Tim Hollier

Among the folk-rooted musicians to surface from late-1960s England, Tim Hollier ranks among those whose work received the least deserved attention. His quietly ornate, hallucinatory strain of folk-rock warranted far greater exposure than it received during its initial years, although he eventually carved out a sustained role in the wider music business. Born in Brighton in 1947, he grew up in West Cumberland and, at thirteen, assembled his first band, the Meteors, with school friends. After art college he formed the folk duo the Sovereigns in the mid-1960s, then relocated to London to pursue graphic design. There he entered the local folk circuit and gained modest profile as an opener for Jo Ann Kelly and Paul Simon.

An introduction to Simon Napier-Bell, the manager who succeeded Giorgio Gomelsky with the Yardbirds, secured Hollier a recording deal with the British division of United Artists Records. That imprint operated with considerably more daring than its American parent, which at the time concentrated on soundtracks and Jay & the Americans; the UK branch instead pursued psychedelic experiments with Del Shannon and would soon add Brinsley Schwarz and the Flamin' Groovies. At United Artists, Hollier cut his debut album, Message to a Harlequin, in mid-1968. Released that October, the record displayed his strong voice and ambitiously psychedelic songwriting, presented with elaborate production that recalled the first two albums by Duncan Browne. Although sales stayed limited in Britain, the album also appeared in the United States on the Imperial label.

Audience growth remained gradual. Hollier contributed to several recordings by UA labelmate Peter Sarstedt, received BBC airplay, and collaborated onstage and on record with American songwriter Amory Kane. He exited United Artists in 1969, moved to Fontana, and issued his self-produced second album in summer 1970. A third collection, Sky Sail, followed on Philips in 1971 and met the same commercial indifference. By 1973 he had turned toward production, launching his own Songwriters Workshop label; Peter Sarstedt was among the artists who signed. In the 1980s Hollier shifted into music publishing and film financing through his company Filmtrax, which both scored motion pictures and helped produce Withnail and I. He has since remained a prominent presence in music copyright administration amid successive waves of technological and media change.