Charles Levison

Music industry veteran Charles Levison spearheaded Britain's largest entertainment law practice before serving in executive positions with Arista, Warner, and Chrysalis. Born in Hertforsdhire on November 6, 1941, Levison studied law and science while attending Cambridge's Trinity College. Upon graduating he relocated to London and in 1967 joined the small West End legal firm Harbottle and Lewis. In the years to follow Levison built the U.K.'s most powerful music industry law practice. He also proved deeply passionate about conservation, co-founding the Solicitors Environmental Law Group and later chairing the Friends of the Earth. In 1974 Levison and his family relocated to New York City, although he continued consulting European labels including Virgin Records. As his influence and notoriety grew, he returned to London in 1978 to serve as managing director of Arista Records, moving into television and home video at Warner Bros. three years later. With 1983's The Music Channel, a joint venture bringing together Virgin, Yorkshire Television, and Thorn EMI, Levison suffered his first real setback. Later renamed Superchannel, the satellite/cable TV venture proved a disaster and was later sold for a fraction of its original value. He nevertheless remained a close ally of Virgin head Richard Branson and served as managing director of Virgin Broadcasting, launching Kiss FM and Virgin Radio during his tenure with the company. From 1990 to 1996, Levison chaired the Institute of Contemporary Arts before he was named deputy chairman of the Chrysalis Group, the job he continued to hold when a heart attack felled him in the spring of 2006. Levison died in the hospital three months later on July 7. He was 64 years old. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide