The Jacobsen family will be under the spotlight of the ABC’s Family Confidential tomorrow evening.
Kevin Jacobsen with Bruce Springsteen
The Jacobsen family were one of Australia’s most successful music industry operations spanning decades but after 50 years in the biz fell apart.
Brothers Kevin and Colin Jacobsen (Col Joye), along with their brother Keith started out in the band Col Joye and the Joy Boys in 1959. They were one of Australia’s biggest pop acts that year.
In 1965, Kevin, Col and Tony Brady formed ATA Allstar Artists and started to manage the stars of the day including Little Patti and Sandy Shaw. Kevin signed ATA for distribution by Festival Records.
One of their first discoveries was The Bee Gees.
Next, Kevin and Col formed Jacobsen Venue Management and founded the Sydney Entertainment Centre, Sydney Convention Centre, Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Brisbane Convention Centre and Newcastle Sport and Entertainment Centre.
The company promoted tours by Bruce Springsteen, Barbra Streisand, The Bee Gees, Kiss, Billy Joel, Julio Iglesias, Meat Loaf and Bob Marley.
They were also behind the stage shows for Dirty Dancing, Beauty and the Beast and Fame.
However it all turned ugly in 2002 when the company floated on the Australian Stock Exchange. Only half of the float was subscribed. They lost millions on the Bruce Springsteen tour and the next project Witches of Eastwick musical was a failure.
The happy family was ripped apart by failed ventures followed by legal disputes with fees now in the millions of dollars. Kevin and Col no longer speak.
“You have your ups and downs… That’s the name of the game,” Kevin says in the show.
The Jacobsen story will air tomorrow night (March 1) on ABC1
