Gary Kurfirst

Manager, promoter, producer, publisher, label owner: born New York, 1947; married (one son, one daughter); died Nassau, the Bahamas 13 January 2009.

Longstanding manager of the Ramones, he was one of the people who made things that little bit easier for the notoriously moody quartet whose contribution to popular music was finally recognised when they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002.

He also looked after the groundbreaking bands Black Grape.

In a career lasting over 40 years and taking in concert promotion and music publishing as well as management, Kurfirst's biggest commercial success came at Live playing at CBGB's.