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Tributes paid to A&R executive Malcolm Dunbar
By Chris Cooke | Published on Tuesday 9 May 2023
Tributes have been paid to Malcolm Dunbar, the former A&R executive who has died after a short illness, aged 67.
Dunbar enjoyed a long career in A&R for both major and independent labels. Starting out at Polydor, he was subsequently Head Of A&R at Island Records, then A&R Director at Warner Music’s East West division, and later MD for Mother Records. Subsequently moving into the independent sector, he had stints at both V2 and Sanctuary Records.
Along the way, artists he worked with included The Christians, Julian Cope, Tanita Tikaram, Ian McCulloch and Longpigs.
Later in his career, Dunbar worked with and advised start-ups in the music space, and was co-founder of the direct-to-fan platform PledgeMusic alongside Benji Rogers. More recently he had been working with MusicCapital.
Among those paying tribute on social media yesterday was musician, producer and former member of The Christians Henry Priestman, who wrote: “RIP Malcolm Dunbar. Our A&R man (and friend) at Island Records. His dedication led to the success of the first Christians album. After leaving Island he also gave me my first chance at production [with] Ian McCulloch. So indebted to him”.
Meanwhile, Longpigs frontman Crispin Hunt wrote: “RIP Malcolm Dunbar, my A&R, he was one of a kind and one of many kinds of kindness. An outsider and an insider whose passion and power lay in inspiration over imitation, instinct over hyperlink, heart over head. Our business’s heart beats fainter without him”.
