# John Reid (music manager)
**John Reid** (born 1949) is a Scottish retired music manager, best known as the longtime manager and former partner of singer [Elton John](https://www.edgepedia.org/elton-john) and as the manager of the British rock band Queen from 1975 to 1978.[1](https://www.biography.com/musicians/elton-john-manager-john-reid-relationship) • [2](https://www.elle.com/culture/movies-tv/a27545927/who-is-john-reid-elton-john-manager-rocketman/) He ran the management company John Reid Enterprises, which handled John's affairs from the early 1970s until the relationship was terminated in May 1998.[3](https://www.eltonjohnitaly.com/eltonjohnreid.pdf)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1949, Paisley, Scotland, son of a welder and a shop worker[1](https://www.biography.com/musicians/elton-john-manager-john-reid-relationship) |
| Early career | Entered the music business at 18 as a promoter for EMI; by 19 he was managing the Tamla Motown label for the UK[1](https://www.biography.com/musicians/elton-john-manager-john-reid-relationship) |
| Elton John | Manager from the early 1970s (by 1973, perhaps as early as 1971) through John Reid Enterprises until May 1998[3](https://www.eltonjohnitaly.com/eltonjohnreid.pdf) |
| Queen | Manager from 1975 to 1978, during the period of "Somebody to Love" and "We Are the Champions"[1](https://www.biography.com/musicians/elton-john-manager-john-reid-relationship) • [2](https://www.elle.com/culture/movies-tv/a27545927/who-is-john-reid-elton-john-manager-rocketman/) |
| Other clients | Bros, Kiki Dee, Lionel Richie, Billy Connolly, and Michael Flatley[1](https://www.biography.com/musicians/elton-john-manager-john-reid-relationship) |
| End of partnership | John's auditors discovered a reported £20 million gap in his accounts in 1998; a 2000 court case ended with the singer losing, after Reid had paid a reported £3.4 million out-of-court settlement[1](https://www.biography.com/musicians/elton-john-manager-john-reid-relationship) |
| On screen | Played by Richard Madden in *Rocketman* (2019) and Aidan Gillen in *Bohemian Rhapsody* (2018)[1](https://www.biography.com/musicians/elton-john-manager-john-reid-relationship) |
## Early career
Reid grew up in Paisley, a town bordering Glasgow to the east, in a working-class family, and originally studied to be a marine engineer.[4](https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/movies/a27573083/john-reid-elton-john-manager-rocketman-facts/) He reportedly attended Stow College in Glasgow for a short time before moving to London in 1967.[1](https://www.biography.com/musicians/elton-john-manager-john-reid-relationship) At 18 he entered the music business as a promoter for EMI, and by 19 he was managing the Tamla Motown label for the UK, deciding which songs Motown artists would release for the British market.[1](https://www.biography.com/musicians/elton-john-manager-john-reid-relationship) • [4](https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/movies/a27573083/john-reid-elton-john-manager-rocketman-facts/) It was Reid who picked the [Smokey Robinson](https://www.edgepedia.org/smokey-robinson) and [The Miracles](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-miracles) song "Tears of A Clown" for single release in Britain; when it became a hit there, the American arm of the company released it in the United States.[4](https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/movies/a27573083/john-reid-elton-john-manager-rocketman-facts/)
## Elton John
Reid met Elton John, then 23, at a Motown company Christmas party when Reid was 21; the two began a relationship soon after.[1](https://www.biography.com/musicians/elton-john-manager-john-reid-relationship) • [5](https://www.radiox.co.uk/features/elton-john-former-manager-john-reid-who-plays/) By 1973, and perhaps as early as 1971, John placed his career in Reid's hands and in the company Reid formed to provide management services, John Reid Enterprises Limited (JREL); Reid continued as John's manager through JREL until the relationship was terminated in May 1998.[3](https://www.eltonjohnitaly.com/eltonjohnreid.pdf) When Reid accepted the job at Dick James Music, the couple were already living together.[1](https://www.biography.com/musicians/elton-john-manager-john-reid-relationship)
