John Reid

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Reid's career began in 1967 at age 18 as a promoter for EMI, and by 19 he became the Tamla Motown label manager for the UK. In 1971, he set up his own company with a few hundred pounds in savings and a £5,000 loan. Between 1975 and 1978, Reid managed Queen, giving the band his first instruction: "I'll take care of the business; you make the best record you can." He parted ways with Queen in 1978, handing the role to Jim Beach in what he calls "the gentlest parting of the ways of anyone I have ever worked with." In the 2018 Freddie Mercury biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, it was portrayed that he was fired by Mercury after Reid tried to convince him to ditch the band and go solo. Reid's company earned more than £73 million from representing John between 1970 and 1998.

In Their Own Story

In 1974, in New Zealand, Reid threw champagne in the face of a party host and punched the Auckland model and journalist Judith Baragwanath in the face when she came to the man's defence, sending her to the floor. Later the same night, he was involved in an altercation with a second journalist at a nightclub. He was convicted and sentenced to a month in prison for assault, and settled with Baragwanath for NZ $2,500. In 1998, Reid sold his art collection, estimated to have been worth £2 million. Reid retired from management in 1999. In 2005 and 2006, he was a judge on the Australian version of The X Factor alongside Mark Holden and Kate Ceberano, then he got replaced by Ronan Keating.

Reader's Guide

Reid briefly managed comedian Billy Connolly in the 1970s. In 1994, he managed Irish dancer Michael Flatley. After Flatley left Riverdance and ended his relationship with Reid, Flatley paid Reid approximately £1 million to settle a wrongful termination lawsuit. Reid was portrayed by Aidan Gillen in the 2018 Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, and by Richard Madden in the 2019 Elton John biopic Rocketman, both of whom worked on the HBO fantasy TV series Game of Thrones. Reid made no comment on either portrayal. Mike Batt attacked the Rocketman portrayal, in which Reid is emotionally abusive towards Elton John, as a "weapons-grade character assassination."

Did You Know?

• Reid was born in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland, the son of a welder and a shop worker.
• He attended St Mirin's Academy where he was a fellow pupil with singers Gerry Rafferty and Joe Egan.
• Reid studied marine engineering at Stow College in Glasgow but dropped out to move to London in 1969.
• Reid's company earned more than £73 million from representing Elton John between 1970 and 1998.
• In 2005 and 2006, Reid was a judge on the Australian version of The X Factor.