UTA’s Gary Howard: ‘2023 will be a busy year’
UTA agent Gary Howard warns ticket prices will likely have to increase to cope with rising costs as the business readies itself for another packed 12 months.
Howard, who represents the likes of N-Dubz, Craig David, Blue, Steps and UB40 ft. Ali Campbell, is coming off a sterling 2022, which saw him named The O2’s Agent of the Year after handling eight shows at the London venue – more than any other agent.
“2023 will again be a busy year for most although some of the logistical issues caused by Covid and Brexit will still be with us for at least another 12 months,” he tells IQ. “Also, I think ticket prices will have to increase to deal with rising costs of production and the current cost-of-living [crisis].”
The veteran pop agent describes the sheer volume of concerts held last year as an “eye-opener”.
“I have never seen so many stadium shows happen at the same time”
“It was a wild year,” he says. “I have never seen so many stadium shows happen at the same time. On Glastonbury weekend alone, you had BST on with three nights, Red Hot Chili Peppers at London Stadium, Ed Sheeran at Wembley, Diana Ross and Billie Eilish at The O2 and hundreds of other shows happening at the same time – and that was just in London!
“My expectations were high as I had four massive arena tours out and a huge summer programme as well, and the year didn’t disappoint.”
Personal highlights included hip-hop trio N-Dubz’ UK arena comeback tour, which sold more than 250,000 tickets, and an emotional UB40 ft. Ali Campbell tour in memory of late bandmate Astro, who died in November 2021.
“Seeing [Astro] digitally up on the massive screens performing Rat in mi Kitchen in February was so emotional,” says Howard. “I, like most of the audience was brought to tears. I really loved that man, he was a top fella who had time for everyone and would always greet me with a big smile and say in his Brummie accent, ‘Alright Millwall.'”
“I just hope that by the end of 2023, I’m staring at 2024 with a big smile on my face as we have so much new talent breaking globally”
He adds: “Also, N-Dubz selling out four O2 Arenas and 23 arenas across the tour when most of the industry said we couldn’t sell out Shepherd’s Bush Empire, and that I was apparently mad for trying is something that will always stick with me. But more than that, Tulisa from the band calling me with tears of joy the moment it all flew out of the window saying, ‘We did it Gary. No one believed us, but we did it.’ That was also a major highlight.”
In closing, Howard discusses his high hopes for some of the newer additions to his roster.
“I just hope that by the end of 2023, I’m staring at 2024 with a big smile on my face as we have so much new talent breaking globally like JVKE, Natalie Jane, Johnny Orlando, Leah Kate, Bellah Mae and Junior Andre. It would be great for some of them to break through in a major way. We are definitely expecting that they will!”
Howard is also excited to be working with singer-songwriter Jess Glynne, who recently signed to UTA for worldwide representation.
“She is just the most amazing talent and a true British icon,” gushes Howard. “I represent her with Oliver Ward and we are currently building the comeback plan alongside her management at Roc Nation and her new label EMI. I just can’t wait.”
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UTA’s Gary Howard talks the N-Dubz comeback tour
UTA agent Gary Howard is hoping to build on N-Dubz’ success internationally after the trio sold 260,000 tickets for their UK arena comeback tour.
The British hip-hop group – cousins Dappy, Tulisa and Fazer – recently reunited following an 11-year hiatus and Howard tells IQ the enormous public demand for their live shows has left many within in the business eating their words.
“The whole industry thought we were completely mad,” laughs Howard. “An email from one agency, which will remain nameless, said, ‘Gary Howard is off his head, this is no more than a Shepherd’s Bush [Empire level tour].’ And all the record companies were going, ‘This is never going to work.’ But what no one saw at that point was that the mere fact they were all talking about it showed you how big it was.
“There were only three people that really believed this was going to be big if I’m being honest and that was Tulisa, her manager and myself. We knew what would happen.”
“We announced the first 10 shows and they just popped out in minutes, it was unbelievable”
Promoted by AEG Presents, the November/December tour now comprises more than 20 dates, including four nights at The O2 in London.
“We [announced] the first 10 shows and they just popped out in minutes, it was unbelievable,” says Howard. “We then added another seven shows and they all went within 10 minutes.
“Keep in mind, they’d already sold 100,000 tickets, so we announced another seven shows and within 10 minutes, had sold out another two O2 arenas. But we still had half a million people waiting to buy tickets. That was crazy and it was a lovely moment for us all, given the band had had a lot to deal with and some dark moments over the years.
“Of course, at this point, everyone’s calling us now and telling us what geniuses we are all of a sudden! So we put the other six nights on sale and they went as well.”
“Everyone asks me, ‘What’s the secret? Why does it work?'”
Howard represented the band during their first run and has previously guided successful comeback tours by the likes of Craig David and Steps.
“Everyone asks me, ‘What’s the secret? Why does it work?’ And it works because one, they left enough time, which is the first point,” suggests Howard. “But two, what people forget about N-Dubz is they were very ingrained into British pop culture and the kids related to them.
“When the band split up, I knew that if we were ever going to get back together, we needed that long period. Tulisa and Fazer came to see me in 2019 and were like, ‘Gary, we’re ready.’ We started discussing it and I felt there’d be enough water under the bridge and said, ‘You’ll be bigger this time around.’ I knew it because what I’d seen when we brought people like Craig and Steps back is that your audience broadens a lot.”
N-Dubz dropped Charmer, their first single in over a decade, ahead of the tour going on sale in May. The presence of new material was a key part of the promotional strategy, explains Howard.
“When we brought Craig David back it was massive, but this was a different level”
“Obviously, we had [the pandemic], which put us back, and then we were hanging on for the first song, because the whole point of bringing them back wasn’t just a nostalgic trip, it was to make them contemporary again, as we had done with Craig David,” he says. “As soon as we got Charmer ready, we knew we were ready to go and we put everything in place.
“We announced the tour and the swell was unbelievable. I’ve never seen anything like it. When we bought Craig back it was massive, but this was a different level. We expected the audience to be 25 to 35, but 21-year-olds were losing their shit.”
Howard, who reveals the group have outdoor UK shows in the offing for next year (“We’ve got a surprise or two up our sleeve”), is now bidding to guide the trio to the global success that largely eluded them first time around.
“The hope is that we can make N-Dubz international this time around. Nothing would please us more”
“We did some stuff in Greece, Norway and maybe Germany, but there was no real push from the label,” recalls Howard. “Keep in mind that back then, Europeans just weren’t into British urban music, which is what it was called at that point. They weren’t listening to it and didn’t understand why they needed it when they had hip-hop coming out of America.
“When you think of artists now like Stormzy and Dave, what they’ve done internationally is absolutely brilliant, so the hope is that we can make N-Dubz international this time around. Nothing would please us more.”
Howard, who says he is also working on a live comeback by another blast from the past, adds he is staggered by the amount of shows seen in the UK this summer.
“It’s mind blowing what’s going on in the industry right now,” he says. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen as many shows in the summer as I have done in the past month or so. Live music it definitely back and business is great. It’s probably a little bit flooded at the moment, but it’s good to be back.”
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