Derek Shulman's Book

"Giant Steps: My Improbable Journey From Stage Lights To Executive Heights"

https://www.amazon.com/Giant-Steps-Improbable-Journey-Executive/dp/1916829244

If you're a fan of the man and his bands you're gonna love this book.

I met Derek back in 1990, when I wrote about the Rembrandts, a band on his nascent label, Atco. Their manager sent me an advance cassette and I loved it. It was a return to form for Danny Wilde, who'd made a great solo album for Island, "The Boyfriend" (one of my absolute favorites, I play it regularly to this day), but Danny could never quite hit those heights with his subsequent records on Geffen. But after reuniting with his old buddy Phil Solem, the magic was recaptured, and I loved it.

This led to not only phone calls, but endless get togethers with Derek. Who I could relate to. Maybe because he was a musician before he was a suit.

Actually, I remember going to lunch with him at the Ivy, whereupon he complained...why are we going here? He could afford it, but he wanted something more down and dirty than my pick.

And Derek would talk like I knew all of his history, but I didn't.

You see Derek was a teen phenom as the frontman of Simon Dupree and the Big Sound, which had a slew of hits in the U.K., but meant nothing in America.

As for the follow-up band, Gentle Giant...the only album I owned was "Giant for a Day," which Derek told me was one of their worst!

I'd only dipped my toe into Gentle Giant, because how many prog rock records could I afford? I was into Yes from the very first album (do you know their version of "Every Little Thing" by the Beatles? Killer!) And I hate to tell you I really got into Genesis after Peter Gabriel left the band, "Trick of the Tail" with "Squonk" is amazing (and don't criticize me too much, I bought Gabriel's first when it was released, and every one thereafter, and went back and bought the Genesis catalog), but Gentle Giant did not break through in L.A. and after I bought that one album...

But in this book, Derek delineates the history of that band.

You see Derek pivoted back before the techies brought that concept to the forefront. He didn't want to keep playing the same old pop, he didn't run it into the ground, Gentle Giant was new and different and gathered fans and accolades but eventually the writing was on the wall and Derek crossed over to the other side, with Polydor...starting as a radio promotion man and then working his way up to A&R, where he signed...

Bon Jovi.

And Cinderella.

And as a result of all this success, he was given his own label under the old Atlantic moniker, Atco... Where he had success with not only the Rembrandts, but a resuscitated AC/DC and more and then Doug Morris stole the label out from under him. Brought in his crony Sylvia Rhone...Derek could have theoretically stayed, but once again the writing was on the wall. This was over.

So he ended up working with Cees Wessels and grew Roadrunner into a monolith. You know, with Nickelback. Ha! I remember Derek sent me a box of CDs and I said that was the one even though he was focused on other acts, and a few years later Nickelback blew up. And I know you hate Chad, but "How You Remind Me" is a fantastic track, truly.

And underneath this entire journey was Derek's Jewishness.

Sure, a lot of suits were Jewish, but not a lot of musicians, and those who were didn't make a big deal of it. But Derek was the first to hip me to the technological breakthroughs of Israel and... Derek owned who he was, with no airs, he's a good guy.

So do you need another rock biography?

As I stated at the top, if you're a fan of Derek, definitely. As for the rest... There's a lot of focus on the early days, which most acts never delineate in their books, they go straight for the breakthroughs. And those are the most interesting pages, the early days in the U.K. Calling off his engagement to a wealthy woman whose father would bring him into the business because it just didn't feel right.

This exact story hasn't been told elsewhere. Because there aren't that many people who had success on both sides of the fence.

But Derek did.

I read his book in a day.

I was interested. I think you will be too.


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