R.I.P. Ted Gardner
on the rock band’s national tour. The following year, Men at Work became the first Australian act to land a simultaneous U.S. No. 1 album and No. 1 single, withFrom that point on, Gardner aimed high. “My father used to say to me: ‘when are you going to get a real job?’ he told Australia’s Scenstr in an interview. “Then one year I came home from Lollapalooza with a check for $1.5 million and he looked at me and went, ‘yeah, but it’s not a real job, is it?’.
Along the way, Gardner had a falling out with Tool, which he represented from 1992 until May 2000. Gardner sued the band and their publishing company for $5 million for breach of contract and fraud in Nov. 2000, alleging they failed to pay himDisillusioned with the music industry and, in particular, the major labels, he took a step back for 12 months in the mid-2000s. In January 2007, he returned to Australia revitalized, and started Cross Section Management and Records with Scott Mesiti.
“Jane’s were crazy. We all were. Tool were difficult in many aspects. But they knew what they wanted and they wouldn’t bend and what had to be done. And you’d deal with it. They’re the artist. The manager is there to facilitate their desires, no matter how crazy it is,” he explained. “There were some crazy things I’d be asked to do and I’d just laugh, No one was really hard. I worked with John Lydon. That was not difficult. Although he was impossible to work with.
His approach to management was a holistic one. “You’re a manager therefore 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, you’re someone that can bring someone back to life when they’ve OD’d in another room,” he explained in the same interview. “All of these aspects you go through.