YouSaid · the spoken record

Simon Cowell

lines on the record: 140
first: 2024-06-10
most recent: 2024-06-10
sittings or episodes: 1
sources: podcast

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“Well, I have a car phone which I occasionally use, which is actually an American phone. And I swear, I don't even know how to use it.”
2024-06-10 · The Diary of a CEO · Simon Cowell Opens Up About His Heartbreaking Loss, "losing them was the hardest thing that happened to me"! · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Privately about why that particular time Some other people I was working with. Look again on the bright side. As long as you're happy today, which I am, thank God. And I'm at peace today, thank God, then. Lot of the bad things that happened previously. It's like, well That's your destiny. You know, if the lights had been red instead of green on a certain day, Eric may not have been conceived. That's how I look at life, you know.”
2024-06-10 · The Diary of a CEO · Simon Cowell Opens Up About His Heartbreaking Loss, "losing them was the hardest thing that happened to me"! · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Because of Know a lot of what we spoke about today, my upbringing, my working life, you know, nothing was ever handed to me on a plate, you know, so but when people took the time, you know, like Pete Waterman, there have been fortunately a lot of people over the years who've been amazing have come in and helped me achieve because I could never done what I did without you know, the people who work with me over the years. I've just been very lucky in the main. 99% of the people have been just fantastic. However, I take it really bad. When someone who you consider to be a friend rewrites the narrative afterwards and they become Because things haven't worked out for themselves, they have to blame somebody else. And it's like. But we're all in that position. You know, there's certain things I can't, I would talk to you.”
2024-06-10 · The Diary of a CEO · Simon Cowell Opens Up About His Heartbreaking Loss, "losing them was the hardest thing that happened to me"! · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yeah, not thinking I want to take my own life, but thinking If something terrible happened, it wouldn't bother me, you know, to myself. What I have learned, fortunately, is Unfortunately, we are all going to go through this, and it's how we cope with it and being able to talk about it. publicly about mental health, particularly men's mental health, because there's no question I've had, I do still suffer from depression at times. I really suffer from depression in the past. I am actually very... Particularly when someone Disloyal, you know.”
2024-06-10 · The Diary of a CEO · Simon Cowell Opens Up About His Heartbreaking Loss, "losing them was the hardest thing that happened to me"! · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“The whole time was dark. Yeah, I can absolutely relate to when people reach the lowest levels. You possibly can, where essentially, you know, being alive doesn't matter anymore, you know, because you just go, well, what have I got to live for?”
2024-06-10 · The Diary of a CEO · Simon Cowell Opens Up About His Heartbreaking Loss, "losing them was the hardest thing that happened to me"! · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“That question without question, yeah. I really, really had reached the point where nothing mattered. Even to the point where I almost can't even remember everything from that period, it hit me so hard I was like, because the hardest thing also was being on television as well because I'm like, God, I feel like a clown here, you know, because I'm dying inside. And yet, you know, I've still got to, you know, do what I'm being paid to do, you know, as best as I could. But, you know, I put on a ton of weight. I was eating just junk. It was like if I had got hit by a bus the following day, well, I'd be dead, but I wasn't worried. About anything like that, you know.”
2024-06-10 · The Diary of a CEO · Simon Cowell Opens Up About His Heartbreaking Loss, "losing them was the hardest thing that happened to me"! · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“And it was like The expression is this as good as it gets. That's how I felt. There were certain people in my life at that point giving me advice who would just. Shouldn't have been in my life. And then when I got the call from Lauren, which starts, any call which starts with, are you sitting down? You know what's coming next? It was like, are you sitting down? Yes. Well, and she told me. And yes, it did absolutely change changed everything in my life. I mean, it made me happy again. For me, it was perfect because, you know, like we were talking earlier on about our childhood, you know, it was just brilliant. It's like fantastic. I remember the first time I watched Jungle Book with him. And I'm looking over and seeing the joy he had watching that movie. It was like, oh my God, I remember how I felt when I saw the jungle book.”
