Having experienced a traumatic introduction to the world of work as a trainee stockbroker, Barry persuaded dad Percy Dickins (the entertainment entrepreneur who started the New Musical Express back in 1952) to recommend him for an apprenticeship with a minor entertainment agent, Roy Tempest.

While there he met The Who’s new managers Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp. “I hustled the hell out of them and told them I could do a better job than the guy booking them. I was 17, but put on a deeper voice and pretended to be 23!” He got the job, and says, “They played some incredible shows. The Who were smashing up their gear every night, and they couldn’t afford it – they were only earning about 20 quid a week.”

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Artists represented by Barry Dickins