Farrell, for decades the right-hand man to Michael Cohl, was the stateside agent for Genesis and Phil Collins, and was the U.S. agent for Pink Floyd.

He began his career in the William Morris mailroom and, 13 years later, rose to senior agent. In April 1981 he and Wayne Forte resigned to form International Talent Group. Farrell’s former assistant, Joel Peresman, went with him.

ITG’s first signings were Duran Duran, Joe Jackson, Depeche Mode, Icehouse, The Jam, Depeche Mode, a relatively new Peter Gabriel and a $1.000 booking called The Cure. Forte went on to form Entourage Talent while Farrell got away from the day-to-day agency business.

“Michael Farrell was my partner for 12 ‘good’ years and, although I was aware of his battle with cancer I was startled and deeply saddened when I received the news of his passing,” Forte told Pollstar. “Michael was a great partner and a good human being. As tough and stubborn as he could be at times, he was, all-in-all, a fair and very generous person.

“We did some crazy and trendsetting business things together, the least of which was leaving good positions and well paying jobs, with a handful of clients, in an effort to “try” and make the common vision we shared into a reality. The industry gave us six months; we stretched it into 12 years! He will be missed by many and will be in my thoughts forever.”

Word is Cohl is forming a tribute in New York City.