2024-06-10 · The Diary of a CEO · Simon Cowell Opens Up About His Heartbreaking Loss, "losing them was the hardest thing that happened to me"! · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Well, I think particularly when I lost my mum, I just was on a downward spiral at that point. It was like I had lost. I've lost my parent this finality now. And what I said about Material things I've got, everything just meant nothing at that point. I was desperately unhappy. I wasn't particularly enjoying my work and I just thought, you know what, I'm just going to become a vampire then. And I would work through till seven o'clock, eight o'clock in the morning. I would wake up at two or three in the afternoon and I actually got addicted to that kind of lifestyle, which was I just loved the intensity of it was almost like because of the loss I'd had, I've got to find something else to fill it. And it was, I'm just going to become a ridiculous workaholic. And I was very successful, but I wasn't happy. Really, really wasn't happy.”
2024-06-10 · The Diary of a CEO · Simon Cowell Opens Up About His Heartbreaking Loss, "losing them was the hardest thing that happened to me"! · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yeah, genuinely. I can say that because of course I really, really enjoyed every successful moment of my career, even when things haven't gone quite to plan. There's still a story, you know, or something to be learned from it. That combined joy versus the devastation you feel when you lose someone. There is, you know, it's It really is meaningless.”
2024-06-10 · The Diary of a CEO · Simon Cowell Opens Up About His Heartbreaking Loss, "losing them was the hardest thing that happened to me"! · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“He says he just looked up at the sky one night and he said, I'm thinking about. Grandpa Eric and Julie. And it was just the way he said it. It was like, gosh, why would you say that now? And that's when I genuinely really started to believe they are still somehow with us. You know, it's not a total loss. I think maintaining that amazing relationship with both of them, you know, up until the point both of them passed away, they were my best friends. I could tell them anything. We could talk about anything. It's how I feel for Eric. You know, it's just that pure love, you know, they just want the best for you. And in return, you feel the same about them. And how I feel about Eric. You know, everything starts to become full circle. Thank God, you know.”
2024-06-10 · The Diary of a CEO · Simon Cowell Opens Up About His Heartbreaking Loss, "losing them was the hardest thing that happened to me"! · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yeah. Well, like I said, having gone through, you know, which was no question in my losing, you know, both my parents was the hardest thing that ever happened to me, but I can sit here and honestly look you in the eye now and say, Because everyone says, you know, when you lose them in time, it'll get better. You think, no, it won't. And the truth is it does as long as you believe. And you have to believe their presence is still there with you. And I do genuinely believe that with my mum and dad. Oh gosh. My mom. She started to get dementia, but fortunately saw Eric. She really wanted me to have a kid. And she brought him this. Brown blanket and he still has it. Literary everything is about the brown blanket. You know, where's my brown blanket? And he said to me, When he was about two or three after, you know, she passed away.”
2024-06-10 · The Diary of a CEO · Simon Cowell Opens Up About His Heartbreaking Loss, "losing them was the hardest thing that happened to me"! · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“No, no, no, that came a few years later. But, you know, at least he'd seen me. Of succeed, you know, and that meant as much to him, I know as it did to me.”
2024-06-10 · The Diary of a CEO · Simon Cowell Opens Up About His Heartbreaking Loss, "losing them was the hardest thing that happened to me"! · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yeah. And you know, like I said, look, thank God, you know, he was very wise and he did give me a good steer. Like I said, a lot of things I still do now. I still think of what my dad say, you know. He only lost his temper with me once, and boy when he lost it. It was like, I don't want to go there again. But, you know, he never hit me. Nothing like that, you know, but he raised his voice once at me and that was enough. But he was very when he was angry at you, you knew it. But I also, you know, I think he would have got a real kick out of seeing me on a TV show. I know he would have just found the whole thing really, really funny.”
