Mick Switches For Love Of Art

Mick Griffiths has ended his 30-year stint at Asgard to combine his agency work with exploring his love of art.

With the help of his Asgard assistant Rosie Sewell, he’s setting up Art & Industry Ltd. at one of the Pink Floyd-owned buildings in the Britannia Row complex, a north London hub for the music business. He’s found the space to continue booking a roster that includes Camille, Julian Cope, Mogwai and The Tindersticks, and also open his own art gallery.

“I’ve been thinking about doing this for some time but it’s only now that the opportunity has presented itself,” he told Pollstar. Griffiths joined Asgard straight after his stint as entertainment booker at Loughborough University in 1980 and spent his entire working life at the London agency.

“It feels more like five years,” he said. “I’ve had a ball and learned everything I know working for Paul Charles and Paul Fenn and I’m hoping some of their magic has rubbed off. I will be eternally grateful for how well they have looked after me.”

Griffiths says he happened to find the right premises at the same time as his dabbling in the art world became much more than a hobby.

The early exhibitors in the new gallery will include local modern artists Schneider and Gethin Wyn Jones, although Griffiths expects the attractive display space will soon draw in many others who are keen to show their work.

The move will also help him focus on his Art & Industry record label, which mainly reissues material from ’80s guitar bands such as House Of Love and Comsat Angels.

It’s put together tracks for a Wild Swans album and released the new House Of Love album, which has sparked interest from BBC Radio Six and several independent stations.

Art & Industry Ltd., which also represents Effi Briest, Emmy The Great, The Go! Team, Scott Mathews, Joanna Newsom, Ocean Scene, and The Soft Pack, is at 35 Britannia Row, London, N1 8QH. Telephone: +44 (0)20 7226 7481. E-mail is [email protected].