Chris York, the widely respected live music executive and director of prominent UK-based concert promoter SJM Concerts, has died at the age of 55, following a long illness.
The news was announced by SJM Concerts on Thursday (July 25).
York joined Simon Moran at SJM concerts in 1993 and they worked together over 30 years to establish the company as one of the UK’s most high-profile promoters.
The exec’s career started out by working at the Venue in London’s New Cross, then with John Curd at Straight Music, and finally with Tim Parsons at MCP Concerts, at which point he joined SJM.
According to SJM, York formed a “solid and unshakable partnership and friendship” with Simon Moran that would last the rest of his career.
Chris York worked with some of the UK’s and the world’s biggest live artists, including Oasis, Foo Fighters, Green Day, the Chemical Brothers, Lily Allen, Massive Attack, Robert Plant, Underworld, Lorde, Morrissey, Placebo, Suede and Stereophonics, amongst many others.
York started promoting many of those artists from entry-level clubs to touring arenas and stadiums.
Since 2006, York has worked alongside The Who’s Roger Daltrey, live producer Des Murphy, and fellow SJM director Rob Ballantine as the lead talent booker for the annual Teenage Cancer Trust series at London’s iconic Royal Albert Hall.
To date, the concerts have raised in excess of £30 million for the charity and have featured concerts by UK superstars, including Take That, Ed Sheeran, Florence and the Machine, Arctic Monkeys, Pet Shop Boys, The Cure, New Order, and Sir Paul McCartney.
Chris York also helped launch and develop the annual Country to Country Music Festival, which has played a big role in bringing the country genre to new audiences in the UK.
In recognition of this, in 2021, York was awarded the Joe Walker Meador International Award by the Country Music Association.
In 2022, York was honored at the International Live Music Conference where he was presented with its annual Bottle Award for Lifetime Achievement.
York and SJM hold the record for the biggest-selling UK concert tour in history and the biggest-selling UK comedy tour in history.
The company employs over 80 full-time staff and a similar number of freelance staff. It currently has over 1,000 shows on sale.
“[SJM] is a company shaped and forged by Chris, Simon and Rob over three decades that has helped define the UK’s live music scene,” the company said in a statement on Thursday.Music Business Worldwide