2024-06-10 · The Diary of a CEO · Simon Cowell Opens Up About His Heartbreaking Loss, "losing them was the hardest thing that happened to me"! · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“You can't even think about them afterwards because it's too difficult. You know, everything is. And then after a while, it's like when I have a question in my mind, I do talk to them in my mind. What would you do? And I know what they would say. So I really do still believe they're with me. But that was a very bittersweet moment, you know, and probably at that, you know. I would have swapped everything. I'd succeeded, you know, kept him around, you know. And all the things that he taught me over the years, it It was the longest trip home from America. You know, that fly, it was bad.”
2024-06-10 · The Diary of a CEO · Simon Cowell Opens Up About His Heartbreaking Loss, "losing them was the hardest thing that happened to me"! · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yeah. Yeah. I went to Germany to this big conference and You know, I did quite a big presentation on the group and the reaction in the room was huge. And so, and I also was hearing the record was really selling. And I called and I could just tell something wasn't right. I think someone said to my mum, don't tell Simon while he's there. And then I found back and she told me. 'Cause I genuinely at that point in my life, I just believed my parents are going to live forever. I mean, it was that. And yeah, it was. However I do believe in God and I do believe. Because the hardest thing when you lose your parents is”
2024-06-10 · The Diary of a CEO · Simon Cowell Opens Up About His Heartbreaking Loss, "losing them was the hardest thing that happened to me"! · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Did fantastically well, yeah. And in fact, I think we still have the record of I think it was their first seven singles went to number one. And I don't think that's ever happened again.”
2024-06-10 · The Diary of a CEO · Simon Cowell Opens Up About His Heartbreaking Loss, "losing them was the hardest thing that happened to me"! · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“They start the showcase for me within 30 seconds, I said, You'll hear from my lawyer. Do you want to hear any more? Nope. I can see it. They sound great, they look great, blah, blah, blah. We sign them. And then a month later, it turns out that he has died one of the guys' hair blonde to sneak back into the band. And that's Shane. Because when we audition them the second time, they all have blonde hair. I don't know why that made a difference, but it's a typical Louis story.”
2024-06-10 · The Diary of a CEO · Simon Cowell Opens Up About His Heartbreaking Loss, "losing them was the hardest thing that happened to me"! · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yeah. Yeah. When I first started to have some success and my records went to number one, he was so proud. And he again, when I signed this band, he said, I think there were going to be huge views Yeah, and this was a really crazy story about how we signed the band because Louis Walsh was always calling me. I've got the best band in the world. I've got the best ball. And I said, okay, Louis, okay. I'll come to Dublin. I went to Dublin, he showcases this band. I absolutely cannot bear it. They just don't look right, Louis. I don't think I just, the answer is no. I think a couple of them are okay. You're wrong. I said, okay, fine, I'm wrong. But I'm not signing them. And then three months later, he calls me and he goes, I've taken your advice. Will you fly back? And I'm like, okay, so I fly back.”
2024-06-10 · The Diary of a CEO · Simon Cowell Opens Up About His Heartbreaking Loss, "losing them was the hardest thing that happened to me"! · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“And you know what, this is My dad passed away right at this time as well. So this was a real bittersweet time for me because my dad, he never knew this, but my dad was amazing at spotting hit records. I would play him certain things I was making Ah, bless you.”
2024-06-10 · The Diary of a CEO · Simon Cowell Opens Up About His Heartbreaking Loss, "losing them was the hardest thing that happened to me"! · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“And I'm not going to lie every time I do anything new. There's always part of the thrill is it may not work. And every time I film a series of BGT, AGT, whatever I'm filming, every year there is one day where I'm like, it's over. It's over. I hate the acts. I'm bored That's it. And then the following day, I'm like My God, I love this show so much. I mean, I am so up and down like that because I can't fake how I feel. You know, when I'm bored, when I'm miserable, it really shows. And when I'm happy, then I'm happy.”
