Giddings Doesn’t Need A Crash Helmet

Having successfully bought and sold his company more times than just about anyone can accurately remember, John Giddings isn’t at all concerned about entering the seemingly risky business of Formula One racing.

“It’s just talk. They will resolve it,” he told Pollstar as various papers were reporting high-level bust-ups that could result in several teams forming a breakaway international competition.

Giddings, whose Solo Agency looks after European tours for acts including U2, The Rolling Stones and Madonna, has been appointed global agent for F1 Rocks, an event created by All the Worlds/F1 Rocks to partner rock gigs with Grand Prix races.

“It’s glamour plus glamour,” Giddings explained. He said he and F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone had often talked of similar collaborations but abandoned the idea because neither side could see how they were going to make money from it.

“I thought he was going to pay me a lot of money for my acts, but it turned out he was looking at it in a different way,” Giddings, a big motor-racing fan, explained.

It seems F1 Rocks, All The Worlds’ joint venture with Universal Music announced at the end of March, may be the answer.
“I’ve always said something is only worth doing if it’s fun. This innovative project and the opportunity it represents to put on an amazing show was too good to pass up,” Giddings said.

All The Worlds already has former Live Nation PR director Christine Gorham handling media relations. She worked the press for F1 before joining the global concert giant.