RSS feedsMusic producer Trenton Harrison-Lewis speaks highly of Lesley Alexander. ‘She hasn’t given me any bad advice,’ he says. And if that sounds like damning with faint praise, he’s quick to carry on. ‘She has given me advice that I’ve ignored – and then I’ve fallen over.’
The working relationship between Trenton Harrison-Lewis and Lesley Alexander began in 1990. You could almost say it was Madonna’s Blonde Ambition tour that brought them together. At the time, Harrison-Lewis was managing Technotronic – the tour’s supporting act. Until that time, he had an in-house bookkeeper who looked after the management company. ‘The bookkeeper moved on, but he knew Lesley and introduced her,’ he explains.
The handover took place at a crucial time. Harrison-Lewis was on tour a great deal and needed someone to handle the financial management of the tours, picking it up mid-act. ‘Lesley came in and picked it up as if she had been there all along,’ he says.
Since then, Harrison-Lewis’ business interests have widened, as has Alexander’s involvement in those interests. As well as a management company, Harrison-Lewi has music publishing interests and a record label, Pale Shade, which he established ‘to kick-start some of my acts’. He is widely known as the man who launched the careers of urban music acts: dance and drum and bass acts such as Goldie; DJs Adam F and Grooverider; and singer Hinda Hicks.
Alexander’s work cuts across all Harrison’s business interests: from the nitty gritty of financial management – the auditing of his companies, budgeting, accounting, cheque signing and invoicing – to helping him raise finance and dealing with banks and investors. Over the years, she has acted as tour accountant for him, setting up and dealing with all the associated payments and financial management issues. These days they are in touch two or three times a week, as she is involved in all financial meetings and negotiations, he explains. ‘Everything goes to Berg Kaprow Lewis on a weekly basis: invoices to artists and record labels, budgets and payments,’ he says. ‘I travel a lot, so while I’m gone she keeps it all rolling.’ She is, to all intents and purposes, his FD.
By association, that means Alexander has had a great deal to do with drum and bass artist, DJ and actor Goldie. Harrison-Lewis involves Alexander in all major meetings and contracts, such as the signing of new artists. Consequently, she was there when Goldie signed to London Records and was there for his publishing deal with Warner Chappel Music Publishing as well as the setting up of Goldie’s own record label, Metalheadz.
The music world is an industry full of war stories that detail disputes between clients and accountants. Harrison acknowledges that people like him often become wary about the relationships they form with advisers. People obviously try not to leave themselves open to attack, but that’s not an issue, he says. Their relationship has cemented over the years. ‘It’s very tight,’ he says.
So the level of involvement Alexander has with Harrison-Lewis’ business interests testifies to the level of trust that is needed to work together successfully. He describes her as ‘very hands-on’. Although he’s aware she has a team to carry out the accounting work – invoicing clients and record companies and keeping on top of tax issues – he says he can rely on the fact that she knows what’s going on. ‘I can ask her any question and she’ll know the answer. She never passes the buck. I don’t know what I’d do without her. I’d never change her.’
Lean on me
Harrison-Lewis explains that working with Alexander gives him the reassurance he needs when it comes to knowing the state of play with all his financial affairs. He is confident in her level of knowledge – both on his businesses and on the music industry at large. ‘She’s right across my businesses,’ he says. ‘I know that she’s overseeing everything.’
Above all, working with Alexander and her team gives him the freedom to leave all the financial issues to one side while he concentrates on his areas of expertise. ‘I just try to be creative and handle the artists,’ he explains.