2024-06-10 · The Diary of a CEO · Simon Cowell Opens Up About His Heartbreaking Loss, "losing them was the hardest thing that happened to me"! · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“You know, the only thing that bothered me was, like I said, when I first tried to get my record played on radio one and I saw the process and I thought this is something I can't change. I cannot change a stuffy old producer's mind about liking a record. He knows nothing about. So I have to find a way to force that person to play the record. And the way I can do that is to get it into the charts. So I have to find a way to get it into the charts that forces them to play the record on the top 40 countdown. That's always what I had in my head. In other words, if you really, really believe in it and the conventional path isn't open to you, then you've got to go right. Then how do we navigate a slightly different path that eventually gets us what we want? Let's not go the obvious route.”
2024-06-10 · The Diary of a CEO · Simon Cowell Opens Up About His Heartbreaking Loss, "losing them was the hardest thing that happened to me"! · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yeah, and don't be afraid of what other people say about you for doing that, you know, because, you know, when people say it's not cool or whatever, well, who defines what is cool or what isn't cool? You know, this is just about you, your career. Your passion, and if other people mock you for being different, then I would rather be mocked for being different than being safe. That would just bore me. I've been called so many terrible things from serious people in the music business, but it just Doesn't really matter, you know.”
2024-06-10 · The Diary of a CEO · Simon Cowell Opens Up About His Heartbreaking Loss, "losing them was the hardest thing that happened to me"! · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Particularly today, you've got to make noise amongst the noise. And that means, you know, do your research. You know, if you're going to cover a song, don't copy the original, you know, find a song that could have been written twelve months ago, but actually was written 30 years ago, and rearrange the song, do something different with it. You know, there's so many things you can do which are different to what other people are doing. And because that really is about getting your first step on the ladder, which is prove that you can make some noise amongst everybody else. And I do know what that feeling of frustration felt like. However, it's also about trusting your gut as well.”
2024-06-10 · The Diary of a CEO · Simon Cowell Opens Up About His Heartbreaking Loss, "losing them was the hardest thing that happened to me"! · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Well, I can relate to what is happening to a lot of people in the muse that business right now, which is the frustration they must feel, which is I'm talented I've uploaded my music. I'm not getting anywhere. What do I do next? And I know what that feeling is. And what I decided to do was why don't I go with a slightly different direction from everybody else? I don't want to be part of the herd. If I follow everyone else, I'm just going to be a sheep and I don't want to be a sheep. I'd rather be somebody slightly unusual but successful rather than safe, cool, whatever. So I always say,”
2024-06-10 · The Diary of a CEO · Simon Cowell Opens Up About His Heartbreaking Loss, "losing them was the hardest thing that happened to me"! · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yes, I mean, number one. I mean, I think all their records went number one. It was actually quite. And that was probably the thing that really cemented this thing about my career, which was. Absolutely trust you got go completely in an unconventional way and that more than anything else made me realize the power of TV because also when I eventually did see the episode and I saw how it was cut and the storyline and just how everything worked and why there was such a demand for that record it was wow that's that's a great lesson”
2024-06-10 · The Diary of a CEO · Simon Cowell Opens Up About His Heartbreaking Loss, "losing them was the hardest thing that happened to me"! · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“I get them in as quickly as possible and I get a phone call from Robson. I want to see you. So, oh dear. So I walk in, they've laid down the vocals, and I said, what's the problem? And he goes, you are a complete C word. And I went, why? He said, because you knew exactly what was going to happen, didn't you? And I don't know what you're talking about, is that, yes, you do. He said, put it on, and they played me the record. And they both realized that that moment, the record was going to be a hit record. And I kind of forced them into doing it. And they were happy and angry at the same time. For two years, they were the biggest selling artists in the UK. I mean, they outsold Oasis every bomb. It was absolutely, I cannot tell you. We couldn't make enough records. We sold so many records.”
