Norman Sheffield

Norman Sheffield born 25th September 1939 is a music and advertising industry figure, most noted for his music industry recording and management roles in the 1970's and 80's.

Early life

Sheffield was born in Enfield, the son of Walter Sheffield, a Panel beater. He was educated at Albany Boys School.

Music Life

Formerly a drummer in The Hunters he enjoyed moderate chart success as well as starring as the drummer with Cliff Richard in a TV Performance to millions at the London Palladium in 1958 as well as a session musician to other acts around the time. More recently one of the Hunters biggest hits, "Teen Scene" featured on the soundtrack to the 2009 movie An Education.

He later started a Record shop in Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire with his wife and later converted the upstairs into a recording studio proving popular with local musicians wishing to record their own music. When the shop was later sold as he searched for larger premises in London, much of the original equipment was sold to the future founder of Island Records.

Sheffield went onto launch Trident Studios in 1968 with his brother Barry, turning a disused engraving works in St Annes Court in the Soho area of London into one of the leading recording studios of the world. The studio recorded many of the world's most famous Artists and recordings of the era including the Beatles Hey Jude, David Bowie's Space Oddity and Elton John's Candle in the Wind, among many other acclaimed international hits.

Queen

Between 1972 and 1975, Sheffield, under one of his Companies within the Trident Group, was the founding manager of British rock group Queen as well as other acts at the time.

Through his companies he invested heavily into the band before they had a recording contract to assist breaking them into the mainstream however much has been written and televised that Sheffield and his management treated the band unfairly and it is rumored that a song was written by the band about their fallout with him although this was never officially stated. Sheffield remains defiant of the enormous investment and risk he and his management company took at the time during the bands early years and plans to finally detail the account and facts in a forthcoming autobiography.

One of Sheffield's other Companies within the group - Trilion Video, was widely recognised as producing the first ever "true" music video for Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody hit record in 1975.

Other Business

With the growth of electronic music and home studios in the 1980's the music industry began to change shape and Sheffield sold the studio and founded one of the first Apple Computer dealerships in the UK importing early Apple Computers from the USA in 1986 complete with power converters to allow the computers to operate on UK voltage. The same Company also opened a facility to allow Apple and PC computer users to scan, print and use the Apple Computers on a per hour basis within specially designed offices known as a bureau.

Later, together with his sons he founded Tableau, an Advertising Agency using his previous knowledge of the Entertainment industry and experience from early desktop publishing. The agency was responsible for the early EasyJet airline advertising campaigns and EasyJet's first online internet booking system along with other notable advertising accounts and went on to gain awards within the industry for its work.

Later Life

Norman is currently living and partly retired in Cornwall, United Kingdom and is completing an autobiography of his career in the Music Industry and vanity editing his own wikipedia article, for fun and profit.