Reid said he was initially reluctant. "When I met Elton, I didn't even realize his potential," he told Scotland's Daily Record. "I've never claimed to have discovered him. In fact, when he suggested I should manage him, I wasn't enthusiastic."[1](https://www.biography.com/musicians/elton-john-manager-john-reid-relationship)
**The relationship.** The two were lovers from 1970 until 1975, a period that produced international hits including "Your Song," "Daniel," "Candle in the Wind," and "Rocket Man."[1](https://www.biography.com/musicians/elton-john-manager-john-reid-relationship) According to Reid, the romantic relationship ended because Elton had "never had a sexual adolescence. He needed to go off and play the field, which he did with gusto... There were no dramas."[1](https://www.biography.com/musicians/elton-john-manager-john-reid-relationship) Reid remained John's business manager for more than two decades afterward.[6](https://time.com/5598236/rocketman-true-story-elton-john/)
**The 1998 split and the 2000 lawsuit.** The professional relationship ended in 1998, the year John's auditors discovered a reported £20 million gap in his accounts.[1](https://www.biography.com/musicians/elton-john-manager-john-reid-relationship) In 2000 John sued in the High Court, accusing Reid of betrayal and "having his fingers in the till"; the defendants in the refined claim were the accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers and Andrew Haydon, former managing director of John Reid Enterprises.[6](https://time.com/5598236/rocketman-true-story-elton-john/) • [7](https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2000/nov/17/1) Reid had already paid John a reported £3.4 million in an out-of-court settlement before the court ruled against John.[1](https://www.biography.com/musicians/elton-john-manager-john-reid-relationship) The court judgment recorded that during the 1970s "inadequate financial controls were applied in the management of the businesses of Sir Elton and his companies and of JREL itself."[3](https://www.eltonjohnitaly.com/eltonjohnreid.pdf) The two no longer speak; Reid said in the mid-2010s that he was "fond of Elton and proud of the work we did together."[1](https://www.biography.com/musicians/elton-john-manager-john-reid-relationship)
## Queen and other clients
In 1975, Queen were struggling with a lack of money from their previous management and enlisted Reid to sort out their affairs.[5](https://www.radiox.co.uk/features/elton-john-former-manager-john-reid-who-plays/) He managed the band for three years, during which they recorded hits including "Somebody to Love" and "We Are the Champions."[2](https://www.elle.com/culture/movies-tv/a27545927/who-is-john-reid-elton-john-manager-rocketman/) Drummer Roger Taylor later said the split came because Reid "was put under terrific pressure by his 'other artist'"; he believed Elton felt "a bit threatened by the other client."[2](https://www.elle.com/culture/movies-tv/a27545927/who-is-john-reid-elton-john-manager-rocketman/) Reid also managed, at various points, Bros, Kiki Dee, Lionel Richie, the comedian [Billy Connolly](https://www.edgepedia.org/billy-connolly), and the dancer [Michael Flatley](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-flatley).[1](https://www.biography.com/musicians/elton-john-manager-john-reid-relationship)
## Public incidents
Reid made headlines in the 1970s for violence toward journalists. In 1974, a New Zealand court handed him a one-month prison term after he knocked a journalist down onto a nightclub floor; he was said to have been arrested in San Francisco in 1979 for striking a hotel doorman with his cane, and he supposedly assaulted another journalist the day following John's 1984 wedding to Renate Blauel in Sydney.[1](https://www.biography.com/musicians/elton-john-manager-john-reid-relationship)
Like John, Reid struggled with drugs and alcohol; in 1991 he checked into the same recovery clinic John had attended when he got sober in 1990, but unlike John he relapsed and continued to struggle with alcohol.[1](https://www.biography.com/musicians/elton-john-manager-john-reid-relationship)
