My friend Chris York, who has died aged 55 of cancer, was an energetic promoter of live music. He put on some of the biggest concerts the UK has seen – including Oasis at Maine Road and Knebworth – and was the chief booker of acts for Teenage Cancer Trust gigs over the last 20 years, helping to raise millions for the charity.
The son of Anne (nee Taylor), a teacher, and John, who worked in insurance, Chris was born in Nottingham, but grew up in Ottley, Leeds, where his family settled when he was three. After Prince Henry’s grammar school, Otley, he studied chemistry and business studies at Warwick University; he arrived there as a keen runner and left fully committed to a life in the music industry.
After a short stint as a guitarist in an indie band called Love Fist, Chris became entertainments officer at Warwick, and was wise enough to realise that his talents were more suited to the organisational side of the music business. Moving to London in 1991, he worked at the Venue in New Cross, where he promoted early gigs by Suede. Two years later, he moved to Manchester to join Simon Moran and Rob Ballantine at SJM Concerts, which they set about building into one of the leading promoters in Britain.
Chris was brilliant at identifying the next big thing, and promoted a young Manchester band called Oasis from their very early gigs, including their first London shows at the 100 Club and Water Rats. He went on to promote many other huge bands throughout the 90s, from Radiohead to the Chemical Brothers.
He began working with the Teenage Cancer Trust two decades ago. Over the years, their incredible annual event at the Royal Albert Hall has featured Take That, Ed Sheeran, New Order and Paul McCartney, as well as Liam and Noel Gallagher, and has raised more than £30m.
Chris’s favourite author was Hunter S Thompson, and at times in his 20s and early 30s he seemed to treat Fear and Loathing as a how-to-live guidebook. Nights out with him were always lively, and might take an unexpected turn that could leave you waking in another city or even a different country.
In his later years there was less hell-raising. He married Kate Lewis in 2006, and later bought a house in the Cotswolds, as well as a pub, the Royal Oak in Tetbury, which went on to win several awards. After he and Kate separated (they divorced in 2019), Chris met Alice Harter, an artist, who did a wonderful job of supporting him after he was diagnosed with cancer. Chris accepted his fate, even if he felt robbed of time, and was comforted by the fact that he had achieved so much and had really lived. He was a man with a huge heart, and with him there was never a dull moment.
He is survived by Alice, and by his parents, sister, Natalie, and brother, Andrew.
