24. Failure to Sign the Beatles Was Dick Rowe’s Worst Business Decision, but Not the Only Bad One
The rejection of The Beatles in favor of Brian Poole and the Tremeloes made Dick Rowe and Decca Records synonymous with bad business moves and catastrophic commercial misjudgments. Incredibly, Rowe’s decision to pass on the biggest band of all time was – which was bad enough in of itself to enshrine his name in the Bad Business Decisions Hall of Fame – was not his sole episode of monumental shortsightedness. Just five years after he failed to sign The Beatles, Rowe turned down another musical icon.
In late 1966, Jimi Hendrix arrived in London and instantly created a stir. At his debut in the British capital before an audience whose numbers included Eric Clapton, Hendrix’s guitar play blew all and sundry away. A bassist and drummer were quickly rounded up to form the Jimi Hendrix Experience, and they recorded their first single, Hey Joe. Then their manager Michael Jeffrey approached Dick Rowe to try and get a record deal, only for Decca Records’ A&R man to pass. So Hendrix ended up at the recently-launched Track Records, instead.