2024-06-10 · The Diary of a CEO · Simon Cowell Opens Up About His Heartbreaking Loss, "losing them was the hardest thing that happened to me"! · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“He says, Yes, I'll stop harassing him. And eventually he agreed to a meeting. And I'm so excited. I'm in the cab going to the meeting. And then I suddenly went, Christ, I don't know what he looks like because I've never watched the show. What do I do? And we were meeting in this wine bar or something. So I just walk in and I'm like, hi, I'm Simon. And then this hand shot up. Robson. I'm like, hi. And we sit down. I said, here's the deal. I'll pay you both £50,000 each to go into the recording studio, lay down your vocals. And if you say no, you keep 50 grand each. Looked at him and he went, You're serious? I went, Yeah So literally the following day they said, right we'll do it thinking we're about to make 50 grand each for a day's work and we're never going to put the record out.”
2024-06-10 · The Diary of a CEO · Simon Cowell Opens Up About His Heartbreaking Loss, "losing them was the hardest thing that happened to me"! · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Something that was sung on soldier soldier last night. So anyway, cut along story short. I tracked down Robson and Jerome. And I said, hi, I'm Simon Cowell, blah, blah, blah. I kind of got Jerome to say, yes, Robson just wasn't having it. So I was like a stalker. I would not let it go. I got hold of his parents. Everyone, his friends. I mean, to the point, I think I got a legal letter saying, can you stop harassing my client? And it's like, well.”
2024-06-10 · The Diary of a CEO · Simon Cowell Opens Up About His Heartbreaking Loss, "losing them was the hardest thing that happened to me"! · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“And you know what? It was fun. It actually was a fun project. And when I worked at BMG, I got to know a lot of the people who worked in the telescopes department. And these were the girls who would literally get orders from the record shops. And I got to know all of them. And they were really, really fun people, but they were like the back. Background, you know, but I used to call them the punters. They completely got it. And I always used to say, if you hear anything, just let me know. Is there a demand for something? I always just want to know what's going on every day. And one particular day, I said, anything happening this morning? And he went, yeah, we're getting a lot of calls about.”
2024-06-10 · The Diary of a CEO · Simon Cowell Opens Up About His Heartbreaking Loss, "losing them was the hardest thing that happened to me"! · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Um, yeah, well, I didn't think I thought logically it made a lot of sense. I used to sit in these A&R meetings with really, really serious A&R people who would literally go bright red with anger when I would play them something like this. You're making a mockery of this label and the music business is like, well, who cares? It's number one in the charts in 28 countries I just didn't understand why people would take it so seriously.”
2024-06-10 · The Diary of a CEO · Simon Cowell Opens Up About His Heartbreaking Loss, "losing them was the hardest thing that happened to me"! · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“I kind of turned myself into a kid again because you sort of have to believe it for it to work, you know, because I treated it as if this was a serious record. The record had to be a great record.”
2024-06-10 · The Diary of a CEO · Simon Cowell Opens Up About His Heartbreaking Loss, "losing them was the hardest thing that happened to me"! · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yeah, you summed it up very eloquently, and that is exactly it however, and you know this. What is very straightforward to us is not straightforward to other people. They're thinking. He's gone completely mad. I mean, no, but I'm thinking, yeah, but you're not a seven-year-old boy. You know, this is who's going to buy the record. You know, this is somebody who's going to buy a board game or, you know, serial with the wrestlers on it, whatever. You know, I did it with the Power Rangers, Zig and Zank. I didn't care as long as it sold records. That's it. Oh my god, we had so much fun doing this. Really, really, really did. And you know what was interesting is actually when I made the video.”
