Lollapalooza Co-Founder Ted Gardner Dies At 74

Veteran Artist Manager Ted Garner passes away at 74 years old.

The news confirming the veteran manager's death came from Anton Newcombe of The Brian Jonestown Massacre, a band managed by Gardner since 2004. Reports on the cause of his death is yet to be disclosed as no information is present yet.

Newcombe "sadly" reported to Twitter last December 28, 2021, that their manager passed away on the same day surrounded by his loving family.

Gardner began his music indyustry career in 1977 in Australia. He worked as a partner with Mushroom Records co-founders Michael Gudinski and Ray Evans in the operation of the Bottom Line club in Richmond, Victoria.

The veteran manager went on to work in tour and production management for artists such as "Frank Zappa", "UFO", "New Order", "Echo & The Bunnymen", and "Crowd House", among others. He also helped promote some of the greatest rock artists of the 1990s, including "Jane's Addiction", "Tool", and "The Verve".

Ted was also vital in guiding the careers of prog-metal band "Floating Me" and "The Brian Jonestown Massacre", which was featured prominently in the 2005 documentary Dig!

Gardner joined the rock band Men at Work on a national tour of the United States in 1982, and he has been there ever since. Men at Work became the first Australian artist to achieve simultaneous No. 1 Album and No. 1 Single status in the United States with "Business as Usual" and "Down Under," respectively, the following year.

He began managing Jane's Addiction in 1989. With the band's vocalist Perry Farrell and agents Marc Geiger and Don Muller, he co-founded the legendary Lollapalooza event in 1991, which is still going strong today.

Gardner had a falling out with Tool, who he represented from 1992 to May 2000, at some point throughout his career. Gardner filed a $5 million lawsuit against the band and its publishing business in November 2000, saying that they had failed to pay him $500,000 in commissions as a result of a breach of contract and fraud.

In an interview with Australia's The Music Network, Gardner explained that as a manager, "you're a mother, you're a father, you're a marriage guidance counsellor, you're a priest, you're there as a shoulder to cry on when the girlfriend leaves. You're a drug counsellor," - proving that his approach in talent management is a holistic one.