In 2013 Charlie contacted Harvey Lisberg to discuss the possibility of a film about 10cc. Harvey had managed the group throughout their heyday in the 1970s and continued to look after Graham Gouldman’s affairs. Later that year Charlie flew out to Harvey’s home in Palm Springs to interview him for the documentary. Bonding over their love of sport as much as music, a friendship was forged. Several years later, in the summer of 2021, Harvey mentioned that he was thinking of writing his memoirs but wasn’t sure he could do it himself. ‘Would you like to have a go?’ he said. A couple of months later Charlie was back in Palm Springs, where he spent a week talking to Harvey about his life. Those conversations formed the basis of what was to become I’m Into Something Good.
Harvey was one of the most important figures in the Manchester music scene of the 1960s. At a time when it was considered essential to be based in London, Harvey refused to move south. Instead he was determined to unearth and nurture local talent and to prove that it could be done from Manchester. He hit the jackpot with his very first signing, Herman’s Hermits. Within a year they had scored number ones on both sides of the Atlantic and were rivalling the Beatles for popularity in the States. His second signing, Graham Gouldman, was equally successful, writing a string of hits for the Hermits, fellow Mancunians the Hollies and the Yardbirds.
In 1965 he co-founded Kennedy Street Enterprises, a talent agency based in Manchester. During one remarkable month three of their bands held down the top three spots in the American singles charts. Harvey continued to manage local acts in the Seventies, most notably 10cc, as well as Barclay James Harvest and Sad Café. He also resurrected Neil Sedaka’s career by getting Tony Christie to record his song Amarillo. In the 1980s he switched to sports management with great success, persuading Alex Higgins to clean up his act long enough to win his second world title and enabling the young Jimmy White to take the snooker world by storm.
I’m Into Something Good, published by Omnibus Press, is available in hardback and on Kindle.
“I did not just read I’m Into Something Good, I devoured it. The 60s and 70s Manchester scene has been underdocumented. It is fascinating to read eyewitness testimony from one of the principals”. - Paul Gambaccini
“An entertaining and amusing memoir” - Sir Tim Rice
“A really good read” - Lol Creme
‘Personal, informative, fascinating, candid, revealing, memorable, and exceptionally well-written, organized and presented.’- Midwest Book Review
‘This book is absolutely essential. Highly recommended.’ - Paul Hanley, author of Leaving the Capital
‘This is one of the best memoirs I have read. It is one of those rare books that is informative and very entertaining. The reader gets to go behind the scenes of so many iconic rock stars (Queen, The Who, The Rolling Stones), and it is all beautifully written.’ - Spill Magazine
‘I loved your book. You sorta laid it out like W. Somerset Maugham’s 1938 autobiography “The Summing Up”. Not kidding. You ironed it flat.’ - Andrew Loog Oldham