2024-06-10 · The Diary of a CEO · Simon Cowell Opens Up About His Heartbreaking Loss, "losing them was the hardest thing that happened to me"! · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Instantly he just got it and we got all we flew all these wrestlers over from America. They all turned up as their characters. It was hysterical. The undertaker, Hulk Hogan, you name it. They were all there. And my boss at the time was so desperate for me not to do this. She actually got down on her knees seriously and was praying. She said, Simon, I am begging you not to do this because it's going to be such a catastrophic failure. And I'm like... While I'm doing it, I just don't understand why you don't get it.”
2024-06-10 · The Diary of a CEO · Simon Cowell Opens Up About His Heartbreaking Loss, "losing them was the hardest thing that happened to me"! · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“I took the view it didn't matter to me. What the record was as long as it sold a lot of records. So it just occurred to me one day, I forget what it was, it might have been. I think it was the wrestling federation or something. Someone told me they'd sold out Wembley Stadium, you know, the American wrestlers in WWE. In 80,000 seats in like 27 minutes. And I'm like, what? And so I learned a bit more about them. You know, they're selling everything. I met with them and I said, Have you ever considered doing this? And they went, No. And I said, well, I'll pass. as an advance. I phoned up Pete Waterman. I said, how do you fancy making album full of wrestlers that I don't keep?”
2024-06-10 · The Diary of a CEO · Simon Cowell Opens Up About His Heartbreaking Loss, "losing them was the hardest thing that happened to me"! · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“A few months after that, I was in my office. I get a phone call. I've got you hit, mate. And I got in a cab, went down to his studio and he played me the demo of Toy Boy. And I thought that's going to be. Gigantic record for her internationally is why I could feel it. And Pete made everything, because Pete, again, I mean, Pete will pretend, unlike me, he'll say, oh, of course I know how to produce records, blah, blah, blah. He may do, but Pete's skill is, I've always described Pete as the best DJ in the world. He could go to any city in England at one in the morning and he would know instinctively what records to play to the audience. We're in that venue. And he made everything simple, which is you find a great artist and you match them with a great pop record. And that was it”
2024-06-10 · The Diary of a CEO · Simon Cowell Opens Up About His Heartbreaking Loss, "losing them was the hardest thing that happened to me"! · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“You'll see. And then the next three to six months, the whole stock aching and watermen explosion just happened because obviously Pete had been making other records in the meantime, which no one had heard. And nowhere, all of his records were just hits. So I thought, okay, I've got to persuade him to write Sinita's follow-up. So I just used to turn up at his studio literally every single day and make tea, sit in the studios, blah, blah, blah. And they were so busy, they didn't really notice me. And after about a year and a half, Pete was in a studio and he turned somebody. He goes, why are you always here? And I said, well, I'm trying to work out how you do it. And he went, I'm not paying you. I said, I don't want to get paid. I just... I want you to one day write her follow-up.”
2024-06-10 · The Diary of a CEO · Simon Cowell Opens Up About His Heartbreaking Loss, "losing them was the hardest thing that happened to me"! · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“and he put on Sir Macho, took it off. That's a hip. I went Yeah, I know. Will you produce her follow up? And he went No. I said, What do you mean no? I thought I was doing him a favor. And he went, I'm too busy. And I said, doing what? Literally, the place was falling apart. And he gave me this awful wink. He went,”
2024-06-10 · The Diary of a CEO · Simon Cowell Opens Up About His Heartbreaking Loss, "losing them was the hardest thing that happened to me"! · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Ah, what it was because I realized very, very quickly that it was unlikely I was going to be able to sign or find singer-songwriters. So I was going to have to find artists who needed songs written for them. So I needed to find the best pop writers in a literary and the world. I heard this record on the radio and I just thought, wow, whoever this is, this record is brilliantly made. And I found out it was produced by Stock Akin and Waterman. No one had heard of them at this point. So I call up here and I said, hi my name is I'm Cowell, blah, blah, blah. And can I meet you? And he went, yeah. So I went down to his studios and we met, we were sitting on these literally wooden boxes. The studio was like a real mess. And I said, I've got this record. I'm about to put out.”
