Roy Tempest: Pop’s Great Pretender
A taxman turned promoter who worked with The Beatles, The Stones, and Hendrix—while secretly rewriting the rules of fame.
Roy Tempest is not just a name in music history—he’s a story. A story of ambition, audacity and outrageous invention. In the space of just a few years, he went from an eighteen-year-old tax officer in London to the biggest pop promoter in the world. By twenty-three, he was running eight companies, representing more than a hundred artists and shaping the careers of future legends.
But behind the flashing lights and screaming fans, Roy was about to mastermind the most extraordinary con the music world had ever seen.
“From Inland Revenue to rock and roll in a single walk through Soho.”
Roy’s story begins not in a studio or a smoky club, but in the offices of the Inland Revenue. Eighteen years old, bored and restless, he walked out of his government job and into Soho. Drawn by the wall of sound pouring out of the Two I’s Coffee Bar, he discovered a world alive with guitars, neon lights and endless possibility.
Inspired, he bought himself a guitar, formed a band—Roy Tempest and the Hurricanes—and set out to be a rock ’n’ roll star. But Roy quickly realised he wasn’t destined to be on stage. He had a sharper eye for business and an instinct for spotting opportunity.
2i's coffee bar, from Soho Night & Day, by Frank Norman and Jeffrey Bernard.
At twenty, penniless and living in a hostel, Roy began booking bands from a payphone in South London. Within three years, he had transformed himself into one of the most influential figures in British pop.
By 23, he was running Europe’s largest band agency and promoting ninety percent of Britain’s pop industry across clubs and ballrooms. His client list reads like a hall of fame: Elton John, Jimmy Page, The Who, The Rolling Stones, Tom Jones, The Beatles, The Kinks, The Moody Blues, Jimi Hendrix and many more.
He didn’t just book talent—he built careers. Roy became the launchpad for a generation of artists who would define the 1960s.
Roy’s empire was thriving, but the market for American rock and soul acts was changing. Big names were demanding fees too high to justify. For most promoters, that was the end of the story. For Roy, it was the beginning of a new one.
With Mafia connections in New York, he scoured Harlem, Brooklyn and the Bronx, auditioning hundreds of semi-professional singers. Taxi drivers, postmen, painters, even ex-bank robbers—Roy handpicked the very best and dressed them in silk tuxedos from Cecil Gee.
Then he sent them to Britain as world-famous groups: The Fabulous Temptations, The Isley Brothers, The Drifters, The Platters, The Ronettes, The Crystals and more.
The trick worked. The “stars” sold out venues, appeared on live TV and drove teenagers wild. They were hailed as world-class performers. But in reality? They were ordinary men plucked from New York’s streets, transformed overnight into legends.
As Roy himself put it, “The Fabulous Temptations were actually five New York postmen.”
Roy’s scam was so audacious, it couldn’t help but attract attention. There were lawsuits, visits from Phil Spector and his heavies and even a £5 million High Court case from Motown. The Kray twins, Mafia hitmen and London’s underworld all crossed paths with Roy during his rise.
And through it all, Roy’s life was a whirlwind of showbiz parties, wild deals and brushes with fame. He promoted The Beatles for £50 a night. He discovered Jimi Hendrix playing in a tiny Greenwich Village club. He even turned down the chance to buy half of Robert Stigwood’s empire for just £12,000.
His world was equal parts glitz, grit and danger.
“The Mafia in New York. The Krays in London. And Roy in the middle.”
For decades, the full story of Roy’s rise and his outrageous scam remained untold. Now, fifty years later, he is finally sharing it all—in a forthcoming book, documentary and feature film.
It’s a story of music and money, glamour and grit, legends and lies. A story that begins in the neon-lit streets of Soho and stretches all the way to the Mob-run clubs of New York. A story that has never been told before, but will change the way you think about the golden age of pop.
Roy Tempest didn’t just promote music. He re-wrote the rules of fame.
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© Roy Tempest