the album '' Akimbo Alogo''

References

External links

Bronze Records
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bron, Gerry 1933 births 2012 deaths English music managers English record producers English Jews People from Hendon Place of death missing 20th-century English businesspeople