2024-06-10 · The Diary of a CEO · Simon Cowell Opens Up About His Heartbreaking Loss, "losing them was the hardest thing that happened to me"! · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Lawyer, I said, So, you know, I'm not sure I can afford you. And he said, Well, I believe in you, Simon. I think one day you will end up repaying me. And I'll always remember that. And years later, of course, we did a lot of deals together. And of course I repaid him. But I mean, the fact that he was there for me at that moment, I mean, that was again a life-changing moment for me.”
2024-06-10 · The Diary of a CEO · Simon Cowell Opens Up About His Heartbreaking Loss, "losing them was the hardest thing that happened to me"! · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“He said, but you succeeded so far, Simon, with everything you put out. Because I have had success with some other records along the way. He said, I think you should get a label deal, which means that you own part of the company with a major label. So I'm like, okay, if you can get me on, brilliant. We went to meet two companies on the same day, BMG and Universal. And literally that day, At the end of the day, Tony calls me that I've had two calls. I mean, go on, universal has said no. I'm like, shit. BMG has said yes. I'm like, seriously, there's a caveat. You've got one year, and within that one year, you've got to sell X amount of records. And I'm like, I'll do it. And that was kind of how I got myself back up and running again The way the other thing I should mention is I said to Tony, by the way, I don't have any money to pay you”
2024-06-10 · The Diary of a CEO · Simon Cowell Opens Up About His Heartbreaking Loss, "losing them was the hardest thing that happened to me"! · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“When I'd made a mega mix of Which we used to do, we used to literally get in session with singers and say kindly Minot, just record eight Kylie Minot records with someone who sounded like Kylie Minau, mix them, so we used to call them mega mixes. And they were They'd sell about 10,000, 20,000 copies. We used to export them all over the world. I did a wham one. We got sued by George Michael. That's how I met my lawyer because he was representing George. And I said, I'd rather you represent me next time. And he was brilliant because he said, look, I think Simon weirdly, what's happened to you is the best thing that's ever happened. And I said, why? I said, I'm broke. I don't have a job. He said,”
2024-06-10 · The Diary of a CEO · Simon Cowell Opens Up About His Heartbreaking Loss, "losing them was the hardest thing that happened to me"! · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“You some money to pay back the other bank, which meant I didn't become bankrupt. So I Went back to live with my mum dad and it was actually quite an interesting time because I remember and I've told this story a lot is that I had to get from a particular destination in the West End where my parents lived and I had about five pounds cash and I remember thinking it's literally all the money I've got left in the world. And I'm not sure the five quids going to cover the taxi right home. And I think I know we just about made it. And I said, I'm sorry about the tip because I haven't got any more money. It was about 10p or something. Fortunately had a very, very good lawyer. Guy called Tony Russell. And I said to Tony, look, I'm in not in a great place. I'd met him actually because he represented George Michael and he sued me”
2024-06-10 · The Diary of a CEO · Simon Cowell Opens Up About His Heartbreaking Loss, "losing them was the hardest thing that happened to me"! · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“It all went a whole lot. Even when I sold the house, I still owed money on the mortgage. So I was on paper bankrupt, yes. So I moved back in with my mum and dad. And that was really... Told me what great people they were because there wasn't one moment where either of them said, you know, you failed or this or that. It was like, it's a life lesson, Simon, and you'll get over it. And I managed to find a bank amazingly to lend me, because basically I negotiated the debt down. We worked out what the interest was over the period of time, what the capital sum was, and then I got them to half that. And I said somehow I'll pay it back to you. So I found another bank who just backed me. I just sold myself. And I said, look, you know, my first record I ever made went to number two, whatever it was in the chart, sold a million copies. This is what my career is going to be. What happened was out of my control. And he said, I don't know, I've got a feeling about you. I'm prepared to lend.”
