Harvey
Borley is back…more determined than ever to promote quality artists and
produce top- notch albums that rock the world.
If you are one of the lucky many to have met Harvey Borley in the past, you’ll be glad to hear that the guy hasn’t changed an iota as far as the music industry goes. Tough as nails and as soft as velvet, this dynamic combination of spirit made Harvey one of the most talked about, sought after promoter/producers in North America.
Starting off as rocker in his own right, Borley toured with his band, ‘Strange Movies’ through the 60’s, eventually signing on with Van Records. When the band broke up, Harvey seized the opportunity to work for two of the biggest, all time promotional companies of the day…Concerts West and Pacific Presentations –working with a multitude of bands; including Led Zeppelin, The Who, The Doors, Yard Birds, Turtles and Janis Joplin and the Holding Company.
Continuing to hone his mastery with planning, staging and hosting major events, Borley was on stage at Woodstock in 1969. As Harvey tells it, the Gorge show in Seattle was the best live non recorded festival ever produced with over one hundred thousand fans per day enjoying the very best acts of the seventies, with the introduction to the United States of Jimi Page’s new act called Led Zeppelin; and with Jim Morrison of The Doors lowered down by helicopter as all roads were jammed. Well Borley’s worked with these guys too! Elvis Presley, The Rolling Stones, Elton John, and Jimi Hendrix
Harvey’s big break as an independent promoter came when he signed up as the Canadian representative of the then relatively unknown band The Allman Brothers. This gig started off the first of over twenty successful years as Accident Productions, one of the wildest, most daring promotion companies in rock and roll tour history.
The Ike and Tina Turner Review, Electric Light Orchestra, Olivia Newton-John, Mark Bolin and T-Rex, Bad Finger and Rory Gallagher (among many other artists) all trusted Harvey Borley to help turn their acts into the stuff of legends, including the infamous chicken meets Alice Cooper incident.
Always thinking of new ways to shock, rock and give the audience the best bang for their buck, Harvey started the breakout of the unknown freaksters, Kiss, by dropping them into a tour with English headline rockers Savoy Brown and Manfred Mann. Jean Simons all makeup and bad attitude spitting blood and flames, the crowd went wild and Kiss was headlining the next tour.
Borley took an ex marine named Freddy Fender, midway through the tour, the song called “Wasted Days, Wasted Nights” became a certified platinum record and Freddy Fender became an overnight success. The last part of the tour consisted of performances in the Maritime Provinces, including playing at the Montreal Olympics. Borley and Fender signed each town’s guest book, commonly either before or after Prince Charles of Wales and Queen Elizabeth II who were also on tour of Canada at the same time.
Harvey Borley wasn’t known for being subtle or to back away from trouble. When Nazareth pulled a no-show on a sold-out concert in Canada (leaving Borley to soothe the rage of 10,000 wet and disappointed fans), Harvey pulled a never done before act by stealing the band’s bonded equipment right off the airplane. The Australia tour had to be cancelled with Harvey storing the gear until Nazareth paid the losses and contracted a make-up date.
On the next sold-out tour with Nazareth averaging 20,000-seat sales, a still pissed-off Nazareth paid homage to Harvey by writing a song about the fiasco called ‘Vancouver Shakedown.’ Not one to be outdone, Borley put his own band together, recording ‘Messing with the Bull Gets You the Horn.’
Put out the word. After dropping out of the limelight and attending to many other business interests over the past twenty-plus years, Borley is back… rocking with his company Astro Records and discovering exciting, new talent.
Are you a legend? Contact us at:
- Postal address
-
Astro Records
814 20th Street
New Westminster, BC
V3M 4W6
Canada - Electronic mail
- General Information: harvey@astrorecords.com