Scott Piering (13 September 1946,

Duluth, Minnesota , settlement_type = City , nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City , motto = , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...

– 22 January 2000) was a successful and influential American-born music publicist for many British music acts, including Pulp,

The KLF The KLF (also known as the Justified Ancients of Mu Mu, the JAMs, the Timelords and other names) are a British electronic band formed in London in 1987. Bill Drummond (alias King Boy D) and Jimmy Cauty (alias Rockman Rock) began by releasing ...

The Smiths The Smiths were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1982. They comprised the singer Morrissey, the guitarist Johnny Marr, the bassist Andy Rourke and the drummer Mike Joyce. They are regarded as one of the most important acts to em ...

(who he also managed),

Stereophonics Stereophonics are a Welsh rock band formed in 1992 in the village of Cwmaman in the Cynon Valley, Wales. The band consists of Kelly Jones (lead vocals, lead guitar, keyboards), Richard Jones (Stereophonics), Richard Jones (bass guitar, harmoni ...

The Orb The Orb are an English electronic music group founded in 1988 by Alex Paterson and Jimmy Cauty. Known for their psychedelic sound, the Orb developed a cult following among clubbers "coming down" from drug-induced highs. Their influential 1 ...

Placebo A placebo ( ) is a substance or treatment which is designed to have no therapeutic value. Common placebos include inert tablets (like sugar pills), inert injections (like Saline (medicine), saline), sham surgery, and other procedures. In general ...

Underworld The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underworld ...

and The Prodigy. He ran the publicity promotions consultancy Appearing.

Career

Piering was a concert promoter in his native country, before moving to the UK in 1980 where he set up and ran the promotions and press department at

Rough Trade Rough Trade may refer to: *Rough Trade Records, a record label * Rough Trade (shops), London record stores *Rough Trade (band), a Canadian new wave rock band * "Rough Trade" (''American Dad!''), an episode of ''American Dad!'' *Rough trade (slang), ...

. He left Rough Trade to become the manager of

over the period covering their first three albums, setting up his own promotions agency in 1984. During the course of his career, Piering promoted over 100 UK top 20 singles and won the "Plugger of the Year" award twice; his clients included New Order,

and

the KLF The KLF (also known as the Justified Ancients of Mu Mu, the JAMs, the Timelords and other names) are a British electronic band formed in London in 1987. Bill Drummond (alias King Boy D) and Jimmy Cauty (alias Rockman Rock) began by releasing ...

. In the book '' The Manual (How To Have a Number One The Easy Way)'', written by the KLF's creators

Bill Drummond William Ernest Drummond (born 29 April 1953) is a Scottish artist, musician, writer, and record producer. He was a co-founder of the late-1980s avant-garde pop group the KLF and its 1990s media-manipulating successor, the K Foundation, with ...

and

Jimmy Cauty James Francis Cauty (born 19 December 1956), also known as Rockman Rock, is an English artist and musician, best known as one-half of the duo The KLF, co-founder of The Orb and as the man who burnt £1 million. He is married to artist and ...

in the wake of their chart-topping success as The Timelords, the authors state that "without ieringthis book would have to be retitled ''How to Get to Number 47 – With a Certain Amount of Difficulty''. Piering's work with The KLF also involved contributing a number of narrations and spoken lines to their productions, including the singles " Justified & Ancient", " 3 a.m. Eternal" ("Ladies and gentlemen, The KLF have now left the building"), and a long opening narration to " America: What Time Is Love?" Piering's voice announced the band's departure from the music industry as the curtain closed on their subversive appearance at the 1992

BRIT Awards The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...

ceremony: "Ladies and gentlemen, The KLF have now left the music business".

Legacy

Piering died from cancer on 22 January 2000, aged 53. In 2001, the British

Radio Academy The Radio Academy is a registered charity dedicated to "the encouragement, recognition and promotion of excellence in UK broadcasting and audio production". It was formed in 1983 and is run via a board of trustees, with a chair and a deputy chair ...

founded "The Scott Piering Award", "in memory of this great man who single-handedly did so much to improve understanding between the music and radio industries" On 18 April 2002, a gig in aid of

Marie Curie Cancer Care Marie Curie is a registered charitable organisation in the United Kingdom which provides care and support to people living with a terminal illness and those close to them, and campaigns for better support for dying people. It was established in 19 ...

was held in Piering's memory at the Scala in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. The gig featured performances from many bands indebted to Piering for his promotional work, and a

tribute album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...

of the performance, augmented by additional studio recordings including "Justified & Ancient", was released under the title ''4Scott'' in August 2002. The Stereophonics album, '' Just Enough Education to Perform'', was dedicated to his memory, as was the Placebo album, '' Black Market Music''.

The Scott Piering Award Winners

* Tony Wadsworth 2009 * Martin Nelson 2008 * Colin Martin 2007 *

Gary Farrow Gary may refer to: *Gary (given name), a common masculine given name, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name *Gary, Indiana, the largest city named Gary Places ;Iran *Gary, Iran, Sistan and Baluchestan Province ;Unit ...

2006 *

Geoff Travis Geoff Travis (born 2 February 1952) is the founder of both Rough Trade Records and the Rough Trade chain of record shops. A former drama teacher and owner of a punk record shop, Travis founded the Rough Trade label in 1978. Biography Travis was ...

2005 * Feargal Sharkey 2004 *

The Bee Gees ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

2003 *

Muff Winwood Mervyn "Muff" Winwood (born 15 June 1943, Erdington, Birmingham, England) is a British songwriter and record producer, and the older brother of Steve Winwood. Both were members of the Spencer Davis Group in the 1960s, in which Muff Winwood p ...

2002 * Martin Mills 2001 Source: "The Radio Academy: Honours"

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Piering, Scott 1946 births 2000 deaths Deaths from cancer People from Duluth, Minnesota The KLF American public relations people 20th-century British musicians