2024-06-10 · The Diary of a CEO · Simon Cowell Opens Up About His Heartbreaking Loss, "losing them was the hardest thing that happened to me"! · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“So I had to go in and see the bank and they had the nice guy and they had the not the nice guy. And the not so nice guy was, okay, where's the money? Right? Well, you lent it to me. You know where it's just gone. And the other guy's like, yeah, well, you know, it was partly our thought and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. So I said, look, all I can tell you is if you bankrupt me, I don't care because I don't have anything. I don't have a job. I don't have any income. I've just got this debt.”
2024-06-10 · The Diary of a CEO · Simon Cowell Opens Up About His Heartbreaking Loss, "losing them was the hardest thing that happened to me"! · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Well, it wasn't the label that owed the money, it was me. Because all of us were encouraged to buy shares in this company because we were told the company was doing really, really well. So the bank manager was practically forcing me to borrow money, you know, because he said the shares are going to go up in value. And at the same time. I thought everything was just going to be wonderful. So I bought a house, I bought a Porsche, of course. I had a gold credit card, which no one explained to me how that works in terms of the interest rates. So I'm living it up. And when it all came crashing down, yeah, I owed the bank. Nearly 500,000 pounds”
2024-06-10 · The Diary of a CEO · Simon Cowell Opens Up About His Heartbreaking Loss, "losing them was the hardest thing that happened to me"! · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“To play the record, and I would see the reaction, sometimes not so good, other times amazing. And that was enough to give me that conviction, which is, yeah, this is what I call a crossover record. It can become a big pop record.”
2024-06-10 · The Diary of a CEO · Simon Cowell Opens Up About His Heartbreaking Loss, "losing them was the hardest thing that happened to me"! · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Absolutely right and also understand because the one word you're going to hear all the time when you're starting off is no. It's just that word you hear over and over and over again because people are nervous. And if you really, really, really trust something because, you know, I'm looking at that sleeve now. I cannot tell you how many times the word no was described in the breaking of that record. And I had to trust my own gut. That's all I had. I could have gone, you know what? It's over. The guy shutting the thing down, but I really had this conviction that other people would like it. And, you know, I would take the white label into clubs and I would, you know, get the DJ to.”
2024-06-10 · The Diary of a CEO · Simon Cowell Opens Up About His Heartbreaking Loss, "losing them was the hardest thing that happened to me"! · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Well, yeah, I mean, not many people say this. You know, most people, you know, will say, yeah, I know a lot about making records and this and that. That's a very different skill set, you know. My skill set, I suppose, is similar is, you know, fortunately. You know, getting it right as to what I believe people will like in whatever I do. That's really what it comes down to.”
2024-06-10 · The Diary of a CEO · Simon Cowell Opens Up About His Heartbreaking Loss, "losing them was the hardest thing that happened to me"! · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“It goes fast. And that's part of the reason why I went broke, because all the time there was me on my own, literally with one person running the record label, and we made a lot of money on that one single. But actually the mother company was broke. So at the time I had the hit, everything suddenly crumbled at that point simultaneously. So I have my first hit and I'm broke.”
2024-06-10 · The Diary of a CEO · Simon Cowell Opens Up About His Heartbreaking Loss, "losing them was the hardest thing that happened to me"! · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“In other words, just say it's out of stock on the computer, but it's not out of stock. Just don't let them have the record when they order it. In other words, let's build up the back orders. So we built up whatever the back order was. And then all the people who had ordered a record three months ago, four months ago, suddenly all these records arrived that week. And it worked. It got the record into the top 40. It squeezed in and I got a breaker on top of the pops and the record just exploded after that. Oh, and here's the crazy thing, the guy who gave me the money to run the record label goes off and merges with this company, a public company, and it goes bust.”
2024-06-10 · The Diary of a CEO · Simon Cowell Opens Up About His Heartbreaking Loss, "losing them was the hardest thing that happened to me"! · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT