Tim Collins (manager)
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Tim Collins is a businessman, manager, and mentor most noted for his work as the manager for American hard rock band Aerosmith from 1984-1996.
[edit] History with Aerosmith
In the early 1980s, Tim Collins worked as the manager for The Joe Perry Project, the solo project created by guitarist Joe Perry who had left Aerosmith in 1979. In 1984, Collins worked to reform the original Aerosmith. He succeeded when guitarists Joe Perry and Brad Whitford rejoined the band in April of 1984. He believed he could make Aerosmith the biggest band in the world by 1990, if he reformed the original band and got them to come clean. Aerosmith was reformed in 1984 and the band hired Tim Collins on as manager. Collins had helped the band secure a record deal with Geffen Records in 1984. The band toured extensively and created their first album after the reunion of the classic lineup in 1985, titled Done with Mirrors. The album wasn't the success they had hoped for, the band wasn't receiving mainstream publicity, and the drug addictions of the band members and their attempts to quit drugs on their own weren't working. Collins enlisted the help of a band therapist, the band members compiled lists of their complaints against lead singer Steven Tyler's behavior under the influence, and Tyler was ordered into a drug rehabilitation program at the discretion of Collins, the therapist, and his fellow band members. The rest of the band members pledged to complete drug rehab at various times in the coming months as well.
One of the major things Collins had Aerosmith agree to was the appearance of Steven Tyler and Joe Perry on Run-DMC's cover of Aerosmith's song "Walk This Way". The collaboration and subsequent video made Aerosmith a household name again and opened the band up to a new generation.
By the time their next album, Permanent Vacation, was released in 1987, all of the band members had come clean, and Collins was now working hard to make sure the band won their fame back, through his namesake "Collins Management". He enlisted the help of top-notch outside songwriters and producers to work with the band in recording their albums, had the band touring the world extensively with up-and-coming acts opening for the band, enlisted the help of top-notch music video directors, and was now having the band make numerous appearances in television, movies, video games, major festivals, and the like, helping to win over a new generation of fans, while retaining their old fanbase.
Between 1987 and 1994, Aerosmith released three albums and a compilation album (Permanent Vacation, Pump, Get a Grip, and Big Ones) which sold a combined 23 million copies in the United States alone, won the band three Grammy awards, and numerous Video Music Awards.
When the 18-month Get a Grip tour concluded at the end of 1994, the band wanted to take an extensive break and take their time in recording their next album (Nine Lives), this one for Columbia Records. However, Collins wanted the band to have more structure and kept pressuring the band to do more appearances and record the album more quickly. The band took extensive vacations and Steven Tyler and Joe Perry were working with Glen Ballard in the mid-1990s, writing, recording, and rehearsing songs, including a session in Miami, Florida. Tim Collins felt that since Steven and Joe were working independently with Ballard in penning songs and that the entire band would not be working together for months at a time, that the band was breaking up. However Steven and Joe were noted for writing songs together and then having the band record the songs during recording sessions. Collins was also going through severe depression at the time, and felt that he was losing control of the band, as Aerosmith seemed to have now been able to work independently of their manager and were clean for almost a decade now. He started to tell others that the band was breaking up, that emergency band meetings were needed, and that Steven Tyler was doing drugs again and was being unfaithful to his wife down in Miami.
Aerosmith denied these claims. The members of Aerosmith, while grateful for all the help Collins had given them in helping the band resurrect and rise back to mainstream popularity and acceptance, fired Collins in 1996.
[edit] Further Reading
- Walk This Way: The Autobiography of Aerosmith by Stephen Davis and Aerosmith
