Seymour Stein Dies: Sire Records Co-Founder Who Launched Madonna, Talking Heads & The Ramones Was 80

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Chris Frantz Sire Records co-founder Seymour Stein was indisputably one of the greatest music executives of all time, with a career that spanned six decades and a rare ear for talent that led Madonna, Talking Heads, Lou Reed, Ice-T, Depeche Mode, the Pretenders, the Smiths, and many others to his label. Stein, who died on April 2 at the age of 80, is remembered here by Chris Frantz, drummer of Talking Heads and Tom Tom Club, who, with Tina Weymouth (now his wife), Jerry Harrison and of course David Byrne, signed with the label late in 1976.  Seymour told this story many times. His first visit to CBGB’s on the Bowery was to see the Ramones. His wife Linda insisted that he see them because they were something new and fabulous and she thought he should sign them, which he did. He was standing outside the club on the sidewalk speaking with [Patti Smith’s longtime guitarist] Lenny Kaye, waiting for Ramones to go on when he heard the support band begin to play. “When my love stands next to your love….”

Madonna has paid tribute to Seymour Stein, the record executive who signed her to her first record deal, who has died aged 80. 

Madonna has paid tribute to Seymour Stein – the legendary music executive responsible for launching her career along with many other influential acts – following the Sire Records co-founder’s death.Stein passed away at his home in Los Angeles on Sunday (April 2), after a battle with cancer. He was 80 years old. In a lengthy, emotional tribute shared on Instagram, Madonna reflected on how Stein altered the direction of her life by signing her to Sire in 1982.“Seymour Stein has left us! I need to catch my breath.

Thania Garcia Madonna paid her respects to Seymour Stein, who helped launch her career in 1983 after signing her to Sire Records, with a touching tribute post dedicated to the exec. Stein died at age 80 on Sunday after a long battle with cancer. When the pair first met, Madonna was a relatively unknown Manhattan club act but quickly vaulted to superstardom upon signing to Sire. Under Stein’s wing, the singer produced three No. 1 albums, 10 No. 1 singles and a total of 23 top-10 hits before launching her own Maverick imprint in 1992. “Seymour Stein Has Left Us! I need to catch my breath,” Madonna wrote in the caption of an Instagram post on Monday that detailed the moment she and Stein met. As the story goes, the music mogul eagerly signed Madonna after hearing a demo of her song “Everybody” while he was recovering from open-heart surgery.

Madonna is remembering Seymour Stein, and sharing the incredible story of her rise to fame.

pic.twitter.com/p2BGzlpcqUSeymour Stein, you will be greatly missed. You were always so gracious and supportive of the @RamonesOfficial, and to Johnny and @lindaramone.

Seymour Stein, the founder of Sire Records, who helped launch the career of pop icon Madonna, has died at the age of 80, his family have announced. Along with launching the careers of a number of hugely successful artists, Seymour helped found the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation and was himself inducted into the Rock Hall in 2005.

Madonna, Talking Heads, The Pretenders, the Ramones and more – has died at the age of 80.His passing was confirmed by his youngest daughter Mandy, who told The New York Times that he died in his Los Angeles home on Sunday (April 2) after a battle with cancer.Stein was born in New York City on April 18, 1942. He became enamoured with the music industry in high school, and at 15 (in 1957), worked a summer internship at King Records in Cincinnati. He became a clerk for Billboard just a year later, and in 1961, took on a permanent role at King. It was in 1966 that Stein – alongside record producer Richard Gottehrer – would found Sire Productions.

Chris Morris Music ReporterSeymour Stein, whose Sire Records launched Madonna’s career and signed such early punk rock and new wave icons as the Ramones and Talking Heads, has died, a spokesperson for his family has confirmed to Variety. The cause of death was not immediately clear, although he had been in unsteady health for several years. He was 80. Though Stein’s imprint, which he co-founded in New York in 1966, enjoyed major-label distribution, he approached the record business with an independent’s zeal, and took a multitude of risks on unproven, often underground talent that paid off on the charts. Depeche Mode, Ice-T, Lou Reed, the Pretenders, the Smiths, the Cure, Seal, the Replacements, Aphex Twin and many more artists released some of their greatest music on Sire, whether via a direct signing or a licensing deal. A well-curated mixtape of Sire releases from the ‘80s and ‘90s is like the soundtrack to an era.

Phoebe Bridgers has spoken out after being “bullied” online when on her way to her father’s funeral.The Boygenius guitarist was speaking with her bandmates – Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker – in a new interview when she addressed the harassment she received from supposed “fans”.“I’m coming from a place of literally — I’m feeling it in my body as I’m saying it, but — people with my picture as their Twitter picture, who claim to like my music, fucking bullied me at the airport on the way to my father’s funeral this year,” she told Them.“I, at one of the lowest points of my life, saw people who claim to love me fucking dehumanise me and shame me and fucking bully me on the way to my dad’s wake.”While Bridgers didn’t explain what prompted the negative reaction, the interview does follow a time in January when the musician made headlines after being spotted with comedian Bo Burnham, shortly after her reported split from actor Paul Mescal.The Boygenius star announced the passing of her father with an Instagram post on January 3 – just over a week before the photos of her and Burnham at LAX airport were shared online.A post shared by Phoebe Bridgers (@phoebebridgers)She continued: “If you’re a kid and the internet somehow taught you that that’s an okay thing to do, then of course I hate capitalism and everything that led you to believe that it’s okay to do that.”Elsewhere, she also confirmed that these alleged “fans” were aware of her father’s passing when they made the comments, stating: “A lot of the top comments [were] like, ‘Hey, her dad just died, what are you guys doing?’”Using the interview as a way to speak directly to those who harass others online, she concluded: “I fucking hate you, and I hope you grow the fuck up.”“Most

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Talking Heads’ bassist Tina Weymouth has described frontman David Byrne as “insecure” in a series of essays in the Sunday Times.Alongside drummer and husband Chris Frantz, who released a memoir titled Remain In Love: Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club, Tina in 2020, she opened up about their complicated relationship with Byrne.“I recently described David Byrne as Trumpian, which didn’t go down well with everybody,” Weymouth wrote. “What I meant was that, from my experience, everything with David is transactional – he will use you until he has no more use for you.“He always seemed very insecure about himself and would often try to blame other people if things went wrong. Chris and I loved him dearly and we did our best to overlook these disastrous character flaws, but it seemed obvious that Talking Heads wasn’t going to last.”She continued: “In interviews David always says he’s happy and I’d like to believe that.