b. 29 January 1944, Paddington, London, England. His father, an American airman, had already been killed when the young Loog was born. A one-time office junior with designer Mary Quant, Oldham made several attempts at launching a pop career under such aliases as Chancery Lane and Sandy Beach. When these failed he took employment as a publicist for such disparate characters as Don Arden and Brian Epstein. It was during this period that Andrew became acquainted with American producer Phil Spector, who left an indelible mark on his thinking. Having spied a glowing testimony in Record Mirror, Oldham watched the Rolling Stones perform at Richmond's Crawdaddy club. Impressed, he persuaded the band to break an unofficial deal with impresario Giorgio Gomelsky and emerged as their manager and producer. Although he initially tried to cultivate a clean-cut image, Oldham quickly abandoned this in favour of a rebellious, unkempt approach that directly pitted his charges against the more sedate Beatles. Copy and publicity was honed for outrage, establishing an impression that haunts the group to this date. Several other charges, including Marianne Faithfull, the Poets and the Mighty Avengers, joined his management stable, and Oldham also began recording in his own right. Clearly still indebted to Spector, he fronted the Andrew Loog Oldham Orchestra over a series of singles and albums which retain a curiosity, rather than musical, value. In 1965, Oldham established the Immediate Records label with associate Tony Calder. Despite initial success and an impressive roster which included the Small Faces, the Nice, Chris Farlowe and Amen Corner, the company was bankrupt by the end of the decade.
Oldham's tenure with the Rolling Stones ended in 1967 when he was dismissed following a period of estrangement between the two parties. He later moved to New York, and having established a small office in Broadway's Brill Building, resumed his production career. In 1977, he returned to pop management with the Texan group the Werewolves, and the following year produced their debut album. Oldham latterly married a Colombian film star and now spends several months of the year in Bogota, which he once claimed invokes the atmosphere of 50s London. Still in and out of business with Calder, they later attempted to resurrect the Immediate label and in 1994 they put their efforts into writing a book on Abba. Stoned and 2Stoned, Oldham's entertaining recollections of the Rolling Stones and the 60s, were published in the new millennium.