## Later life
Reid reportedly retired from the music business in 1999, a year after divesting an art collection allegedly worth £2 million.[1](https://www.biography.com/musicians/elton-john-manager-john-reid-relationship) He was a judge on the Australian version of *[The X Factor](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-x-factor-australian-tv-series)* in 2005, alongside Mark Holden and [Kate Ceberano](https://www.edgepedia.org/kate-ceberano), and did not return for the revived series in 2010.[1](https://www.biography.com/musicians/elton-john-manager-john-reid-relationship) • [8](https://prabook.com/web/john.reid/2235378) He has since lived out of the public eye; reports have placed him in Australia or London.[1](https://www.biography.com/musicians/elton-john-manager-john-reid-relationship)
## Portrayal in film
Reid appears as a character in two major music biopics: [Richard Madden](https://www.edgepedia.org/richard-madden) played him in *Rocketman* (2019), the Elton John fantasy musical, and [Aidan Gillen](https://www.edgepedia.org/aidan-gillen) played him in *Bohemian Rhapsody* (2018), the Queen and [Freddie Mercury](https://www.edgepedia.org/freddie-mercury) film.[1](https://www.biography.com/musicians/elton-john-manager-john-reid-relationship) Bernie Taupin, John's lyricist, told TIME of the *Rocketman* depiction: "It's not my place to villainize characters. At the same time, there's a great deal of truth in that portrayal."[6](https://time.com/5598236/rocketman-true-story-elton-john/) To date Reid has never publicly commented on either film.[1](https://www.biography.com/musicians/elton-john-manager-john-reid-relationship)
## A namesake in the music business
A different music executive of the same name, raised in south Belfast and a business graduate of Trinity College, Dublin, worked as a tour manager for acts including UB40, Simple Minds, Eurythmics, the [Beastie Boys](https://www.edgepedia.org/beastie-boys), and Run DMC, then held senior posts at London Records, PolyGram Canada, and Island Def Jam in the US.[9](https://www.standard.co.uk/business/markets/john-reid-a-recorded-music-maestro-who-s-found-a-new-beat-at-live-nation-10028330.html) • [10](https://people.equilar.com/bio/person/john-reid-live-nation-entertainment-inc/20179952) He ran Warner Music International for 11 years and in 2012 became president of Live Nation's European arm.[9](https://www.standard.co.uk/business/markets/john-reid-a-recorded-music-maestro-who-s-found-a-new-beat-at-live-nation-10028330.html)
## References
1. [The True Story of Elton John and John Reid, the Singer's Former Manager, Biography.com](https://www.biography.com/musicians/elton-john-manager-john-reid-relationship)
2. [Who Is John Reid? Meet Elton John's Ex-Boyfriend and Former Manager, Elle](https://www.elle.com/culture/movies-tv/a27545927/who-is-john-reid-elton-john-manager-rocketman/)
3. [Elton Hercules John v Price Waterhouse (2001), judgment transcript](https://www.eltonjohnitaly.com/eltonjohnreid.pdf)
4. [Who is John Reid, Elton John's Manager in 'Rocketman'?, Esquire](https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/movies/a27573083/john-reid-elton-john-manager-rocketman-facts/)
5. [Who was Elton John's former manager John Reid and who plays him in Rocketman?, Radio X](https://www.radiox.co.uk/features/elton-john-former-manager-john-reid-who-plays/)
6. [The True Story Behind the Movie Rocketman, TIME](https://time.com/5598236/rocketman-true-story-elton-john/)
7. [Ex-lover swindled me, says Elton John, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2000/nov/17/1)
8. [John Reid (born 1949), British manager, Prabook](https://prabook.com/web/john.reid/2235378)
9. [John Reid: A recorded music maestro who's found a new beat at Live Nation, Evening Standard](https://www.standard.co.uk/business/markets/john-reid-a-recorded-music-maestro-who-s-found-a-new-beat-at-live-nation-10028330.html)
10. [John Reid, Executive Bio, Equilar ExecAtlas](https://people.equilar.com/bio/person/john-reid-live-nation-entertainment-inc/20179952)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Music institutions and events › Record labels and the music industry › Music industry › Music industry executives and personnel › Artist managers and personal managers*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license